If recruiters want to succeed, they need to start thinking more like marketers. Here are a few strategies they can use to improve their chances.
Increasingly, recruiters need to think of themselves more as marketers. Their role is to promote jobs to candidates, which means identifying an audience, convincing them they should change companies, and getting them to apply for the right roles. All of these require a marketing mentality.
However, in order to achieve greater success, recruiters need to start adopting marketing strategies as well as changing the way they think. There are numerous tactics you can use to become a better recruiter, and we’ve laid out what we think are the best five for you right here:
1. Multi-channel marketing
More than ever, your audience is using different devices to access their media. According to Google, 24 per cent of our media interactions each day happen on a PC, 38 per cent on a smartphone and nine per cent on a tablet, showing how often we switch screens. This means you need to think about how to attract candidates across all channels.
Practically, this means expressing your message in a range of different forms. You won’t be able to grab potential candidates’ attention on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter by using the same exact tactics. Some channels might require an image-heavy message, while an in-depth blog might work better for others. You need to think about how to alter your tactics when using each of these channels.
2. A conversational strategy
Social media use is booming, rising from 0.97 billion users worldwide in 2010 to 2.46 billion in 2017. This means we are accustomed to being able to talk to brands and other organisations. This is a key tool you can use, but it is also something that can lead to issues if not implemented correctly. You need to make sure you are using the right tone of voice to attract candidates without seeming unprofessional.
However, if you can strike the right balance, creating and participating in conversations is a great way to engage with your audience. Ask questions on social media rather than simply stating things, and encourage others to participate. You can also join conversations that are already going on, although again, it’s important to use the right tone of voice.
3. Data analytics
It’s important to keep as much data as possible about your recruitment efforts, because you can use this to analyse your work and spot areas where you can improve. This is a vital marketing strategy, and is used by many firms to understand how best to engage with and attract an audience.
You can use data to work out which of your online efforts is the most successful, and attempt to understand why. For example, you can look at which of your Facebook posts have had the most clicks, and see if there is a common theme. If there is, this is obviously something that resonates with your audience.
4. Show, don’t tell
Whether you’re creating a Facebook post, an email to send to potential candidates or a print advert to be included in a trade brochure, the same advice applies: show, don’t tell. A large wall of text is unlikely to grab anyone’s attention, and may end up turning them off your agency altogether.
If you want to promote a particular fact, such as the average salary people can earn working for one of your clients, then put it in an image. Highlight the statistic, use graphic design to make it visually appealing and promote the resulting picture. You can link to an extended article, but that shouldn’t be the first thing your audience sees.
5. Utilise a funnel or journey
Most marketing is now based on complex plans, and buyer funnels or user journeys are common. In fact, 78 per cent of digital marketers now use these to differentiate between types of customer. Essentially, these are visualisations of the steps a person goes through before completing the goal of the marketing campaign, which for you will be applying for one of your clients’ jobs.
Use as much information as you have to work out what people do before applying. Do they visit your client’s site, and if so, which pages? How long is it between them clicking on one of your adverts and them applying? If you can gather this information and create a user journey, you’ll be able to identify the best ways of bringing candidates on board.
Boomerang Back Office Solutions offer customers a complete back office solution – including accountancy, funding, payroll, timesheets and Management information. We specialise in helping recruitment agencies navigate challenges, so they can achieve profitability, competitive advantage and, ultimately, growth.
