9 Content Statistics for Recruitment Marketing

By now you have probably figured out that content marketing is a key strategy for recruitment businesses. Most recruiters have large networks on LinkedIn and are keen to share job postings and industry links as well as showcase the latest team outing. Content marketing, however, is so much more than this. It’s blogs, thought leadership, case studies, testimonials, presentations, website content – strategies to engage and entertain customers through awesome content but also pull them to our website via SEO and inbound marketing strategies.

The problem is that so many recruiters limit themselves to social media posting, often with the intent to raise their brand awareness (whether their own or that of their company) and are not leveraging this content to pull people to their website where they can convert them into customers. While there great benefits to brand awareness and reputation, content marketing can also have more tangible benefits – like driving leads, customers and revenue.

To help you get started, we’ve compiled 9 of the most compelling content statistics for recruitment.

1. B2B customers get 57% of the way through their buyer’s journey and make an average of 12 searches before contacting a business for a quote. ( Think with Google )
   Whether customers are looking for the latest iPhone or conducting research about their next job search or employee, people are looking online. Buyers’ behaviours have changed. They’re kicking the tyres throughout each stage of their journey, asking questions and researching insights. Question is whether you or your competitor will be the one getting found in this process!
2. 55% of marketers say blog content is their top inbound marketing priority( Hubspot )
   A blog is essentially somewhere to house your website content and may include ‘evergreen content’ (topics that are based on what people are searching for online), more engaging topics to enthuse or thought leadership to educate. Each format has a different purpose and potentially addresses different stages of the buyer’s journey.
3. 71% of B2B buyers said they consumed blog content during their buyer’s journey. That’s up from 66% in 2017( Demand Gen )
   The first step in creating your blog content is identifying your key audience personas and their pain points. You’ll then be able to write content specifically tailored to address these challenges and engage them throughout the buyer’s journey.
4. 90% of top performing content marketers put audience’s informational needs first( CMI )
   The customer is still king so putting them at the centre of your content programme is an absolute must. Instead of talking about your company’s features, talk about the benefits; instead of creating content to make a sale, create content to help someone out. While you may not see immediate return, you will see the benefits in the long run.
5. 72% of marketers worldwide said relevant content creation was the most effective SEO tactic( Marketing Profs )
   It’s time to start writing – lots. Not only should your content be optimised for search and the specific keywords or phrases people are searching for online; but creating a lot of content around topics in your keyword universe will enhance your website visibility and increase your ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs).
6. Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing and generates about 3 times as many leads( Demand Metric )
   Content marketing is cheaper than traditional marketing which has relied heavily on advertising and push strategies. Content marketing also has a much longer shelf life – content you create today can still be found next week, next month or even next year. As search engines crawl your site, your content can actually improve over time, driving traffic long after the initial asset was created.
7. B2B marketers rate blog articles as the most effective content format in the awareness stage, whitepapers during consideration, and case studies during decision-making( CMI )
   Content marketing can take many forms and chances are, you have a lot of assets already created that with a few enhancements could easily be leveraged for use online. Thinking about when customers are in the consideration or preference stage, what content assets would help them make their final decision, prompting them to choose your business over another.
8. The top 3 types of content used by B2B marketers in the last 12 months are long-form content (in-depth articles, guides) video snippets and social media stories( CMI )
   Good news is that you don’t have to be a journalist or videographer to create content. The important thing is that you think about your content as a programme instead of a single asset and pull it across the right formats and channels. What you post on LinkedIn might be different than what you post on Facebook or write in a blog.
9. Content marketing generates 3x as many leads as paid search( CMI )
   Paid search can be an effective strategy, especially if you are just starting out in creating content and wanting to leverage online search. Like traditional advertising, however, you are still pushing your message, paying for a click or an impression and living in the here and now – instead of creating content that can help benefit you for the long term.