Getting people excited about your company or organization takes time and patience. And that’s where recruitment marketing comes in handy. It’s the process that combines various marketing and HR techniques to track down your perfect candidate.

But are you actually aware of how recruitment marketing works nowadays? Today, we’ll walk you through 3 crucial phases of this concept so that you can make your mark in the War for Talent!

The three phases of recruitment marketing

You never know what it is until you try it. With that thought in mind, you must take the plunge and dive into the fascinating world of recruitment marketing. Because, yes, you need to get to know your target audience, understand their needs, and most importantly, discover who they are.

In a way, you’re embarking on a journey through the mindset of a potential candidate. That journey unfolds in 3 parts: awareness, consideration, and interest. Yes, you might feel some customer journey vibes, and that’s accurate. To some extent, a candidate must be considered as a ‘customer.’

1. Creating awareness

This phase is all about spreading your employer brand, building awareness around your company or organisation, and attracting candidates with your employer brand. This can be done in countless ways, such as:

• Job posts on social media: Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram…
• Job advertisements on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin…
• Job posts on free job boards: Google for Jobs, Monster, Glassdoor…
• Job advertisements on paid job boards: Indeed, Jobat, Stepstone…
• Other social media campaigns: landing page campaigns, webinars…

Plenty of options. Just do your best to delight your target audience and provide a first touchpoint, nothing more. Proactively promoting your employer brand on social media is crucial for people to see and admire you. Don’t focus too much on getting applicants; we’re still in the getting-to-know-the-company phase. A phase that requires a lot of time and patience, but one from which you can later reap the rewards.

2. Consideration

In this phase, it’s time to step up and show what a great employer you would be for the candidate. To succeed, every piece of content should contain just a bit more information about your company or organisation.

From now on, every blog, every article, or advertisement must have a CTA (Call To Action). As the name suggests, your message should prompt the candidate to take action. And that action often leads to a potential candidate visiting your job site or career page. Such a career page or job site with open positions, company culture, and content from employees is a great asset. But dear reader, that’s a story for another time.

The smoother the journey from awareness to consideration, the greater the chance that potential candidates will make a stop in the third phase: interest.

3. Generating interest

In this step, the goal is to persuade candidates to apply for your fantastic vacancies. By now, they’ve had enough time and seen enough content to know your employer brand inside and out. If everything has gone well here, then you are now a trustworthy employer with a fantastic employer brand. Congratulations!

However, be aware: 1 in 5 candidates is willing to drop out if filling out an application form takes longer than 15 minutes. Lengthy applications have a negative impact on the candidate experience. For tips, read our whitepaper on how the candidate experience optimizes your recruitment process.