The math is compelling: job postings with video receive 34% more applications, and candidates who watch recruiting videos are 64% more likely to apply. Yet most companies still post walls of text on LinkedIn and wonder why quality candidates scroll past.
The Problem With Perfect
Here's what typically happens: HR decides they need a recruitment video. Six months and $50,000 later, they have one polished piece that lives on the careers page. Meanwhile, competitors are posting weekly employee stories that rack up thousands of views.
The evidence is clear – frequent, authentic content drives more engagement than sporadic polished pieces. Short-form recruitment videos under two minutes get shared significantly more on LinkedIn, expanding your reach far beyond what any single high-production video achieves.
"Companies often think they need Hollywood-level production to compete for talent," says Jonna Ekman, Marketing Director at Storykit. "But candidates want authenticity. They want to see real employees talking about real experiences – and that content already exists in your employee testimonials and culture blogs."
Transform What You Have
Your existing content library holds more power than you realize. That detailed job description for your senior developer role? It becomes two 30-second videos highlighting key responsibilities and team culture. The blog post about your hybrid work policy? That's three short videos showcasing flexibility, collaboration, and work-life balance.
McDonald's increased applications by 30% after launching recruitment videos that simply showcased their culture and benefits. They didn't reinvent their employer brand – they just presented it in the format candidates actually consume.
The multiplier effect is remarkable. One employee testimonial can become a quote card for Instagram, a video for LinkedIn, a snippet for your career site, and a video highlight for recruitment emails. Content shared by employees earns eight times more engagement than content shared via brand accounts, amplifying your reach organically.
Automation Changes Everything
This new demand for ongoing, authentic video collides with how most companies are set up to produce content. Traditional video production is too slow, too expensive, and too resource-heavy to meet the volume modern recruiting requires. In other words, the traditional video production model breaks at scale.
But AI-powered text-to-video tools can reduce production time from days to minutes, enabling teams to produce 10 to 50 videos in the time they previously made one or two.
"We're seeing recruitment teams transform their entire content strategy once they realize they can turn any text into video," notes Fredrik Strömberg, Chief Innovation Officer at Storykit. "They're not waiting for quarterly production cycles anymore. They're publishing weekly, sometimes daily, and the algorithm rewards that consistency."
This shift particularly matters for email outreach. Including video in recruitment emails can boost click-through rates by 65%, with some studies showing lifts up to 300%. Best practice? Use a compelling thumbnail that links to the video, rather than embedding directly.
How To Build Your Pipeline Today
Start with your lowest-hanging fruit. Take your five most recent job postings and create one video for each. Focus on the role's impact, team dynamics, and growth opportunities. Keep them under 90 seconds. Add captions—92% of users watch videos with sound off.
Next, mine your employee testimonials. Every quote about company culture, career development, or work flexibility becomes standalone video content. L'Oréal saw a 50% increase in applications for senior roles after creating videos that highlighted their commitment to diversity through real employee voices.
Finally, establish a rhythm. Post twice weekly on LinkedIn. Include video thumbnails in every recruitment email. Update your career site monthly with fresh content.
The companies winning the talent war aren't the ones with the biggest production budgets. They're the ones publishing consistently, authentically, and frequently. Your content library is ready. The only question is whether you'll activate it before your competition does.
