Finding the right people for your business can be challenging. You must find folks who align with your culture and have all the skills and experience necessary to qualify for the role.
You also have to beat out competitors to land great talent. 78% of companies struggle to find the right talent for their business, and a further 75% are maintaining or increasing their recruiting spending today.
Fortunately, a great recruitment marketing campaign can help you find and secure great talent. A good recruiting drive will ensure that the best employees find your business and convince them to put forward an application.
But, creating an effective recruitment marketing campaign takes plenty of planning and preparation. Here are five tips to get you started.
1. Understand Recruitment Marketing
Recruitment marketing looks and feels different from traditional recruitment campaigns. Instead of simply posting a job advert on LinkedIn, you proactively promote opportunities to work in your business and build a brand through social campaigns and digital content.
Starting a recruitment marketing campaign can be daunting. However, you can make the whole process easier by understanding and following these six steps of successful marketing:
- Strategize Your Goals: set measurable and specific goals that help you measure success and ensure that everyone is on the same page;
- Set a Budget: recruitment marketing can get expensive. Set a clear budget for your campaign and ensure your whole team knows the limit;
- Define Your Audience: create a few ideal-employee personas and detail things like qualifications, values, and experience;
- Develop a Message: identify the tone and voice you want to maintain throughout your recruitment marketing materials. A consistent voice will help build your brand amongst potential employees;
- Execute Your Campaign: run your campaign with your budget and goals in mind. If needed, go back to the drawing board and make small adjustments to your strategy.
The six steps of successful marketing will simplify your recruitment marketing campaign and ensure that you remain on budget. A clear message will also help you raise awareness and ensure you find candidates you love.
2. Raise Awareness
As a hiring manager, it’s your job to get your recruiting materials in front of talented prospects. This can be a challenge, as every other business is also vying for attention on sites like LinkedIn and Glassdoor. You can make your work easier by raising awareness and building your brand as an employer.
Start creating content that mimics your normal marketing, but is geared toward prospective employees. Create social media posts, digital content, and blogs that show off your business and your values.
Ensure that the content you create is intentionally inclusive to attract the best talent possible. This is something that major brands like Nike already do well.
Nike’s career page includes a series of videos aimed at potential employees. They post video content that promotes initiatives like the Latino and Friends Network. This branded content focuses on current employees and shows that Nike is an inclusive, employee-friendly company.
You can use a similar approach by foregrounding community work or employee wellness initiatives that you run. This will generate a buzz around your business and raise awareness about your current openings.
3. Weigh Paid vs. Organic Advertising
Just like normal marketing campaigns, you need to balance your efforts between paid and organic advertising. It’s more effective to use social media to create exposure and raise awareness if you’re willing to commit some cash and spend on social media marketing.
Use your marketing strategy to determine how and where you should commit your social spending. If you want to connect with millennial or Gen Z employees, use sponsored recruiting content on social media pages like Instagram growth services.
If you’re looking for more experienced employees, put more of your effort into organic advertising on sites like LinkedIn. This will ensure that you put your content in front of the right candidates at the right time.
4. Offer Remote and Hybrid Opportunities
87% of employees prefer flexible work options. As a recruiter, you have to account for this powerful trend by offering specific opportunities for remote or hybrid employees.
Bolster these positions by offering remote networking opportunities. Remote employees still want to network from home, and it’s your job to provide them with the chance to mingle and mix in digital spaces. Promote asynchronous networking on LinkedIn or Facebook. This will raise awareness for remote positions and increase attendance when you host digital networking forums.
Hold at least one remote networking meeting before or during your recruitment marketing campaign. Create breakout rooms so everyone has a chance to meet and plan low-stakes activities to guide the conversation. Keep a few extra questions in your back pocket, as meeting new folks online can be awkward at first.
5. Create Clear Descriptions and Applications
Clear job descriptions are an essential part of effective marketing campaigns. After reading your job description, employees should understand the following:
- Your corporate values;
- The job requirements and location;
- Basic tasks and duties;
- Compensation and benefits.
Today, each corporate job posting receives an average of 250 applicants. A clear description will ensure that only the right applicants put themselves forward. This can save you time and money, as you won’t have to spend hours trawling through applications for underqualified or inexperienced candidates.
Qualified candidates should face minimal barriers to applying for the role you are advertising. Unnecessarily complex or time-consuming application materials will turn qualified candidates away and privilege those who have enough free time to complete your application.
Consider the bare minimum you need to know to move forward with an interview. In most cases, this means you’ll require a cover letter, a CV, and a few responses to straightforward questions. Simplifying the process ensures that every qualified candidate can apply.
Conclusion
An effective recruitment marketing campaign ensures that you attract the best talent out there today. Start with a simple strategy that outlines your budget, goals, tone, and target audience. This will ensure that everyone is on the same page and help you tailor your materials effectively. Remember to create opportunities for remote employees, too, as more job seekers are looking to work from home today than ever before.
