Whether we’re talking career sites, web sites, social shares or even job listings, incorporating visual features can take each step of the recruiting process farther. The power of visual is undeniable, yet many recruiters are leaving it out of their everyday candidate communications. This missed opportunity to grab clicks, shares and engagement has to stop, and here’s why… 

 Social Sharing and Visual -Stats from Hubspot 

• On Facebook’s top 10 brand pages, photos and videos drive the most engagement.Tweet this stat.
• On Facebook, videos are shared 12x more than links and text posts combined, and photos are liked 2x more than text updates. Tweet this stat.
• 42% of all Tumblr posts are photos. Tweet this stat.
• Over 100 million users are taking social action on YouTube every week. Tweet this stat.
• As of June 2012, Pinterest users follow more brands than users on Facebook and Twitter. Tweet this stat.

Social sharing isn’t just a job for your ATS. It is pretty rad that this software will post and update on your behalf, but there’s more to it. Every single social Facebook post should include a picture or video. I can sense the eye roll, but it’s not that hard. Use company/employee photos or videos. You can also use funny ecards or free photo services like photopin (that’s where this pic came from!).

If your recruiting efforts don’t currently include Pinterest and Instagram, they should! Did you see the stat about Pinterest users following more brands than users…? Yeah, you’re going to want to be one of those.

The Power of Video –Stats from Visual.ly

• The average attention span online in 2012 was 8 seconds. Tweet this stat.
• 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual, and visuals are processed 60,000x faster in the brain than text. Tweet this stat.
• Viewers spend 100% more time on web pages with video on them. Tweet this stat.
• 85% of viewers are more likely to purchase a product after watching a video. Tweet this stat. 

So the average attention span online is about 8 seconds; how long does it take visitors to find your career page? If it can be simplified in your application process, simplify it. The online window to engage a candidate is extremely small.

That tiny window is exactly why it is so very important to incorporate visuals everywhere. Want candidates to stay on your career page and poke around a bit? A short candidate, client or employee video will do just that. Employee of the month videos are an extremely effective way of conveying the company culture, while showing candidates that this is a company that values their employees.

Some recruiters have even taken to creating infographics in place of traditional job descriptions. Bite-sized, visual content will always attract and engage more effectively, and we’ve got the stats to prove it.

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, and that couldn’t be more true. Visuals in the recruiting process allow companies to more effectively convey the company culture, build the employer brand and target their recruiting efforts. We can all talk about the company culture, but people want to see it in a picture. We can talk about happy employees, but candidates want to hear from them in a video.

Do you have crazy cool trick or go-to site when it comes to how you create your visual content? 

Check out our main blog here.

photo credit: __MaRiNa__ via photopin cc