How Recruitment Agencies Can Create Candidates

Positioning. Differentiation. Gate Keepers. Terms we are all used to.

We are exhausted from being rejected, trying to get past the gatekeeper, and chasing unappreciative prospects. Fortunately there are other ways that savvy recruitment agencies and internal headhunters can get top candidates and attract premier clients without pounding the phones all day.

Strategic use of content marketing can position your recruitment brand to give you credibility and expertise in your niche market. It is cheaper than traditional advertising allowing a reduced cost per lead.

Ok Andy, What Is Content Marketing Exactly?

Content marketing is (leveraged) distribution of strategically written keyword rich content. A non-invasive way to get strong candidates and attract clients to your brand.

As you know a solid brand can help you to get in the door, and get prospect’s attention. That is not news. I believe your business reputation as a knowledgeable, credible and competent expert in your recruitment field will become the premier way to attain business in the next 12-24 months. This is becoming news.

Your client’s decision to accept or reject you may extraordinarily come down to the strength of the reputation you have built in your industry as an individual recruiter or as a corporate brand. Through content marketing, you can build a powerful brand that wins your prospects respect and authority.

Before I progress I am going to take a step back about some preconceived views of branding.

– Branding is not a logo.
– Branding is not a strapline. The days of 101-recruitment marketing are leaving us.
– Branding is how your candidate perceives you.
– Branding is how your client perceives you.

As an agency you need to elevate above the noise of the market. Instead of looking like the glorious film boiler room, chasing top talent all day, you position your company as “the goto sector leader” for anyone looking to switch careers.

As a corporate recruiter you need to define your individual positioning as a recruiter.

£5Billion Per Year Learning’s

Last week I trained the European team for of £5billonPA corporate heavyweight. One of the drivers I made clear was for each of the talent finders to define a personal brand. If you are InMails are not get opened. Ask yourself why. How does your prospect perceive you? What is your personal brand?

From a psychological and team morale perspective. What a difference it makes to have highly qualified candidates asking you for opportunities and indeed asking you for career advice.

Better yet content marketing enables you to attract new business and clients to your firm. It makes it easy because you are in the position as a market leader, an authority, as an expert in your industry. One of the biggest complaints businesses have about recruiting companies is that they do not know enough about their industry.

They feel recruiting companies don’t fully understand their needs, that’s why you need to position your company as the qualified subject matter expert in your chosen niche market.

As I have been saying for some time, 2013 will see the rise of the niche leader. This next 6 months will see a shift in how we attract our opportunities. 2014 will see the tidal shift.

Your Name on 2000 News Sites?

Strategic use of content marketing can see your company on the front page of Google in days. Yes days. We have a strategy where we distribute articles to 2000 news sites. Powerful hey? I will come back to that in another post as this is a strategy that warrants it’s own message.

Until then, ask yourself. How many cold calls would 2000 news sites equate too?

You do not have to be a victim of the internet any longer, now you can take advantage of it for higher profits by distributing high value content to your target audience. Those of you who know me. My baseline is always to leverage each opportunity. That is why I love the power of the Internet and mobile. More to come on that soon.

If you are driven to build your brand and ease the ability to win business you should strongly consider implementing content marketing in your business operations. It enables you to achieve a lower cost per lead with higher quality clients. It strengthens the power of your brand and makes recruiting top talent dramatically easier. Times are changing. Will it replace the phone? Of course not. Will it grow your business? Yes.

You no longer need to bombard prospects with calls; instead you can create talent pipelines and whet their appetite to work with you through the power of content marketing.