How Content Can Elevate Your Recruitment Strategy - Part One

By Jessica Miller-Merrell 

In case you haven’t noticed lately, content is king. In marketing, in entertainment, and in recruiting, content is what people are looking for. Even if you’ve never considered what marketers are using, all you need to do to see evidence of this is consider the many online channels you use on a day-to-day basis. From Twitter to Facebook to blogs you follow to videos you watch to pictures that make you stop and look, content is everywhere!

If you’re not using content to reach candidates, you’re missing out on a massive opportunity that goes beyond paid advertising. Content can elevate your strategy in a way that dollars just can’t.

What content does for recruiting

Content marketing in recruiting is powerful. It’s a form of digital storytelling that helps people identify with what you’re saying, find themselves somewhere in the story and picture themselves at your company. It’s funny that even in our information age, companies are still holding back on sharing with candidates during the hiring process. Companies who are doing it right are experiencing the benefit of information sharing and storytelling through content marketing. In part two of this series, I’ll talk more about a couple of companies whose lead you should follow when it comes to content, but for now I’ll just say that they are leveraging content to build relationships, tell engaging and memorable stories and educate candidates. In turn, they’re seeing better hires and fewer unqualified applicants for open positions.

Is all content created equal?

Many people hear content and think only of blogs, but as I mentioned above, there are numerous and diverse content creation and promotion opportunities. I do actually believe that a blog on your careers page is the best place to start because it’s simple, provides you with content to push out through social channels and allows you to talk about anything you want, at whatever length you want.

However, it’s not just blogs that can tell stories. Video offers both traditional and new storytelling opportunities. You can use a scripted video, provide a live stream, or anything in between. Beyond blogs and videos, there are numerous other channels. Infographics, microblogs like Twitter, photo-sharing apps like Instagram and the newer channels that are new on the market or have yet to even be released provide (or will soon provide) an almost endless number of ways to produce content.

Making it happen

Content doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does require strategy. To develop your strategy, start with some research to discover what types of content drive the highest quality candidates and where candidates are interacting so you can improve your reach. It’s so important to understand the job candidate audience you want to reach before you build any content for recruiting and hiring.

A good strategy will outline the type of content you’ll produce, the frequency and the ways you’ll distribute and promote content. Good content just doesn’t happen. It takes research, time and a great deal of trial and error. You’ll probably make a lot of mistakes, but you’ll also find that it gives you greater reach and more in-depth communication than you can get anywhere else.

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Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR is a workplace and technology anthropologist specializing in HR and recruiting. She's the Chief Blogger and Founder of Blogging4Jobs and author of The HR Technology Field Guide. You can follow her on Twitter at @jmillermerell.