A little playbook for attracting and converting the right talent.
What is recruitment marketing?
Recruitment marketing is a proactive approach to attracting, engaging, and converting talent before they even consider applying. It draws on proven marketing disciplines – audience targeting, content strategy, multi-channel delivery, and data optimisation – and applies them to hiring.
Recruitment marketing is:
- Employer branding in action
- Recruitment aligned with buyer (candidate) behaviour
- Structured, scalable, and measurable
It’s how leading organisations compete in a market where talent expectations, not just job demand - drive outcomes.
Why recruitment marketing is essential today
Top talent no longer follows a linear job search process. They discover opportunities the way they discover everything else: through content, in feeds, via networks, and on their own terms.
Consider the landscape:
- 78% of candidates are open to new opportunities, but only 27% are actively looking (The Nordic Recruitment Report 2025)
- Job boards are saturated and often too late in the journey
- The best candidates need to be influenced, not just informed
Recruitment marketing ensures you:
- Reach the right people, before your competitors do
- Build awareness and trust over time
- Convert interest into action, without relying on "post and pray"
How to build a high-performing recruitment marketing setup
1. Define your ideal candidate personas
Think beyond roles - define motivations, frustrations, behaviours, and digital habits.
- What channels do they trust?
- What language resonates with them?
- What might hold them back from applying?
2. Create a full-funnel channel strategy
Use a mix of awareness, engagement, and conversion channels:
- Meta (Facebook, Instagram): storytelling and visual reach
- LinkedIn: targeting by function, seniority, industry
- Google & programmatic: keyword relevance and retargeting
- Niche media: precision for specialists
- Job boards: high-intent visibility
3. Craft role-specific messaging
Avoid generic EVP slogans. Tailor messages to:
- Role type and career level
- Candidate intent (active vs. passive)
- Platform tone and format
Great recruitment marketing feels personalised, even at scale.
4. Build strong landing destinations
Where your ads lead matters as much as what they say.
- Career pages must be mobile-optimised, fast, and focused
- Match expectations set in your messaging
- Include trust signals: employee stories, values, real visuals
5. Automate and optimise
Marketing is no longer guesswork. Use tools that:
- Launch campaigns directly from your ATS
- Test copy, creatives, timing and channels
- Give you real-time data to act on
Understand the candidate journey – and map content to it
Recruitment marketing supports every step:
- Awareness - They discover your brand through an ad, post or referral
- Consideration - They explore roles, values, people, and purpose
- Conversion - They take action: apply, subscribe, or reach out
- Advocacy - Even if they don’t apply, they remember you
The journey isn’t linear, but your strategy should be.
Metrics that work
Forget vanity metrics. Track:
- Cost per qualified applicant
- Conversion rate (from ad to completed application)
- Source of hire (across all touchpoints)
- Campaign ROI vs. media spend
- Talent brand awareness and recall
The best teams make data part of their hiring culture, not just their marketing.
Turn insight into action
Start small:
- Choose one critical role or talent segment
- Build a persona and audience profile
- Run a campaign with tailored messaging on two platforms
- Optimise based on performance, then scale what works
Make recruitment marketing an embedded capability, not an external add-on.
Need expert help?
Recruitment marketing is evolving, and so should your hiring strategy.
Want to:
- Reach better candidates faster?
- Improve quality while saving budget?
- Build a recruitment funnel that actually works?
Contact us for a personal consultation and step-by-step recruitment marketing plan tailored to your business.
