How to Boost Your Recruitment Efforts through Digital Advertising

After a record 4.3 million Americans left the workforce in August, positions nationwide need filling. Many workers have adjusted their job criteria and as there are an abundance of positions available, they are being more selective when committing to a company. With a variety of priorities such as work/life balance, being fully remote, pay that meets the current market, and other other specifics, they are using these to navigate their search.

However, employers are seeing their own challenges. Many companies are noticing inconsistencies in the labor pool. Some positions are in high demand and others are getting no traction at all. In addition, they are also finding that top tier candidates are getting snagged up quickly or just casually looking without any urgency.

With all of this disconnect, how can recruiters attract top candidates who are ready to take action for open positions?

The Future of the American Workforce

After office workers were sent home en masse in 2020 to work remotely, many large corporations like Twitter, Zillow, and Square started focusing their recruitment efforts nationwide, instead of just around their physical offices. 

While many workers have appreciated the freedom of a work-from-home remote position, the ability to hire talent from across the country creates a double-edged sword for recruiters. Companies now have access to potential candidates from a number of industries and demographics, but so does every other company focusing on building a remote workforce. 

Many companies are also focusing on benefits and bonuses, like higher salaries, signing bonuses, flexible working arrangements, and remote positions to attract highly qualified candidates. Many are finding they need to pull out all the stops to get interest in postings, let alone stand out from similar positions.

How to Advertise to Top Candidates

When creating a new plan for recruitment, digital marketing strategies can be a game changer. According to Ryan Healy, president and co-founder of virtual hiring platform Brazen, virtual recruiting in 2020 helped organizations streamline recruiting processes, improve diversity hiring, and hire better talent by reaching across geographic barriers.

“These gains mean virtual recruiting has earned its place in the ongoing talent acquisition strategies of nearly every industry across the country, and employers will continue to use virtual recruiting alongside more-traditional in-person recruiting and interviewing once it’s safe to meet with candidates face to face again,” he said.

Job posting boards like LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Indeed, and Monster are great places to find top talent, but these sites are sometimes oversaturated with vague and overly wordy postings that miss the top points candidates are looking for in a job advertisement. 

Here are some of the best recruitment strategies you can implement today: 

• SEO is the hottest term in marketing today, but it is also important for job recruitment. About 93% of internet sessions start with a Google search, and that is how many job applicants find postings today. Focus on your target phrases and local SEO techniques.

• Go beyond the free job platforms and build dedicated landing pages for all your open positions. Clear language defining the role plus potential perks and benefits is key. 

• Content marketing can go a long way with recruitment. When you are hiring specific positions, a blog about how to further your career in that position can bring quality professionals to your site. Add a call to action at the bottom about how your company can give you all the benefits mentioned to sway those who are potential options but aren’t necessarily looking for a new position — yet. 

• While parts of your website may not contain job-specific information for potential candidates, the way you display yourself publicly can be a factor. Whenever you are pushing potential candidates to your website, be sure it is looking and operating optimally. If your website is not professional and user-friendly, they might skip the posting and look elsewhere. 

• Social media is free, but using display ads that are visually appealing to prospects as well as informative is important. Keep prospects intrigued with social media ads that give some information about the job role but also lead candidates to seek out more info about the role and overall company culture. 

• As you interview and hire new people, be sure to ask which of these strategies they used to find the job posting. This will be helpful as you use recruiting data and results to refine your future strategies and practices.