What is Recruitment Marketing?

Is the 16-year-historically-high talent shortage affecting the way you do business? Are you struggling to get positions filled and tired of unsuccessful recruiting tactics holding your business back from growing? You're not alone. Thousands of companies in the U.S. feel your pain and have begun to take action. 

So, what can you do to stand out? 

Create an effective recruitment marketing strategy! You've come to the right place because we have everything from what it is, to the benefits it offers, and ways you can optimize your campaign. 

What is a Recruitment Marketing Strategy?   

A recruitment marketing strategy refers to your plan of action for marketing your employer brand to qualified candidates to fill positions. Think of it as traditional marketing but focusing on selling your business work life rather than your products/services. It's more complex, however, because there's a greater chance for consumers to just 'try your product out' and return it if they're not happy. 

Job seekers want more stability when it comes to working. They want to make sure you're the right employer before committing. In an environment struggling so severely to fill positions, it is the only surefire way to build meaningful connections and find the right one to fill your opening. 

The Impact of Recruitment Marketing on Business Success  

The most significant benefit of a solid recruitment marketing strategy is the impact it has on your business: 

1. By attracting qualified candidates, you speed up the hiring process and take the strain off of your current employees 
2. Regular marketing gets your brand out there, building more familiarity with potential candidates for the future 
3. Get back your precious time by not wasting your recruitment efforts on applicants that aren't qualified or interested 
4. Communicates the value of working for your company, putting less strain on your hiring staff to convince candidates you're worth considering 
5. Reach and resonate with suitable candidates that will stay with the company longer—saving you up to hundreds of thousands in employee turnover costs 
   

4 Ways to Optimize Your Recruitment Marketing Strategy 

Are you ready to start your recruitment marketing strategy but unsure where to start? The quality of your campaign will make all the difference in who you attract and how well they do within your organization. Ensure you're putting in the effort to get everything right, so when you start attracting candidates, you can rest assured they’re the right ones for the job.  

If you've ever developed a buyer persona, you may already be familiar with this process. At Mid-West Family Springfield, this step in the recruitment process is called creating the "candidate avatar." Your candidate avatars have all the experience, expertise, skills, and other qualifications you expect from applicants. You may also split 'nice-to-haves' and 'must-haves' up to expand your pool of candidates without disregarding your preference for certain credentials.  

There are several ways you can get started on your employer brand. You could post videos about your current employees, give shoutouts and appreciation to employees in posts, share behind-the-scene peaks into what it's like to work in your company, etc.  

After you've put in the work to lift your employer brand, it's important to communicate your employer brand through various channels. This often includes a social media account that engages with your audience (candidates and consumers!) or even content marketing that shows your expertise in the field.   

Job boards and company websites will always be important to your recruitment marketing strategy. You should definitely keep them in your arsenal. However, social media is killing it as a powerful tool for connecting job seekers with brands that have available job opportunities. You likely expect this from LinkedIn—after all, that's what they're made for, and 85% of recruiters already benefit from their business platform.  

That said, it's not the only platform drawing in both candidates and employers: Facebook is used by more than 55% of employers, recruitment on Instagram has spiked from 18% to 37%, and Twitter has optimized its platform for professionals with certain tools and features (i.e., @TwitJobSearch). 

One of the biggest mistakes employers make is thinking that they need to conduct recruitment marketing only when they need a position filled. The truth is recruitment marketing should be a regular part of your marketing strategy. You should always be working on your employer brand and a talent pipeline to ensure anytime a position does open, you have the people and resources to fill it quickly.  

Reach out to Mid-West Family Springfield MO for more insight and resources on creating recruitment marketing campaigns that produce results. The right candidate is out there. Let us connect you with them!