So, you’ve decided to up your talent acquisition efforts and invest in some solid recruitment marketing. Smart move. But now you’re faced with another big decision: do you build an internal team to handle it or partner with an agency that specializes in recruitment marketing? While building an internal team may seem appealing, working with a recruitment marketing agency could be a game changer for your hiring and branding.
An agency brings a level of expertise and an agnostic, objective perspective you just can’t replicate internally. They know the latest trends, technologies, and strategies to attract top talent. They also aren’t tied to any particular solutions, publishers or platforms, so they recommend only what’s best for your needs and goals, not what they’re incentivized to sell.
If you want to boost your recruitment marketing in a big way, you owe it to yourself and your company to consider partnering with a recruitment marketing agency. They have the skills and experience to manage your recruitment marketing strategically and take your hiring to the next level.
Keeping Up With the Changing Landscape of Recruitment Marketing
There was a time when companies posted job ads in newspapers. In major markets like New York, the cost for one ad, one Sunday in the New York Times could be the same as buying a car. And it was just a coincidence that the best candidate for that job would be reading that paper on that particular day. But thankfully, today, recruitment marketing is a whole new ballgame.
You should focus on building an authentic employer brand and candidate experience that inspires people, regardless of gender, ethnicity or background. And that requires a unique skill set. Rather than relying on a single channel like your company’s career website or LinkedIn, savvy recruitment marketers are using a combination of platforms to reach candidates where they’re spending time.
Recruitment marketing agencies have the skills and experience to:
- Develop a compelling employer brand and value proposition.
- Improve your career site and job ads for maximum impact.
- Run hyper-targeted, optimized social media campaigns to reach passive candidates based on a variety of factors.
- Analyze data to optimize your recruitment marketing spend.
Moreover, a recruitment marketing agency takes an agnostic, data-driven approach to building out your recruitment marketing media and tactics, and this is where they make all the difference.
There are over 50,000 recruitment advertising job boards in the world. These job boards can be categorized into two main types: general job boards and niche job boards.
- General job boards are open to all types of jobs, and they typically have a large number of job listings.
- Niche job boards focus on specific industries or job types. For example, there are job boards for healthcare professionals, IT professionals, and legal professionals. There are also niche job boards for specific geographic regions.
Regardless of whether they are general or niche, most of these job boards have high caliber sales teams that can offer you recommendations and pricing based on:
- The type of job you are hiring for
- The geographic location of the job
- The budget you have for job advertising
- The level of reach you need
But they don’t consider what else you may be doing and what else you should be doing. A recruitment marketing agency will help you evaluate all the offerings and then, develop an integrated media and outreach strategy that leverages your owned media and combines the power of social media, digital ads, email campaigns, and good old-fashioned employee referral. There won’t be an overlap of efforts or wasted money.
They will also advise on the latest trends to reach candidates where they are now – which may be somewhere unexpected. Maybe it’s promoting jobs on Spotify or partnering with influencers on Twitch. The options today are vast.
With so many channels available, you need experts to help determine the right mix for your needs. An agency can see how everything works together – your career site, referral programs, event sponsorships – and make sure each piece strengthens your employer brand. They track what’s performing and make adjustments to optimize your results.
The Benefits of Working With a Recruitment Marketing Agency
Keeps You on the Cutting Edge
A recruitment marketing agency keeps you on the leading edge. They are actively testing innovative new strategies, tools, and platforms so you don’t have to. As soon as something shows promise, they roll it out for their clients. You get to benefit from their experimentation without the risk.
Adds A Fresh Perspective
In-house recruitment marketers can become overly focused on the company’s existing brand and ways of doing things. An outside agency approaches the work with a fresh set of eyes, bringing innovative ideas and strategies. They are able to look at your employer brand objectively and determine the best ways to reach your target candidates.
Brings Expertise and Experience
An agency that focuses solely on recruitment marketing will have a much deeper level of expertise than any in-house team. They also have experience developing and executing successful campaigns across many clients and industries.
Guarantees Cost-Effectiveness
While the initial investment in an agency’s services may seem high, they are often more budget-friendly in the long run. Agencies will help you determine the most impactful strategies so you spend your budget wisely.
Removes Bias and Brings Objectivity
Agencies provide an outside perspective to identify what’s working, what’s not, and new opportunities. They are not hindered by politics or biases, so they can provide honest feedback and recommendations tailored to your unique needs.
Partnering with an agency means you’re launching data-driven programmatic media strategies which leads to faster results, a more effective strategy, and a competitive advantage in attracting top talent.
A Partnership that Pays Dividends
Working with a recruitment marketing agency allows companies to leverage outside expertise and resources. While in-house teams have an inside view of the company culture and brand, recruitment agencies offer an objective, agnostic approach to attracting top talent.
Industry Knowledge
Recruitment agencies that specialize in your industry or job function have an in-depth understanding of the current hiring landscape as well as future trends. They know where candidates are most active and how to optimize job ads and social media to increase visibility. Their expertise and best practices ensure you are using the latest sourcing and marketing techniques.
Is Totally Scalable
For companies experiencing quick growth or seasonal hiring surges, recruitment agencies provide scalability. They have the resources and bandwidth to scale campaigns up and down as needed. This flexibility allows companies to ramp up hiring efforts without adding full-time internal staff.
Conclusion
Taking an agnostic approach to recruitment marketing simply makes sense. It allows you to leverage the best tools, talent, and tactics for your unique needs without getting locked into a single system or way of thinking. While trends may come and go, a good agency will evolve with the times and help future-proof your recruitment marketing.
The end result is a recruitment marketing strategy custom-built for your challenges, brand, and hiring goals. So go ahead, think outside the box and consider a recruitment marketing agency like Brandemix to manage your employer branding and talent acquisition efforts.
An agnostic, optimized approach to recruitment marketing will help you rise above the noise and connect with people in more powerful ways.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jody Ordioni is the author of “The Talent Brand.” In her role as Founder and Chief Brand Officer of Brandemix, she leads the firm in creating brand-aligned talent communications that connect employees to cultures, companies, and business goals. She engages with HR professionals and corporate teams on how to build and promote talent brands, and implement best-practice talent acquisition and engagement strategies across all media and platforms. She has been named a "recruitment thought leader to follow" and her mission is to integrate marketing, human resources, internal communications, and social media to foster a seamless brand experience through the employee lifecycle.
