Recruitment marketing is the latest and most fundamental tool in the HR space to help attract candidates. It is a marketing process used to show candidates company jobs on offer to encourage them to apply for open positions.
So when it comes to recruitment marketing, it is
all about adapting the key marketing methods and fundamentals to create a plan
to attract candidates, just like marketers aim to attract clients.
The process of recruitment marketing - why it is important
When it comes to recruitment marketing, there is
a key focus on three areas of the candidates’ process, including:
- Awareness - building the level of awareness about the brand and the company (just like standard marketing does either digitally or broadly).
- Consideration - getting candidates to consider your brand is the best employer for them.
- Interest (or known in the marketing scene -
conversion) - when the candidate takes action and applies for the job opening.
All these factors are in direct correlation with the basic marketing funnel when it comes to building brand awareness, gaining consideration and focusing on a conversion rate (when someone uses the brand for a service).
When it comes to recruitment marketing, it is the key to differentiating your company from the lookalikes (even if you are a recruiter). It is important to use all the required marketing techniques to attract candidates.
At Talentwolf, we want to level up recruiters for success, so we not only offer great recruitment marketing tools but are educated on how to market to candidates successfully.
So we have created a recruitment marketing plan
so the ideal candidates can find you!
Recruitment marketing plan
Establish marketing goals
Similar to business goals, recruitment marketing goals allow you to keep on track, establish a pathway and also measure your success.
Some of the most common goals range from 'more job applicants’, 'high-quality candidates’ to 'increasing the employer brand’ and 'get more leads through social media’.
The goals should relate directly to what you
want to achieve as a recruiter.
Target audience
Once you have your goals, you want to create your ideal candidate or in the marketing world, known as 'target audience’. Who do you want to apply for your jobs?
You can dig deep into this field by defining the types of personalities you want, from the more common requirements like education, experience and skills.
In 2019 and beyond, you do want to try and look
further, then the experience, some people with motivation and drive are going to
be a more suitable candidate over experienced and educated.
Defining the employer brand - what do you offer?
When establishing a recruitment marketing strategy, you want to form the messages you aim to target at your ideal candidate you decided on above.
What makes your company unique? Why should do people work for you?
Do you have any aspects of your business that sets you apart from the rest?
Maybe it is the excellent benefits program you
offer? The competitive salary or career development opportunities? These are
the types of messages you want to be producing in your recruitment marketing
campaigns.
Content is king - creating content
You have established what sets your company apart, so now you need to communicate that (in a subtle way).
Your job ads are one thing, but you need to be continually producing content, so your candidates can get to know your brand.
Maybe it is a blog on your website based all-around your business and your industry. Show your candidate you care about customers but also take pride in your business.
Other forms of content include video, white
papers, newsletters and everything in between. Content is adding another layer
to your recruitment marketing and your client engagement as well - ticking two
boxes at once!
The social media game needs to be strong
Harnessing social media is a key aspect of recruitment marketing. It is one of the best ways to promote your content and reach candidates.
Social media is challenging and requires a lot of work - especially when promoting to different platforms.
To save time and to ensure you are targeting the
right people, use only the platforms your candidate is showing up on.
Generally, the most popular is LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram, but do your
research!
Find employee advocates
Once you have established the types of social media, you want to utilise your employees to help market your brand.
If candidates are hearing from your employees on how they love working for your company, they will be more likely to trust your brand!
Encourage your employees to post photos on
social pages of the office or workplace environment, ask them to post blogs on LinkedIn
and share their positive experiences with the company.
Search Engine Optimisation - optimise your
website
The career page on your site is where candidates go to see what you have to offer.
Your career site is also where you can host all the fantastic content you produce. So, how do you make it stand out above the rest? It is called Search Engine Optimisation (or SEO).
To put it in simple terms, SEO is how you rank on Google or any other search engine when people are searching for services like yours. To make it on page one, you want to be continually producing content, adding keywords and ensuring it is optimised, so it is adding value.
A value-adding careers page will explain who you are, what you do, and why the company is the best option for that candidate.
Also, you want to make sure the site is perfect
for mobile use.
Paid advertising
When it comes to the world of advertising, think outside the box. There are so many platforms to target the right audience from social media to Google Ads and online job boards.
It is all about picking the right platform to
target directly to ideal candidates. Then you can wow them with your website,
blog, social media pages and employer brand!
Talent pool
So what is a talent pool? Well, as the name suggests, it is a pool of talent! A database with all the candidates interested in working for your company.
The talent pool allows you to actively target the candidates that are keen to work for your business! You can build your talent pool with a call to actions on social media or your online content, through collected information in offered webinars and any useful career guide.
A talent pool is time-consuming to set up, but
once you have it, it will help your brand do a long way.
Final thoughts
Once you have a structure in place with your recruitment marketing, it is all about being consistent with your messages and showing up online to engage with candidates. You can use measurement to change your processes or the content you are producing based on what people are engaging with.
To manage all your recruitment marketing and work smarter, recruitment marketing tools are a tool you want to invest in. Implementing a recruitment marketing strategy is much easier when you have all the help you need in one tool, created especially for recruiters!
To successfully develop and implement a plan for your recruitment marketing, there are some critical questions you need to answer first.
The Talentwolf platform will enable you to showcase your recruitment skills and specialisations, share your blogs and business videos, promote your service, collect reviews in one place and quickly be discovered by new potential clients and candidates.
Talentwolf has the power to help you promote your recruiter personal brand faster!
