It’s the end of the year, which means it’s time to evaluate how your company fared and what you’ll need to adjust to increase performance next year. It’s a necessary evil if you want to make 2021 more prosperous.

The upside? You’re eliminating failed or less-than-impressive tactics to create room in your marketing budget for new approaches that may be more promising.

The first underperformers to go are the ones that you’re paying out-of-pocket for. You take a gamble when you outsource strategies. You run the chance of not getting what you paid for, which isn’t something you realize until after you’ve committed.

If you find yourself in this position, then you’re probably considering hiring someone so you can bring those efforts in-house. Finding a candidate who has the skills to focus on whatever strategy you need could be a better route to take and provide the results you’re after.

Before you make any decisions, though, it’s important to understand that finding the right person to fill a job opening is harder than it sounds. On top of securing a candidate with the right amount of experience, you have to make sure they’re knowledgeable about your company, the problem it solves, and that they’re a solid fit culturally.

But, how can you ensure your relationship with your new hire is more successful than the one with the outsourced agency they’re replacing? By incorporating content into your recruitment process!

Why Content?

Content, by nature, is meant to educate. Whether it’s your blog content, whitepapers, or website, the content you create should offer information that helps your target audience make an educated decision.

Along with creating content that helps make decisions regarding your services or product, you should be creating content that helps sell your company to potential new hires. It’s all selling, just to different audiences.

Recruitment content can help manage expectations around job openings, and it can help reduce the amount of time needed to get a new candidate up to speed. It can be very beneficial when used appropriately.

Here’s how to use content to attract more qualified candidates who are primed on what to expect before they walk in your door.

1. Incorporate The Right Content Into Your Strategy

Your first step in this process is to start creating content related to your recruitment efforts, or that will be useful for people who want to get familiar with your brand and what it is you do. It’s never fun to have to create content on the fly, so it’s best to take a look at your content marketing strategy and incorporate these topics so you can plan ahead and have content ready when you need it.

If you’re already using the marketing funnel to inform your content, then you’re already halfway there. The top-of-the-funnel focuses on awareness and making your company known to others. Content at this stage can take many forms, but it typically focuses on the basics of your industry and what your company does. It’s meant to lead to brand awareness so people can become more familiar with you.

We suggest creating some blog content that discusses your company’s mission statement, culture, product, or basic industry practices. This kind of content helps show prospects what it’s like within the company walls, the types of people behind the brand, and the basics of what your company and industry are all about.

Also, work with your in-house recruiter or HR rep to come up with topics that they think can help serve these efforts. Since they spend most of their time searching for and vetting candidates, they’re a great resource to tap into. They should be able to let you know areas within your industry or service offering that potential candidates are confused about or have the most questions around.

2. Create Recruitment Collateral

We live in a digital-forward world, so hearing the word “collateral” can seem a bit daunting. However, when looking for new prospects, career fairs, or recruitment meet-ups can be extremely valuable, and you’ll want to have tangible content to give prospects at these events.

Create brochures and one-sheeters that you can take with you. Make them eye-catching and creative. Since the goal is to appeal to candidates, be sure your brand identity shines through, and highlight your company’s culture, what it is you do for your clients, and any benefits you offer employees.

3. Take it to Social Media

Your social media channels provide an excellent platform for recruiting new talent. In addition to actively sharing all of the recruitment content that you’re publishing on your blog, beef up your social media strategy by integrating social media recruiting into your strategy. Enhance your social media presence by developing an independent recruitment-focused social series. You can use hashtags and visual branding elements to show off what’s so great about being part of your company, and make the content interactive using Twitter or Instagram polls and other platform features.

Because there’s an air of authenticity to your social presence, it’s a great way to let your team’s personality shine. Consider doing account takeovers where people from various departments show what a day in their life is like. This can also showcase the daily expectations for various roles and provide education on company operations.

4. Create Video Content

People love video content. Create a video or series of videos for the “About” section of your website. Interview various team members so they can discuss what it’s like to work for your company. People love firsthand experiences, and this will give prospective hires a chance to see what your employees have gained during their professional growth with your company.

These videos don’t have to be just for recruitment purposes. We recommend also creating videos that highlight how you work with your clients and how your product operates. Create demo videos and step-by-step guides, as these can educate potential new hires as well as your leads.

Measuring the Success of Your Recruiting Content

As you bring on new hires, consider surveying them on whether they engaged with your recruiting content and, if so, what they found to be most helpful. This can guide your future recruitment practices, assist you in creating content that’s optimized for impact, and even ensure you’re onboarding them effectively.

While you’re at it, look at the data around your published recruitment content — including traffic sources, engagement, and conversions. All of this information will be useful to your company moving forward, and it might even illuminate some patterns in how and where you can secure the best candidates.

By actively endeavoring to build up a foundation of recruiting materials, you make it possible for more candidates to find you and for more qualified resumes to end up on your desk. Good luck with your next hire, and we hope you use these tips to find the right candidate for your needs.