Video Introductions: Our Top Tips for Getting Started

Personal video introductions and messages are a great way to cut through the noise in the recruitment industry and boost your response rates when engaging with clients and candidates. Our last article covered the different uses of video introductions in a recruitment agency (if you haven’t read it, you can find it here), so now we’re back to give you our 6 top tips on getting started and seeing the best results from your video prospecting efforts.

1. Keep it under a minute (or 90 seconds, at a push)

We said it before, and we’ll say it again. Attention spans are short – you’ll be lucky to keep someone’s attention for over a minute. So, we recommend trying to keep your message to a minute long – it’s an introduction after all, not a novel. You need to use it to grab their attention, so keeping it short and sweet will get you off to a really good start.

2. Explain the reason behind your message

We’ll start this one by saying that it’s probably best to not have a script of exactly what you want to say. We recommend picking 3 or 4 keywords that outline the reason behind your message, and having these as a prompt in front of you. Doing it this way will allow you to sound a lot more natural, and less forced.

Get straight to the point about why you’re leaving them a video message. There’s no need to jump through hoops to get there! Directly explaining why you’re there will cut through the other sales noise and help you get your point across quickly.

3. Add a CTA to the end

Just like you would add a CTA to any outreach emails you send, you should be finishing off your videos with a CTA! Make sure it’s clear what steps you’d like the person to take in order to move forward. If you’re using the Shine platform, the contact forms you can use on the landing page of your video can be a great way to encourage people to engage. Simply state “drop me a message using the form below!” (or something along those lines). Or, if you’re not using contacting forms, make sure there’s a phone number or email readily available so you can ask them to get in touch that way.

4. Show your personality

In your video, try and sound like you would if you were having this conversation with someone face-to-face. If you’re reaching out to a candidate, try and act like they’re sat in front of you when you’re pitching the role. It’s easy to slip into a slightly monotone voice and not show much personality when recording yourself – simply because it can be quite nerve wracking at first.  But the more you practice, the more natural it will feel. So, don’t be scared to be yourself, and have a laugh about your bloopers in the process!

One more thing – remember to smile (a lot).

5. Make it personal

One of the best ways to make your videos more engaging is to personalize them to whoever you’re sending it to. Sure, it might be more time-consuming this way, but you’ll get a better response and increased engagement. Recording one generic video that you send in bulk is usually pretty obvious that it hasn’t been made specifically for the recipient.

So, whenever possible, make sure that you personalize each video. Make it clear that your video is made specifically for them and that you’ve done your research. A simple introduction like “Hey Mark. I can see you’ve been working as a Sales Rep at Company X for the past 2 years. I have a role that I think you might be interested in learning more about” makes it as clear as possible from the get go that you’ve took the time to record your message specifically for them. That way, they’ll feel more compelled to respond.

6. Fully commit

To see the benefits of using video introductions, you need to make sure that you fully commit to using the software. This might sound simple, but it can be common for people to give up after a couple of attempts. Fully commit to using it as part of your strategy by coming up with a plan of how and when you want to use it, and stick to it when those scenarios arise.

Your efforts have to be consistent and long term if you want to continue proving the value of what you’re doing! A good approach is setting aside a set time every day for recording your videos, so you know exactly when you should be focusing on it.