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oday’s evolving market conditions are forcing organizations to rethink their hiring mindset. Future-ready businesses know that strategic recruitment marketing is essential for building a resilient talent pipeline and reducing turnover.
So, where do you begin?
This article starts from the point after you have defined the company’s employer brand: articulating the company’s culture, operating philosophies, and employee experience. If you need to back up to that step, start with this article from our CEO, Lisa Tilt. But if you have your employer brand well-defined, then look to implement these few talent strategy tactics that lay the foundation for long-term success:
Your Message Is Your Magnet
Effective recruitment marketing starts with an authentic message that captures the essence of the employee experience, what it feels to be part of is, and why someone should want to work there. A robust employer value proposition (EVP) should ideally position your company as the employer of choice in the market.
Full Tilt’s approach prioritizes a thorough initial discovery process to help pinpoint what motivates our client’s workforce, from strong culture and values to tangible incentives like compensation and benefits. From here we are able to help them to clearly define their “special sauce.”
For example, a leading international provider of paper receipts asked us to strengthen their EVP. Full Tilt developed a fresh internal brand that reinforced the company’s messaging and shaped ongoing recruitment campaigns for hourly plant talent in smaller markets.
We recommend refining and tailoring that message for each target candidate segment and keeping it consistent throughout the recruitment funnel.
Prioritizing Candidate Experience
Monster’s 2025 Work Watch Report found that 44% of employers forecast a stronger push for employer branding to stand out from the competition. Besides streamlining the process, organizations must humanize their EVP.
Candidates look for authenticity and emotional connection long before they apply for a job. Build trust, demonstrate purpose, and reinforce brand credibility at every touchpoint with consistent messaging and design that incorporates real employees versus stock images. When that journey feels inconsistent or impersonal, even the strongest EVP on paper can fall flat.
Recruitment Starts with Showing Up
Amplify the company EVP in communities where potential talent already exists. Community outreach is a direct and highly effective recruitment marketing tool for increasing trust and familiarity before a candidate even applies.
Impactful relationships require intention. Pursue target communities with methods that show your company is invested in a candidate’s future success. Direct outreach at career fairs, along with co-ops and internships with college campuses resonate with talent pools eager for entry-level opportunities. Sponsorships with underrepresented community organizations may help you tap into non-traditional and underserved talent pools.
One Midwest food manufacturer executed this perfectly as they were looking to fill dozens of production jobs. Not only did Full Tilt launch a comprehensive recruitment marketing social media campaign for them, but we also took a hyperlocal approach with traditional advertising that included career fairs, event sponsorships, billboards, banners, and more. The community connection was critical — even for an established, long-standing company like this one — as they worked to tap into local talent that could immediately contribute to the company and meet product demand.
Let Your Team Do the Talking
Most organizations highlight culture and advancement in their recruitment messaging, but how does your company stand out as the employer of choice? Start by looking within. Your best hiring advocates are often closer than you think.
To resonate with top talent, embrace authenticity with employee advocacy. Help your EVP live and breathe by showcasing those who personify the culture every day. Employee testimonials, organic social content highlighting promotions, appreciation initiatives, and team-building moments all contribute to a more credible and engaging employer brand.
Ads That Reach the Right People
Strategic paid advertising can amplify your EVP — but only if it is targeted, tailored, and measurable. Carefully identify the best channels to deliver targeted messaging to the right audience. Meta and LinkedIn campaigns, along with programmatic job ads, are proven integrated marketing tactics that pinpoint the right talent pools at the right time.
Importantly, “hope” is not a strategy. Use a mix of ad types and rely on campaign metrics such as Click-Through Rate (CTR), engagement, and Cost Per Click (CPC) as your guide. Position your brand where it will resonate most and maximize the opportunities with every channel you use.
Executing these tactics in isolation will get you partway there, but all together, they can be a powerful arsenal of talent acquisition tools. Think strategically how every touchpoint reflects your company culture, is attractive to the right candidates, and empowers your people to grow and succeed.
Ready to attract top candidates? Let’s connect.
If you missed our recruitment marketing article, click here to see it on LinkedIn.
