Using recruitment marketing to hire is far from being a new concept but has undoubtedly changed since the days when 'help wanted' signs were an essential strategy for acquiring new hires. It has become even more critical today as businesses in all industries battle the current talent shortage. What's more, the deficit is expected to continue in the coming years, making it difficult to obtain and retain employees.
CNBC reports that a record high of 42% of owners had job openings that could not be filled. Their report also revealed that "91% of those hiring or trying to hire reported few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill."
As for the future of the shortage, American Action Forum reports, “over the next decade, employers in nearly every state will face significant shortages both of workers with an associate degree or some college (nearly 800,000 workers) and of workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher (over 8.5 million workers), leading to nearly $1.2 trillion in lost economic output.”
Here's everything you need to know about recruitment marketing in 2021.
What is Recruitment Marketing?
Simply put, recruitment marketing uses consumer marketing tactics to fill employee roles. This has become an essential strategy for hiring since communication methods have evolved into online and social interactions. You can do this in several ways, including social media, job pages, radio, and TV. Recruitment marketing can also be done with the help of employees on your team via talent acquisition/HR, branding, and content creators.
The benefits of using recruitment marketing to hire include standing out from the competition, reaching a larger pool of qualified talent, obtaining a high volume of hires at a time (i.e., seasonal hiring), and weeding through or eliminating unqualified leads.
LinkedIn adds that recruitment marketing is essential to "connect with people throughout their professional journey," beginning with the top of the funnel where you must:
- Grab prospects' attention before the hiring process
- Build your brand as an employer
- Highlight culture and hiring standards
Implementing Recruitment Marketing
It's no secret by now that getting new hires can be challenging and is likely only to get more complicated as the demand for talent exceeds qualified hires. Still, the following recruitment marketing steps can ease the process.
Set Company Goals
All marketing strategies require goals, and recruitment marketing is no exception. It helps you measure your progress, adjust along the way, and establish a timeline.
What's more, SMART — specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely — goals are particularly helpful in helping you pinpoint and organize your hiring objectives to ensure your potential hires are the perfect fit for the open position. Since research shows that goal-setting marketers are 376% more likely to report success, this is a step you won't want to risk skipping.
Establish Your Target Candidates
Then, you need to know your ideal candidates. As in all marketing, successful ads target specific groups of people. In this case, it's talented, skilled employees that are qualified for your open job position.
Like a buyer persona, create the image of ideal candidates you're looking for to ensure your recruitment ads target the right people with a message that resonates with their interests and values. This includes demographics like age, location, and education. With that said, most small businesses may want to stick to local advertising tactics — unless you want to produce a national ad.
Identify the Channels You'll Use
When you know who you're targeting, it's a good idea to research and explore the channels they're on — the ones you'll want to use. Ask yourself: where will you find your prospects? Using the target hire information you built and collected, decide where top talent will be found. Is it in-person networking? On social media? Online platforms?
Maybe it's a mix of channels. Either way, you'll want to decipher which ones are more useful in reaching your target candidates and put your efforts into those. This is where knowing your ideal candidates from the previous step plays a significant role.
Craft the Messaging that will Speak to Talented Prospects
Once you know what kind of employees you're after and where to find them, you'll understand how to speak to them in your recruitment ads. You'll want to start this step by establishing how to present your brand to prospects. Meaning, what differentiates you from competitors?
Share who and what you're looking for in your messaging. More importantly, be as specific as possible. This will help attract suitable candidates for your opening and help reduce the number of unqualified leads that apply.
Recruit New Employees with Digital Advertising
Finally, using digital advertising is an integral part of recruiting new employees, especially since SHRM reports that "a majority of Americans (54%) have researched jobs on the Internet, and nearly as many (45%) have applied for a job online." Even better, businesses can use media partners to design digital marketing campaigns to find and hire recruits, similar to how they market themselves to consumers.
A Media Partner Can Help with all of Your Recruitment Marketing Needs
Navigating recruitment marketing can seem challenging, especially while also managing to fulfill your day-to-day responsibilities. Using digital marketing to find new hires is often best left up to seasoned pros who can guide you each step of the way. It’s beneficial to have a team behind your endeavors, whether marketing for new employees or maximizing other advertising efforts.
