In traditional marketing, every behavior requires some arousal. These activating processes should be triggered by marketing activities. After all, a product only really exists when consumers are aware of its existence.
With the shift in the balance of power on the job market in favor of applicants (applicant market), consumer and candidate behavior are becoming increasingly similar: companies must solicit for them. Consumers get to choose between products whilst candidates get to choose between employers. Given this situation, it makes a lot of sense for recruiters to draw on well-tried marketing tools to acquire new talents. Therefore, with the shift in power, recruitment marketing emerged.
What is recruitment marketing?
Recruitment marketing refers to the use of classic marketing tools in recruiting. The goal of recruitment marketing is to build a strong employer brand as well as a qualified applicant pool. The goal is to create awareness of a company as potential employer before there is even a vacancy or an application. Due to the similar behavioral patterns of consumers and candidates, classic marketing tools are suitable for this purpose. Today, we present two classics on the blog: the AIDA model and the customer journey.
1) The AIDA Model
Actually, the AIDA Model is a hierarchical model that maps the purchase decision-making process of consumers. However, it also provides a helpful structure in recruitment marketing to understand which phases a potential applicant goes through.
A = Attention
The candidate should become aware of the company as an employer.
How: interaction on social platforms; job boards; through relevant blog posts; good SEO et cetera.
I = Interest
Interest in the discovered company should arise in the candidate, as well as a positive first impression. (S)he should be interested in getting in touch with the company.
How: presence on relevant channels to the target group; newsletters option et cetera.
D = Desire
The desire to work for the company should arise in the candidate. Trigger a motivation to apply.
How: Invitation to register for the candidate pool; clear and user-friendly career portal on the homepage (simple CV upload) et cetera.
A = Action
The desired action is that the candidate submits his or her application.
How: Especially in this step, an uncomplicated smooth process for submitting the documents is key. It is just as important, that a contact person is reachable.
2) The candidate journey
The AIDA model shows how similar behavioral patterns of consumers and candidates are. Therefore, the concept of the customer journey can also be transferred to recruitment marketing, which here becomes the candidate journey. Because whether someone is looking for a new job versus a new bicycle helmet, a hotel recommendation, or a recipe for dinner – the go-to-solution is usually the same: the internet. So, a person as an applicant goes where (s)he goes as a consumer: social media, forums, on blogs, and so on. Picking them up there and retaining them, that's the goal!
An important prerequisite for this is a positive candidate experience. This happens when all touchpoints between companies and talents are defined and optimized. Positive experiences on the candidate journey feed their enthusiasm and a positive image. The more positive the overall experience ultimately is, the more likely the company will become the employer of choice.
How does this work? Ideally, you create a blueprint, a map in which all touchpoints are noted. List all direct touchpoints that you can control yourself (social profiles, homepage et cetera), plus as many indirect ones as possible (forums, rating portals et cetera). The goal here is to offer relevant content at the right time through the right channel. Given the right approach at the touchpoints, the candidate journey becomes a positive experience.
What makes the approach "right"? Approach desired candidates where they are anyway. Speak the language of the target group. Provides answers. Communicate clear and understandably. Depending on the channel and target group, create visual or informative content. However, there is no universal "right approach".
Another advantage of a positive candidate journey: Not only professionals actively looking for a new job cross your touchpoints, but also any other person. This gives you access to the passive candidate market, i.e. to experts who are generally open for a new role.
Conclusion: recruitment marketing is here to stay
Recruitment marketing sounds plausible and makes sense. Tools like the AIDA model and the candidate journey are intuitively easy to understand. Rather, it is difficult to determine which corporate department is responsible for it. HR? Marketing? Neither is a perfect match. Therefore, it is advisable to seek external help – we at Coopers are familiar with recruitment marketing strategies. We would be happy to advise you accordingly and develop a suitable strategy with and for you within the framework of the partnership programs described at the beginning. Please contact Christian Biedermann, Managing Director, for further information.
Your Coopers Team
Photo by Damian Zaleski via Unsplash
