Staffing Shortage? How Recruitment Marketing Can Be Your Secret Weapon

When hiring’s hard, marketing isn’t just for customers—it’s your secret ammo in recruitment. Welcome to recruitment marketing, where the tools you use to win customers also help you win top-notch talent.

And even though you may have dedicated recruiters, your marketing team can help carry some of this load by projecting your brand, its mission and its openings out into the world.

In your quest for the best employees, your marketing strategy is more important than you might think. Here’s how digital marketing can play a role in your recruitment strategy during a workforce shortage. 

How to Use Recruitment Marketing to Reach Potential Candidates  

When you're ready to launch a hiring campaign, follow these steps to attract a successful round of candidates.

1. First, Focus on Your Employer Brand

Companies with a strong employer brand see a 50% lower cost per hire, 28% better retention, and up to 50% faster hiring. Do a brand development exercise as an employer to hone in on your value proposition. If you're struggling to do this objectively, hire a third party marketing agency to help.

Then, ditch the bland careers page. Dial in on culture and values—why someone joins should feel like a win, not a checkbox.

2. Evaluate Your Online Reputation

Potential candidates will do their research by checking out your brand online. 62% of job seekers use social media channels to evaluate the brand of a company, and 83% of job seekers research company reviews before applying.

Before you share job postings, research your brand from the POV of an applicant. Update all of your brand's online profiles and address any negative comments or reviews relating to employment.

Profiles to include in your audit:

• Google My Business
• Glassdoor
• LinkedIn 
• Indeed
• Reddit

Many will also evaluate your website, Google reviews and other third-party reviews. If you’re struggling with poor brand image that’s keeping candidates from wanting to work with you, there’s likely some marketing work that needs to be done.

3. Go Where Talent Already Lives (On Social Media)

Here’s a stat that’ll wake you up: 70% of the global workforce is passive—i.e., not actively job-hunting—but 87% of them would consider a better opportunity. That means posting jobs on Indeed isn’t enough. You need to get in front of them with content on platforms they already engage with.

Social media is where talent spends time—and where recruitment marketing shines:

• 84% of organizations now use social platforms to attract talent.

• 73% of recruiters have successfully hired through social media.

• 77% of job seekers use social media to research employers.

4. Use a Combination of Paid + Organic Efforts

When it comes to recruitment marketing, you’ve got two powerful lanes to run in—organic and paid. Both have their place. The smartest organizations use them together for maximum reach, impact, and efficiency.

Organic Recruitment Marketing

Think of organic as your always-on, brand-building engine. It’s the consistent, authentic content that makes people want to work for you—before they even know they’re looking.

Use your organic channels for...

• Social Media Storytelling
  • Showcase employees in action—volunteering, collaborating, celebrating wins.
  • Post short videos or Instagram Reels where team members talk about their favorite part of working with you.
  • Create a “day in the life” series for different roles.

• Content That Speaks to Values
  • Highlight community impact, sustainability initiatives, or unique benefits (like flexible schedules or paid volunteer time).
  • Publish blog posts or LinkedIn articles from leadership that talk about company culture, growth, and vision.

Paid Recruitment Marketing

Paid marketing, on the other hand, helps you target candidates by location, skill set, and interest so you can fill openings fast. It also extends your reach beyond your current followers.

Use paid platforms for...

• Social Media Ads

  • Run targeted ads on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for open roles.

  • Use short, engaging videos that feature actual employees talking about the job.

  • Highlight the “what’s in it for me” factor: culture, benefits, work-life balance. 

• Retargeting Campaigns

  • Retarget people who have visited your careers page but haven’t applied.

  • Use ads that re-engage them with fresh content—like a behind-the-scenes video or an employee testimonial.

• Sponsored Job Posts

  • On platforms like LinkedIn or Indeed, sponsor your listings so they appear at the top for relevant searches.

  • Pair with compelling headlines and employer branding visuals to stand out from generic posts.

• Hybrid Campaigns

  • Boost high-performing organic posts so they reach beyond your current audience.

  • This works especially well for culture-focused content that already gets good engagement.

5. Engage Employees in Your Recruitment Marketing Efforts

Your employees can be your best recruiters. Peer-to-peer influence is huge when it comes to choosing where to work. It also increases your chance of hiring based on employee referral, which generally results in higher quality, long-term employees. You can use this to your advantage with internal marketing to your employees.

There are lots of ways to do this. Here are just a few:

• After a set period of employment, set an automated email that invites employees to leave an honest review of your organization on Glassdoor.
• Encourage employees to tag your organization or use a set hashtag at company-wide events or other initiatives.
• Send out news internally to your employees about increased benefits, sustainability initiatives, or other positive improvements you’re making in your company, and make it easy for them to share the information with their networks.
• Recognize employees through social media platforms when they hit certain milestones, like 5 years of employment. They’ll be likely to share on their channels, raising brand awareness. 
• Share your open positions with employees across the company, and encourage them to share the opportunities on social media.

A Marketing Agency Can Help You Reach Potential Candidates

During a worker shortage, organizations need all the help they can get to hire staff and keep them. Hiring the right agency partner can be the edge you need, bringing marketing expertise to your recruitment strategy. If you’re struggling with staffing issues, it’s worth seeing how a marketing agency like PRIME can help. Reach out to us to discuss the challenges you’re facing, and we’ll find a way to reach your goals together.