In the recruitment industry, the spirit of competition is a vital principle. Every day, we run after scarce top talent. And every day, we get buried in the noise of the digital space.

The so-called “attention economy” is a tough place to be at. It’s difficult to stand out, it’s difficult to get heard. Obviously, tuning up will not suffice. But we have to be heard, to be seen, and to be taken seriously.

In the recruitment industry, turning potential applicants into actual applicants is a challenge. You simply do not want to get noticed, you want to be taken seriously. How do you do that?

Here are some creative marketing gimmicks you could try:

1. Add more marketing oomph to your recruitment ads.

Admit it. Recruitment ads are often dry. They convert well, yes, because everybody needs a job. But recruitment ads, including job descriptions, lack the sizzle that might motivate candidates. We are so fed up with banners saying “We are hiring! *then a list of job openings*” or “Looking for Qualified Individuals! *then the eternal list of job openings*”.

Perhaps a captivating recruitment ad won’t matter if the job you are offering is unique and in-demand, but if rival recruitment firms are offering the same position, needless to say, you have to stand out.

In technology recruitment, for example, where there is talent scarcity, running after the same pool of limited talent is tough. A recruitment firm needs to stand out. It needs to attract the talents they need.

You can do this by treating all of your online assets as marketing tools – from job ads to job descriptions, they all must be conversion-focused. When we say “conversion-focused”, it must aim at turning a reader, a prospective candidate, into an applicant or a lead (say they opted in a landing page and provided you with their contact details or resume).

A general formula for a conversion-focused copy is the AIDA Formula. Briefly, here’s how it works:

1. 1. Attention. Write head-turner headlines. You can be as creative or as clever as you want to depend on your target audience. Although, generally, the rule is “don’t get too clever”.
   2. Interest. Elaborate on your offer. Create a sense of emergency and urgency.
   3. Desire. This is where you entice your audience with the features of the offer (e.g. pay, benefits, etc.).
   4. Action. Have a clear call-to-action. Tell your audience what they need to do next (e.g. Apply Now, Send Your Resume, Give Us Call, Shoot Us An Email, Visit Us At, etc.).

Read: 10 Effective and Creative Job and Recruitment Ads

P.S. You can also look into this job description and find inspiration.

2. Use a captivating and conversion-focused landing page.

People nowadays turn to search engines like Google to find answers to their questions and even to find jobs. Needless to say, your website is an essential tool for marketing recruitment efforts. Your website is your primary sales or recruitment material especially for those who found you through organic search engine search only.

So, obviously, getting traffic to your website is one thing, converting visitors into actual candidates is another. An enticing and conversion-focused landing page, as we always say, is your best option. An outstanding conversion-focused website has 12 basic elements, according to Neil Patel of Crazy Egg. These are also in-line with the AIDA formula:

1. A Killer Headline
2. A Persuasive Sub-headline
3. Pictures
4. Explanation (What your product or service is about)
5. Value Proposition or Benefits
6. Logical Flow
7. Something about pain
8. Something about pleasure
9. Trustworthy testimonials
10. Methods of Contact
11. A guarantee
12. Powerful Call to Action

Read: 12 Essentials of a High Converting Landing Page

3. Spice up your digital marketing efforts.

Your digital marketing effort must cover all bases – from social media marketing to high-conversion email marketing, and must target all audiences – from the top of the marketing funnel (people who have little to no idea about you) to the bottom of the marketing funnel (people who knows you and what you do and are about to make a decision).

Brand awareness if the basic top-of-the-funnel goal. Your aim is to reach more people and introduce your brand, your service or your product. Social media marketing can help you reach thousands of potential applicants. In social media, you can be creative with your messaging as well. You can foster familiarity and trust through affinity and authority content shared through social media. If you have a pool of talents, nurturing their connection with you through email marketing is a good idea. Send them career tips and new job opportunities from time to time. Greet them on their birthday, too!

Read: How to Recruit Talent Using An Inbound Framework

4. Invest in referral programs.

Various studies show that getting a referral is a cheaper way to hire and a faster way to hire. Referral programs generally produce better hires and lower turnover rate.

So, instead of investing a lot of money on job boards like LinkedIn, Monster, or JobStreet, you may want to invest in a great internal referral program as well.

5. Treat your candidates like customers.

If you treat them well, they’ll definitely cherish the experience they’ll have with you. And when they do, they surely will put in a good word for you with their friends who are probably needing your help as well.

Try giving them some valuable things like a free career workshop, free certificate courses, or some cool token or gifts on their birthday or upon hiring them. Here at Sysgen, we offer our candidates free Uber rides when going to and fro their interview venues. We do this to make their application journey a lot more convenient. But of course, even after the application journey, maintain a good relationship with your talent pool as well.