How to Use Content Marketing As a Recruitment Tool

When you’re hiring, it’s easy to throw up an announcement in the depths of your website and hope for the best.

But that might mean you miss out on the perfect candidate. In order to get a pool of candidates that fit the bill, you need to put yourself out there, generate engagement, and generally entice people in with your charm and expertise.

All that sounds a bit costly though, right?

This is where content marketing comes in.

What Is Content Marketing?

Content marketing is the process of creating and distributing content like blog posts, videos, and social media updates online to attract people and convert them into customers.

It costs 62% less than outbound marketing (where you pay to advertise on other people’s sites) but generates more than three times as many leads. Those are some pretty impressive statistics.

As you can see by those numbers alone, content marketing can be incredibly powerful. It’s the perfect tool for generating engagement and getting people to your site. Plus, in industries where talent acquisition is competitive, content marketing can give you an edge above the rest when you’re hiring.

Why You Should Use Content Marketing?

Content marketing isn’t just cheaper than other forms of marketing, it also comes with a shedload of benefits.

1. Reach New Audiences

In order to get a good selection of prospects for a job opening, you need to have a wide selection of prospects. That means expanding your audience and casting your net far and wide to reach the right people.

Once created, content can be distributed on multiple different channels, reaching a range of different people who hang out in different places online.

A whopping 90% of consumers find custom content useful, and running searches for problems they need solving is the number one way they discover new brands. So, the more content you create and put out there, the more chance you have of reaching a wider audience.

2. Build a Relevant Following

What happens when you have a job opening?

Do you put up an ad and wait for people to come to you?

But, hang on a minute - that relies on people coming across your ad by chance, and you’re only going to entice people who are looking for a job in that moment.

With content marketing, though, you can build an engaged following of potential candidates throughout the year, even when you’re not hiring. That means when it comes to putting up a job ad, you already have an eager and well-placed pool of people to push the ad out to.

3. Engage Potential Employees

Content marketing also helps you engage with potential employees by providing you with a platform where you can showcase your expertise and authority.

People want to work with companies that are the best in their industry, and creating content that’s helpful and gets shared means potential candidates are going to want a piece of your company pie.

Source

Add to that the fact that 82% of consumers feel more positive about a company after reading its content, and a further 70% feel closer to a company through content, creating useful content aimed at your target candidates seems like a no-brainer.

4. Share Your Company Culture

You want to find the right candidates for your job opening, but you also want to find candidates that think you’re a good opportunity for them.

Through content marketing, you can share insights from your office and team, showing potential candidates your company culture in action. This sorts the wheat from the chaff when it comes to job applications, because only people who think they’ll be a good fit will apply for the position.

How to Implement Content Marketing

So now you know just what content marketing can do for you as a recruitment tool, let’s dig into how you can apply it.

Step One: Build Personas

In order to attract the right people with your content, you need to know exactly who it is you’re targeting. Think about the kind of candidates you want, including their qualifications and personality traits.

Dig deep here and don’t be afraid to get specific - the more you hone in, the more likely you are to reach the right people time and time again.

Step Two: Serve These Personas

Next, you want to create content aimed directly at these personas. Think about blog posts, videos, and social media content that:

• Shows the behind-the-scenes of your business
• Highlights your thought leadership in your industry
• Solves a problem these personas face in day-to-day life

Step Three: Get Employees Involved

Your current employees are one of the most powerful recruitment tools you have in your arsenal and, when combined with content marketing, they’re a force to be reckoned with.

According to research by IBM, leads developed through employee social marketing convert 7x more frequently than other leads.

Use the tools you already have and get current employees to create content, share office insights, and populate your social feeds - they’re the people that know your business best and can vouch for you to future candidates.

Step Four: Capture Email Addresses

Creating content and distributing it isn’t the end of the recruitment funnel. Imagine you’re not hiring at the moment, but you’re pushing out content, people are reading it, and then they’re clicking off your site and not coming back.

Think about how many potentially great future candidates you’re missing out on.

Instead, drive people through your content onto your email list so you can send them future updates and job openings when they crop up. This way, you already have a pool of great candidates waiting for you to post a position.

Content Marketing Might Just Be Your Number One Recruitment Tool

Content marketing not only helps you find and build relationships with relevant candidates, but it also garners general brand awareness for your business.

So, while you’re building a list of great potential employees, you’re also building authority in your niche and creating a following that’s bigger than just people who might want to work with you.

With four simple steps, you can have your content marketing plan underway and start creating connections right now - who knows what kind of candidates have been waiting for you to appear on their radar!