Recruitment Marketing: An Essential Tool for Employers

In today’s job market, employers inevitably find themselves competing for the best talent. 

And let’s be honest, it’s a tough game out there! 

Sure, you could post an ad on Indeed and LinkedIn and hope you receive quality applicants who are also a culture fit, but the truth is not as simple. 

Finding the best applicants is increasingly becoming more challenging and the old way of reactive hiring just doesn’t cut it anymore.

What you need instead is a proactive hiring strategy that attracts top quality candidates to you, so you don’t have to spend your valuable time chasing them.

This is where recruitment marketing comes in.

In this blog post, we’ll introduce you to recruitment marketing, discuss its importance, and outline a strategic method you can use in your business today to improve your talent acquisition process.

What is Recruitment Marketing?

Source: Retail Dogma. Inc.

Any marketer you talk to should know the word “funnel” like it’s their youngest child’s name. But for those of you who aren’t in the marketing game, let’s briefly explain what a marketing funnel is.

A marketing funnel is simply a framework for moving a potential customer from a place of complete unawareness of your product or service to a purchase. 

Recruitment marketing is essentially a funnel for recruitment – a strategic approach to attract, engage, and nurture potential job candidates with the goal of building and maintaining a strong talent pipeline. 

It involves applying marketing principles and tactics to the recruiting process as a way to effectively promote the company as an employer of choice and connect with qualified candidates.  

And like any good marketing tactic, you should be running it consistently to keep your brand top of mind. 

In other words, while your end goal is to find the right talent for your business, you shouldn’t restrict recruitment marketing to periods when you are actively hiring for open positions. Rather, you should be consistently sharing your brand (your company) with the market (potential employees) so they develop a positive impression of your company and are eager to apply when there is an opening that suits their skills. 

The added benefit of this approach is that you will naturally attract higher value candidates who are already a cultural fit. 

There are a number of marketing tactics you can employ to your recruitment strategy, including content creation, advertising, and social media. 

But today we will focus on one of the most critical (and often overlooked) ways to enhance your recruitment marketing efforts: employer branding. 

So, how can you elevate your company’s brand in order to attract top talent in your industry?

How to Strengthen Your Employer Brand

A key component of recruitment marketing is its focus on shaping and promoting your business’ brand and presenting the organization as an enticing place to work. It involves highlighting the company’s values, culture, mission, and benefits to appeal to potential candidates. In today’s social media environment, there are numerous ways to establish your workplace brand and appeal to potential employees.

Here are a few suggestions for how you could improve and elevate your employer brand to prospective employees:

Host Virtual Office Tours with Q&A Sessions

Image Source: Clear Smiles Alaska

Consider hosting virtual office tours using platforms like Zoom or Instagram Live. During these tours, current employees can walk viewers through the office and highlight unique aspects of the workplace. To make it more interactive, include live Q&A sessions where viewers can ask questions about the company’s culture, work environment, or daily routines. Get the word out using social media to ensure as big of an audience as possible, and archive it on your website so it can be watched at any time.

Skip trying to share everything all at once. (After all, people tend to bail on videos longer than 5 minutes.) Instead, break the videos down by department or location to make it easier for candidates to pick and choose. In the end, you’ll have a whole series of these tours available for viewing on your website and Instagram feed.

Virtual tours can make your company look open and inviting. Offering an inside look to  a wider audience lets them see how your workplace operates and can lead to a more engaged pool of potential talent applying for open positions.

Launch an Employee-Generated Podcast

Photo by George Milton

Podcasts are all the rage right now and could be a good opportunity for employees to  discuss various aspects of their work, including projects, challenges, and more. This personal insight into the organization can help potential candidates connect with current employees on a more personal level and get a sense of the company’s culture. Make an effort to include podcast episodes that cover all the roles within your workplace, rather than focusing on just one or two areas.

Create a “Day in the Life” Video Series

Develop a series of short videos featuring different employees or following company events These could work great as short form content for TikTok, IG Reels or YouTube Shorts and give potential candidates a real-life glimpse into the roles they might be interested in (and not to mention your social events!). Highlight work tasks, casual interactions, team dynamics, and growth opportunities. Once again, archiving these videos on your company website can be a powerful tool to drive engagement and encourage interest in your organization.

Implement Mentoring Programs

Mentoring involves pairing younger, less experienced employees with senior leaders to enhance professional development and exchange knowledge. Promote these programs as a part of your employer branding strategy to demonstrate your commitment to continuous learning and fostering a diverse, inclusive workplace. You may find creating videos or podcasts with these partners a useful addition to your website resources.

Create a “Life Beyond Work” Blog Series

Showcase the diverse interests and passions of your employees outside of work. Develop a blog series or series of Instagram posts that dive into their hobbies, side projects, and community involvement. This humanises the workforce and demonstrates the company’s support for work-life balance.

This is also a great way to show off the city (or cities) where you operate. If you’re hoping to attract people to a new area, let them see glimpses of their future hometown. Showcase its most appealing qualities. While vibrant communities in a diverse city will appeal to those looking for dynamic nightlife or cultural events, more remote locations with plenty of recreational opportunities can be a powerful draw for the outdoorsy types.

Offer Virtual “Meet the Team” Coffee Chats

Organize virtual coffee chats where potential candidates can meet current employees from various departments in an informal setting. This allows candidates to ask questions and get to know the team on a personal level, fostering a sense of community even before they’re hired. As an added advantage, you can gain a better sense of how that candidate might fit into your organization than you would from just a formal interview or two.

Image Source: Microsoft

Encourage Employees to Share Their Learning Journeys

Whether it involves taking a course, attending a workshop, or acquiring a new skill, highlight team members’ ongoing learning experiences, Share these learning journeys on the company’s blog or social media to emphasize a culture of growth and development. 

Host “Behind-the-Scenes” Webinars

Conduct webinars about interesting behind-the-scenes operations at your company. Invite employees from different departments to explain their roles and the impact they have on the organization. 

Create a “Welcome to the Family” Onboarding Experience

Recruitment marketing doesn’t end when the interviews conclude and an employment offer has been made and accepted. Ensure your new employee feels welcomed right from the start.

Enhance your onboarding process by making it more personal. Consider sending new hires a “Welcome to the Family” package with company swag, personalised notes from team members, and resources to help them settle into the company culture even before their first day. 

Let’s Recap

These unique approaches can help businesses differentiate themselves in the competitive job market while creating a more authentic and engaging employer brand. By showcasing the human side of the workplace and involving employees in the process, organizations can attract candidates who align with their values and culture.

If you’ve made it this far and you’ve found it challenging finding incredible marketing, creative or communications talent, reach out, we can help.

Smart, Savvy + Associates is a recruitment agency that specializes in helping companies find and hire talented marketing, communications and creative professionals. Since 2007, their team of marketers-turned-recruiters have successfully placed hundreds of qualified professionals into companies throughout Vancouver and the surrounding areas. Learn more about the company’s services or apply for one of the job opportunities on their website.