Why you should use consumer advertising to recruit talent

Canadian P&C insurance industry companies may want to consider leveraging existing consumer advertising tactics, including social media channels like TikTok, and apply them to recruitment efforts.

It’s no secret the industry continues to face a ‘war for talent,’ particularly as more Baby Boomers retire. As well, the growing challenge of labour shortages in various industries “has highlighted the need for innovative recruitment approaches to bridge the gap between job openings and the available workforce,” said a recent blog from Harvard Business Review.

One such approach is creative recruitment advertising, Neil Costa, founder and CEO of global recruitment marketing agency HireClix, wrote in the blog. Simply put, recruitment advertising involves marketing an organization’s values, benefits and overall draw to recruit new team members, Costa explained in Creative Strategies for Recruiting Talent During a Labor Shortage, published Nov. 30.

Effective recruitment advertising strategies not only attract applications for open roles, but also target passive candidates by generating brand awareness for an organization as an employer of choice.

“This can mean showcasing the company’s value as an employer, specific job types, or even individual job openings as advertisements on more popular consumer media channels, such as Facebook, YouTube and TikTok,” Costa said. “Unlike traditional efforts, recruitment advertising via consumer channels allows companies to get more targeted in how they reach prospective candidates by strategically placing employer brand messaging in front of specific demographics.”

In this technical talent marketplace, employers can also tap into sites like Reddit, marketing employer brand and specific job ads to its extensive audience of technical minds. “With a targeted and innovative recruitment advertising strategy, companies can go beyond conventional job boards to leverage popular platforms such as Hulu, Spotify, TikTok, X and Threads.”

While job boards like Indeed and LinkedIn still reign supreme for job ads and applications, a recent HireClix survey found consumers are increasingly exposed to employer branding on sites like YouTube, Amazon and TikTok.

“This is a smart move, as most consumers spend limited time on job search sites, compared to the countless hours they spend on consumer media sites,” Costa said. “Activating paid placements on these sites allows companies to reach a larger pool of active and passive candidates.”

Some organizations are even leveraging current employees and Gen Z social media managers to activate recruiting messages.

The most forward-thinking recruiters are setting the stage for artificial intelligence-driven recruitment.

AI modelling could follow candidate decision trees based on ‘stage-of-life’ factors, Costa added. For example, AI might help determine whether a candidate would be willing to relocate, or if they’d be effective at performing at the level required of a particular role.

Targeted recruitment advertising can also open up the workforce to the myriad of benefits a diverse workforce brings, Costa said. To diversify their available talent pool, organizations can develop thoughtful targeting strategies across varying roles to ensure the best talent sees the opportunities available within the company.

“The potential for organizations to develop more creative recruitment strategies is truly endless,” Costa wrote. “By reaching untapped talent pools, diversifying talent pipelines and aligning company values with purpose-driven candidates, companies can find the talent needed to edge out competing firms and sustain growth and success over the long term.

Feature image by iStock.com/photoman