How Content Marketing Transforms Recruitment: A Beginner’s Guide

Recruitment has changed. The old model of posting a job, sitting back, and waiting for the right people to apply simply doesn’t cut it anymore - not in a market where skilled candidates are spoiled for choice and where company culture matters more than ever.

Many in-house recruitment teams find themselves trying to juggle resourcing, process management, employer branding, social media, advertising, and internal buy-in - all while lacking the time, tools or support to do it justice. It’s no wonder 71% of HR leaders report burnout in their teams as the remit of HR expands beyond recognition.
Source: Gartner HR Survey, Q4 2023

At the same time, candidates are more selective.

“77% of UK jobseekers actively assess company culture before applying, and more than half say they’d take culture over cash when making career decisions.”

— Source: Glassdoor, Inside the Mind of Today’s Job Seekers (UK)

This is where content marketing earns its place in the talent acquisition toolkit. Done well, it tells the story of who you are and why your organisation is worth joining - not just to fill one vacancy, but to build long-term visibility and credibility in your sector.

What is content marketing for recruitment?

At its simplest, content marketing is about creating and sharing useful, engaging material that attracts the right people. In the world of recruitment, that means showcasing your values, culture, and opportunities - not with corporate buzzwords or polished stock photos, but with real stories, real people, and consistent effort.

There are two broad approaches to recruitment marketing:

• Inbound marketing focuses on drawing candidates to you over time, through things like social media posts, team videos, blogs, and employee advocacy. It’s slower to build but more sustainable and far more authentic.

• Outbound marketing is what we’re all more familiar with: paid job boards, recruiter outreach, sponsored posts, and direct headhunting. These are sometimes necessary - but they’re also expensive, and they don’t build your brand.

When you start telling your story well, the dynamic shifts. Candidates begin to recognise your name, understand your values, and picture themselves as part of your team - often before you’ve even advertised a role.

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The link between content and employer branding

Your employer brand exists whether you work on it or not. It’s shaped by what your people say about you, what shows up when candidates research you online, and what your content (or lack of it) tells the world.

Content marketing helps you take control of that narrative.

It allows you to:

• Showcase your values in action, not just words

• Give a voice to your people, helping candidates hear directly from those who work there

• Create consistency across channels, from your careers page to LinkedIn

• Support recruitment marketing and retention efforts in tandem, reinforcing internal culture as well as attracting new talent

Importantly, it helps bridge the gap between your recruitment and marketing teams - aligning messaging and goals so everyone is working towards the same story.

Real-world results: How content reduced recruitment costs and built stronger teams

At Pidgin Marketing, we’ve seen how this works in practice. One of our long-standing clients - the Belfast business services centre of a leading global law firm - came to us with a challenge that will sound familiar to many.

They were relying heavily on recruitment agencies and struggling to reach the right people organically. Their LinkedIn presence was sporadic, and their workplace culture wasn’t being reflected in their external communications.

Over time, we helped them shift to a consistent, content-led approach that included:

• Weekly social content that brought their culture to life

• Video interviews with team members from different departments

• A renewed internal comms focus to support culture and consistency

• Paid advertising campaigns on LinkedIn to promote key roles

• Training for team members to build confidence and participation online

The impact? A 350% increase in organic applications per role, a sharp drop in recruitment agency dependence, and a more confident, engaged internal culture where people felt proud to be part of the story being told.

First steps: What to do before you post anything

Before diving into LinkedIn posts or firing up a video series, there’s some important groundwork to lay. Recruitment content that works isn’t accidental - it’s strategic.

Here’s where to begin:

1. Set clear objectives

Are you trying to reduce reliance on recruiters? Fill specific roles more easily? Build general awareness among future candidates? Get everyone aligned on the ‘why’ before moving to the ‘what’.

2. Benchmark your current status

Take stock of your current employer brand visibility. What do people see when they search your company? How does your LinkedIn presence stack up? Are you showing your culture, or just sharing vacancies?

3. Review your competitors

Look at others in your sector. What are they doing well? Where are the gaps? This isn’t about imitation - it’s about finding space to differentiate.

4. Define your employer value proposition (EVP)

Why should someone work for you, really? What makes you different - and how do you want people to feel when they come across your content?

5. Create a budget

Even if you plan to do most of it in-house, there are often costs to factor in - from professional photography or videography, to paid ads or freelance content support.

6. Assign ownership

Who’s running this? Who needs to sign things off? Assign clear responsibilities and timelines so the work doesn’t get stuck in internal bottlenecks.

7. Communicate the value internally

If your own people don’t understand why this matters, you’ll struggle to get the buy-in you need. Make it clear that recruitment is everyone’s business, and the stories they help tell today shape the team they’ll be part of tomorrow.

Final thought: A better pipeline starts with better storytelling

Content marketing won’t replace every recruitment agency fee - but it will allow you to be more strategic in how you use recruiters, keeping their specialised networks and higher level of service for more niche roles or sensitive appointments. It will help attract the right people for the right reasons, and build long-term trust with the candidates who matter most.

If you're ready to rethink how your brand shows up in the recruitment space, we’re here to help.