Recruitment Marketing: Part 4 of 4.
Show up in the right places, the right way.
This is the final part of the series. We’ve covered expectations, strategy and positioning; now let’s talk about where you actually show up, how to turn attention into contacts, and how to spend money on ads without setting fire to it.
1. You don’t need to be everywhere.
So many recruitment agencies try to be on every single channel at once, and then wonder why they’re exhausted and it’s not working.
Two reasons this backfires. First, as I covered back in Part 1, organic takes time. Not just to grow, but to produce. Second, the platforms aren’t interchangeable. LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook each want a completely different format and rhythm. Trying to feed all of them properly is a full-time job you don’t have.
For most recruiters, LinkedIn earns its place; it’s where a lot of clients and candidates already are. But not every desk lives there. If you’re recruiting in construction, hospitality, driving or care, your candidates might be far more active on Facebook or TikTok.
Work out where your clients and candidates actually spend their time; one to three channels, max; and double down there. Done brilliantly on two beats mediocre across six, every time.
2. You do not need to be a videographer to make video content.
Video terrifies a lot of recruiters, and it really shouldn’t.
Phone cameras are genuinely excellent now, and with AI everywhere, the more authentically human you are, the better you’ll do. Film a 30-second market update between calls. Talk to the camera about a trend in your sector. Grab a quick “what candidates are asking me this week.” You don’t need a studio; you need something worth saying.
Will it feel excruciating at first? Absolutely. It does for everyone. But after a few goes it starts to feel normal, and your confidence builds from there. Nobody’s first video is their best; and in a feed full of faceless job posts, a real person talking sense stands out a mile.
3. Give people a reason to hand over their email.
Content builds trust, but at some point you want a way to actually capture the people it reaches; and “follow us” isn’t it. You need something worth swapping an email address for.
In recruitment, that’s often data. A salary and rates guide. A market or hiring trends report. A “what candidates in your sector actually want this year” download. Genuinely useful, genuinely yours, and a perfect reason for both clients and candidates to raise their hand; after which you nurture them (remember Part 2).
Proof: for one recruitment client, a salary and trends report paired with a dedicated landing page passed 1,181 leads to their sales team, and lifted website conversions by 120%. One well-made asset, working for months.
4. Ads are not boosted posts.
These get muddled constantly, and it’s costing agencies money.
Hitting “boost” on a post; or worse, boosting a single job ad; is the platform’s easy button. You reach a few more people, sure, but with barely any real targeting, next to no control, and no proper structure to turn that reach into a client conversation or a registered candidate. It’s the marketing equivalent of throwing money out of the window and hoping some of it lands on the right desk.
Proper advertising (run through the actual ads manager) is a different animal. You can target hiring managers by job title, seniority and industry, or candidates by role and location, with tested creative, a defined objective, and a path designed to move someone from “saw it” to “got in touch.”
One is a quick dopamine hit of extra likes. The other is a system built to bring in leads. If someone’s charging you for “ads” and all they’re doing is boosting job posts, you’re not getting advertising. You’re getting a boosted post.
My final piece of advice.
You don’t need to do more marketing. You need to do the right marketing, in the right order, and give it long enough to work. Start with a strategy. Nurture the database you already have. Lead with your expertise, not your vacancies. Own your channels instead of renting them. Be consistent, measure everything, and stop chasing vanity. That’s the whole game.
Marketing that earns its place. Everything else is just noise.
And if all else fails, get a strategy (that’s literally our job).
If you’ve read this whole series and you’re thinking this all makes sense, but I have absolutely no time to do it… that’s completely fair. You’re running a recruitment business. Marketing shouldn’t be another headache stacked on top of hitting target.
That’s exactly what we do. We build the strategy first, the one that ties every bit of activity back to your actual business goals, and then we make it happen, so your marketing finally earns its place instead of just filling your calendar.
We work specifically with UK recruitment businesses (real estate too, but that’s another story), and you don’t even have to work with us to get a free mini marketing audit produced by an actual human, not AI.
So if you’re tired of doing marketing that goes nowhere, let’s build you some that actually moves the business forward.
Frequently asked questions.
Which social media channels should a recruitment agency use?
Not all of them. LinkedIn earns its place for most recruiters because clients and many candidates are already there, but it isn’t universal. Sectors like construction, driving, hospitality and care are often more active on Facebook or TikTok. Identify the one to three channels where your clients and candidates actually spend time and focus there.
What makes a good lead magnet for a recruitment agency?
Something genuinely useful and yours, most often data. A salary and rates guide, a market or hiring trends report, or a sector-specific candidate insights download all give clients and candidates a real reason to hand over their email. Pair it with a dedicated landing page, then nurture the leads it captures. One recruitment client’s salary report and landing page passed over 1,100 leads to their sales team.
What’s the difference between an ad and a boosted post in recruitment?
A boosted post, or a boosted job ad, is the platform’s simple button for reaching more people, with limited targeting and no structure to generate enquiries. A proper ad, built in the ads manager, lets you target hiring managers by job title, seniority and industry, or candidates by role and location, with tested creative and a clear objective. They are not the same thing, and they don’t get the same results.
