Inbound recruiting: when marketing becomes part of your recruitment strategy!

Are you looking to renew your recruitment strategy, to be more proactive and innovative in attracting the best candidates? The importance of employer branding is probably no longer a secret to you.

But have you also heard of inbound recruiting? If you haven't yet, don't worry, we're here to tell you all about this marketing approach and its benefits for making your recruitment procedures more effective!

So, let's slip into the shoes of our market colleagues for a moment, and get ready to create a candidatecustomer experience that will make all the difference!

See all software Recruiting

First of all, what is inbound recruiting?

Inbound recruiting: definition

In a nutshell, inbound recruiting refers to a set of methods designed to enhance brand value and create a unique experience for candidates and future employees, using marketing tools.

This involves producing and distributing content tailored to your recruitment targets in order to :

• create a positive perception of your employer brand,
• increase their attachment to your company
• build a relationship of trust, and continue through all phases of the recruitment process.

The challenge here is to become an attractive company in their eyes. Sell them the dream, so to speak! ✨

💡 In contrast, outbound recruiting is when you mobilize resources precisely to go out and find candidates as soon as a recruitment need arises. But this strategy has its limits, because it doesn't aim for the long term like inbound.

Depending on your recruitment needs, you may benefit from a combination of both approaches. Outbound recruiting helps you to achieve results more quickly, for example if you're just starting up, whereas Inbound provides you with a continuous flow of candidates, with whom you've already established a relationship .

Attract, engage, close!

Inbound marketing levers applied to recruitment

Like Inbound marketing, this approach aims to use :

• content marketing,
• social media,
• SEO (search engine optimization) tools, etc.

to reach the best talent (HR's "customers"), when they are not yet actively looking for a job. This way, they can engage and connect with your brand - and become candidates when they are actively looking.

In short, these are all techniques aimed at attracting qualified talent, converting them into candidates and expanding your talent pool, ensuring that you interact with them at every stage of the recruitment funnel until they become your employees.

🛠️ A digital recruitment solution like Beetween optimizes all phases of inbound recruiting, from sourcing to candidate engagement and follow-up. Benefit from features such as :

• multicasting your job offers on over 150 job boards,
• talent sourcing directly on LinkedIn,
• complete management of your talent pool,
• a fully customizable CV database.

3 benefits of Inbound recruiting

#1 - Higher-quality applications

You want the best of the best? We know what you mean, talent is money 😉 Working on your content and your image means making yourself known and attracting atypical talent who have exactly the profile and skills your company is looking for.

You're more likely to create a match with a candidate who has taken the time to take an interest in you, and get to know you, rather than arriving at your company by chance.

#2 - Save time and money

Thanks to a continuously updated database, you save time when sourcing candidates, because you're much more efficient when a need arises. And you'll be one step ahead of your competitors!

And that's not all: in fact, you speed up the entire recruitment process. For 49% of companies that have adopted an inbound recruiting strategy, the time taken to acquire talent has been significantly reduced.

By devoting a dedicated budget to it, the cost of acquiring candidates is reduced by an average of 85%! (source: NewsBreed).

With an inbound recruiting approach, the positive effects are felt in both the sourcing and acquisition phases, thereby reducing your overall recruitment costs. That's right, because all the actions you take will be useful for several recruitments, over several months or even years... A winning ROI, in short! 🥳

#3 - Greater visibility

Such an approach encourages you to diversify your points of contact with future candidates. You increase your visibility with your recruitment targets, for example via :

• a communication strategy on social networks,
• the creation of SEO-optimized editorial content,
• participation in professional events, etc.

The objective? Identify the channels and places where your ideal candidate is present, and strengthen your presence there. This also enables you to reach passive candidates and increase your chances of converting them.

For example, you won't go looking for certain profiles on "classic" job boards. Instead, publish content of direct interest to them, or organize a fun challenge (like a hackathon to recruit a developer).

3 examples of strategies that work

As a recruiter, your role is therefore doubled with a marketing hat. To work on your online employer brand, your e-reputation and your presence on social networks, and to give your inbound approach greater impact, we assume that your company's branding strategy is already in place.

Your brand platform (which brings together your history, vision, missions and values) is your foundation for communicating your brand promise, corporate culture and value proposition.

#1 Create attractive, targeted content

It's by offering content of direct interest to your target audience that you create direct interest in your recruitment targets. Implement a genuine content strategy, taking care to :

• address your carefully identified candidate persona;
• select the right communication channels;
• plan an editorial calendar and the right publication frequencies;
• an editorial line and tone that are unique to you and reflect your identity, etc.

We can imagine content on the highlights of your business, team celebrations, the projects you're working on, the values that drive you, and so on. You demonstrate your expertise in your field and reinforce your legitimacy with potential candidates.

You can also vary formats, from videos on social networks to blog posts, depending on your strategy. And, of course, your career page or site should receive special attention. The ideal place to attract candidates, it centralizes your available job offers, while showcasing your employer brand.

#2 Offer a unique candidate pathway

Engage candidates in a simple, signposted digital journey, with call-to-action buttons, a landing page, a form to fill in, white paper downloads... that create a link and encourage them to move forward in the recruitment funnel.

The experience should be as fluid as possible, with information that is accessible and understandable immediately. Take care to eliminate any sticking points, such as an application form that's too long and dissuasive, or a job offer that's unclear and lacking in detail. You' ll gain their trust and increase their chances of conversion!

The experience must also be personalized. Content and delivery can be adapted to geographic location, tastes and interests, the devices used by your targets, and so on. Personalization also means responding to applicants in a personalized way, because they don't expect to be just another number on a list.

If you had to choose just one objective? Enchant the candidate experience!

#3 Monitor and control your e-reputation

Your e-reputation encompasses all the words and opinions left about your brand by third parties. For your online brand image, be aware of everything that's being said about your company, and moderate any comments made by Internet users. Even in the event of a negative review, a transparent and diplomatic response is appreciated. In any case, avoid bad buzz!

To go even further, encourage your employees to promote your company, via social media or in their immediate circle. With this in mind, why not adopt an employee advocacy program? Included in your strategy, it's an excellent way of turning your employees into ambassadors for new candidates: your company receives talent already familiar with the company, and participating employees receive financial or in-kind rewards if they are hired. A win-win system! 👏

See all software Recruiting

In a nutshell

Are you convinced by inbound recruiting? Integrating it into your recruitment strategy is a real opportunity to build up a pool of qualified talent who adhere to your company's values and positioning. Thanks to targeted content and regular interaction, you can build a relationship of trust and ongoing dialogue with your candidates, so as to create genuine commitment.

This approach cannot exist without mobilizing other departments within your company to build the most effective strategy possible. Not only with marketing, to enhance your brand, but also with business line managers, to gather their expertise and experience in the field, essential for recruiting the best profiles.

Last but not least, make sure you involve all your employees in your recruitment strategy: it amplifies its effects if they all feel concerned. Include them in your HR and employee advocacy programs, and make them your company's ambassadors. In return, you'll create a positive dynamic, boosting employee commitment and, ultimately, reducing staff turnover.

So it's up to you to seize the opportunity of inbound recruiting!