Your Ultimate Recruitment Marketing Guide

August 9, 2022

Let’s face it: Building a recruitment campaign requires a lot of heavy lifting.

Between writing job descriptions, interviewing potential candidates, and onboarding new hires, your recruiters wear multiple hats (or even the entire wardrobe). 

It’s no wonder why so many organizations don’t prioritize recruitment marketing to reach the talent they want (and need) in today’s competitive hiring landscape. 

Sure, recruitment sites like Glassdoor and Indeed can help you get in front of qualified candidates, but marketing can take your strategy to the next level. You want to put your best foot forward and find your top picks, and that’s where recruitment marketing can be your secret weapon in the war for talent.

Ready to streamline your recruitment process? Here’s everything you need to know about recruitment marketing to fuel your team and strategy.

 


 

What Is Recruitment Marketing?

Before we dive into the world of marketing, let’s start with a definition: Recruitment marketing is a set of marketing tactics you can use to market your employer brand to candidates. When done right, it’s a powerful tool for building awareness and visibility around your company culture.

In a nutshell, recruitment marketing is a tool to “sell” jobs. It doesn’t just end with sourcing talent, either. It applies to the entire recruitment life cycle, from attracting potential candidates all the way to onboarding.

So, how does it work? Just as consumers are more likely to buy products from companies they trust, candidates are more likely to apply to positions with companies they can connect to. Think about it: Would you work for a company you’ve never heard of? Or would you rather work with a reputable company that your friend works for? We’re willing to bet that you’d choose the latter.

 


 

Why Do You Need Recruitment Marketing?

Tired of lost productivity and long hire times? Fighting high churn rates and low employee retention? Trying to expand into new markets? No matter what your recruitment challenges look like, you need a formal strategy to meet your organization’s long-term goals.

Contrary to popular belief, enterprise-level organizations aren’t the only ones who can reap the benefits of recruitment marketing. In fact, recruitment marketing is a powerful asset for any company of any size. Internally, you might know your company’s cultural values and what makes your people great, but your candidates probably can’t find that out just by visiting your website.

 


 

Building Your Recruitment Marketing Campaign

Recruitment marketing creates new opportunities to attract, engage, nurture, and convert your ideal candidates. It’s a buzzword right now—and for good reason: it helps HR teams get the right people in the right role at the right time.

To build a successful marketing campaign, you’ll need to leverage multiple strategies (think: job ads, social media, proactive outreach…) to attract top talent. 

Basically, marketing takes your current recruitment strategy and makes it more effective. The right marketing plan can help you connect the dots between each stage of the recruitment lifecycle to create a top-notch candidate experience. So, if you’re building on an existing strategy, we recommend starting with a self-audit to paint a clear picture of your strategy. 

After you’ve reflected on your strategy, you can start to think about the specific marketing techniques you’ll use. Some of the top recruitment marketing tactics that we recommend to our clients include:

 

1. Employer Branding

Before you start brainstorming your new recruitment strategy, you’ll need to focus on your employer brand. You need to create a consistent brand across your organization to effectively market your organization and build awareness.

Your employer brand matters, and it doesn’t end with your brand logo. It comprises everything from your employer value proposition (EVP) to your company culture. 

Strong branding can go a long way in attracting qualified candidates. And the numbers back this up. According to Glassdoor, 75 percent of job seekers are likely to apply for a job if the employer actively manages its employer brand. At the same time, a weak employer brand can harm your recruitment efforts: nearly 30 percent of job seekers have left a job within the first 90 days of starting, but investing in your employer brand can reduce turnover by as much as 28 percent.

The clock is ticking—and you need an amazing employer brand to show candidates why you’re worth working for. Once you’ve taken a proactive approach to employer branding, it’s time to shift your focus to recruitment marketing.

 

2. Social Media

Glassdoor and Indeed put you in front of people who are actively searching for a job, but what about passive candidates? If you want to build a multi–pronged recruitment marketing strategy that targets both active and passive candidates, you’ll need social media.

Social media is a must-have for recruitment marketing. After all, 72 percent of adults in the United States use at least one social media platform, according to the Pew Research Center. And if you’re ready to upgrade your recruitment strategy, paid advertising can help you reach the exact type of candidates you’re looking for (more on that later).

First, tap into your candidate persona. Identify where your ideal candidates spend time online so you can meet them where they already are. Then, use their interests and pain points to create ultra–relevant, highly engaging content that sparks their curiosity. To top it all off, keep your branding consistent and make sure your EVP shines through in every post.

When you captivate your target audience with great content, you’ll start conversations and fill your talent pool with your top picks. Stay on top of comments, direct messages, and inquiries, especially if people have had a negative experience with your brand and need to vent.

 

3. Video Marketing

Just like traditional marketing, recruitment marketing requires great storytelling. You need to tell your organization’s culture story through compelling content and powerful messaging to engage potential candidates. Your marketing strategy might include blog posts, images, or video—any public–facing content that reinforces your employer brand.

Of course, you’ll need a standout content marketing strategy to set yourself apart from the competition. And with so many organizations fighting for top talent, you can’t afford to ignore the power of video.

Why invest in video marketing? It’s one of the best tools for growing your brand and showcasing your company culture. According to the 2020 Wyzowl Video Survey, 87 percent of marketers have used video content to boost their website traffic. Meanwhile, video posts on social media get 48 percent more views than your run–of–the–mill text or image post.

Not sure where to start? Let your employees steal the show. When you film videos of your employees talking about their experience with your company, you’ll give potential candidates a glimpse behind the curtain. You can also use videos to showcase your workspace, company culture, and team–building events. And if you want to get creative, hop on Facebook Live to answer FAQs from potential candidates.

 

4. Paid Advertising

Organic social media posts, professional careers websites, and search engine optimization (SEO) can transform your recruitment campaign, but they’ll only get you so far. If you want to find the perfect people for your open positions, digital advertising can save the day.

Why should I spend more on recruitment?”, you’re thinking. Paid ads are the tool you need to get in front of the right people at the right time. And when you broaden your reach, it’s more likely that your messaging will resonate and drive candidates to hit the Apply Now button.

The benefits of paid advertising don’t end there. From Google Ads to Facebook Ads, paid ads come with unrivaled targeting options so you can laser–target your ideal candidates. Since you’ll only be serving ads to people who meet your desired criteria, you’ll spend less time sorting through irrelevant applications. That means you’ll find higher–quality candidates, reduce your time to hire, and cut down on lost productivity.

 


 

The Bottom Line

Whether you’re sourcing logistics managers or HVAC technicians, sites are a great place to start your recruitment campaign. As you build out your strategy, marketing can help you beat the Great Resignation so you can fill your talent pipeline with qualified candidates.

When you bring marketing and HR together, you’ll pack a powerful one–two punch with a comprehensive recruitment marketing strategy. You’ll reach your top picks, build brand awareness, and position your organization as a strong employer—all while saving your recruiters tons of hiring time and energy. Sounds like a win–win, right?

It’s time to give your team the tools they need to succeed. Download our self-audit checklist and schedule a discovery call to tap into the power of recruitment marketing.

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