Much of the work we do in recruitment marketing comes from our peers in consumer marketing. From CRMs to SEM, we take many cues from our counterparts in the wider marketing world. The reason we do this, is we have jobs to fill. When we have jobs to fill, we need to be actively marketing and branding our organization and our jobs to job seekers. It helps us stand out, and ultimately delivers more hire-ready candidates.
Recruitment Marketing is not a nice-to-have, even in a tough job market. Job seekers have long memories and how we treat them today will have consequences later. It’s why even if you’re in a hiring freeze, or are getting 1,000s of applications for each open job, the story you tell can make both of those things much smaller. When you are telling your best, most differentiated brand and marketing story to job seekers, you are setting them (and you) up for success.
As mentioned before, marketing a product, or a job, is still marketing. So, in this age where we take many (if not all) of our cues from consumer marketing and we know recruitment marketing makes an impact on the speed and quality of hire, it always begs the question, what’s next?
The answer: Influencer marketing.
What is Influencer Marketing?
Influencer marketing has been around for quite some time. We have seen it evolve from product placement in movies to the advent of social media and now in our inter-connected, always-on world, influencer marketing has become a powerful strategy in consumer marketing. It enables brands to reach targeted audiences through trusted content creators.
This approach leverages influencers – individuals with established credibility and a dedicated following on social media platforms – to promote products or services in a more authentic and engaging way than traditional advertising.
And when something becomes this ubiquitous in consumer marketing, it’s not only important to understand what it means and how it works, but more importantly, how can we take the lessons from consumer marketing when it comes to influencer marketing and apply these lessons to recruitment marketing.
To dive deeper, it’s important to understand what is an influencer in consumer marketing and how does that apply to recruitment marketing.
The Role of Influencers
Influencers serve as brand advocates, creating content that showcases products in real-life scenarios. Their ability to generate trust and engagement makes them valuable partners for brands looking to enhance visibility, credibility, and sales. Depending on their reach and audience, influencers are categorized as:
- Mega-influencers (1M+ followers) – Often celebrities with broad reach.
- Macro-influencers (100K–1M followers) – Established content creators with niche authority.
- Micro-influencers (10K–100K followers) – Highly engaged communities and strong credibility.
- Nano-influencers (1K–10K followers) – Everyday consumers with hyper-local influence.
The chances are, you’re already listening to influencers not just in your world as a person, but in your work, we listen to (and buy from) influencers all the time. From podcasts to LinkedIn posts, we are all consuming content of influencers.
Why This All Matters
Influencer marketing is so powerful because it is a full-funnel opportunity to align your brand (employer or consumer) with influencers to raise awareness and potentially convert to sales or applications.
The benefits of influencer marketing are vast. Beyond the above full-funnel coverage, influencers can deliver
- Authenticity and Trust – Consumers trust recommendations from influencers more than traditional ads.
- Targeted Reach – Brands can engage niche audiences more effectively.
- Higher Engagement Rates – Influencer content often generates more interactions than brand-created content.
- Improved ROI – Compared to traditional advertising, influencer marketing often delivers higher returns.
- SEO and Brand Awareness – Influencer collaborations can drive web traffic and brand visibility.
Thinking about it more deeply, these benefits are exponential when you look at engagement.
In the world of social media marketing, the difference between branded posts and personal account posts is significant, particularly in terms of engagement. Branded posts, typically shared directly by companies on their official accounts, often struggle to achieve high engagement rates. For instance, the average engagement rate for brand posts on Facebook is just 0.063%, while Instagram sees a slightly better average of 0.46%.
Even on TikTok, known for its dynamic and engaging content, branded posts average around 2.63% engagement. These figures highlight the challenge brands face in capturing and maintaining audience attention through traditional channels. In contrast, when branded messages are shared through an individual’s personal account, the engagement rates tend to soar.
This phenomenon is rooted in the inherent trust and authenticity associated with personal accounts. People are more likely to engage with content that comes from someone they perceive as a peer or a trusted voice, rather than from a corporate entity. This is precisely why influencer marketing strategies can be so effective within the recruitment industry. By leveraging influencers who share job opportunities and company messages on their personal accounts, my company, Flockity, which specialises in this, has seen engagement rates exceeding 6%. This remarkable figure underscores the power of personal connection in driving user interaction.
The Impact of Influencer Marketing on Recruitment
The reason behind this stark difference is simple: People believe people. When a message is delivered by a familiar face or someone who resonates with the audience, it carries weight and credibility. Trust translates into higher engagement, as followers are more likely to like, share, and comment on content they view as genuine. This approach not only enhanced engagement but improves the effectiveness of campaigns, as potential candidates are more inclined to explore opportunities presented by someone they trust.
As you begin to think about how you can leverage influencers in your recruitment marketing, here are some key things to consider:
- Finding the Right Influencers – Aligning with the right voices is critical for success. Know your niche. There are influencer agencies and influencer products that can help you connect to influencers or connect influencers to your brand.
- Measuring ROI – Tracking conversions and brand impact can be complex. Being that influencer marketing for jobs is very strong tied to the awareness part of the funnel, you will want to measure brand lift. Are you seeing more searches for your company in search engines, job boards, and visits to your career website.
- Authenticity vs. Sponsored Content – Over-commercialization can reduce credibility. Being that influencers are likely not working at your organization, tread carefully on providing them talking points as if they work with you already. It may be a lighter lift to have influencers interview your employees or simply share jobs and call their followers to your brand in that way.
- Compliance & Transparency – Regulations require influencers to disclose paid partnerships. Be sure you are following the rules on this one, no one wants a fine.
Final Thoughts
As we see trust wane in job boards and our social channels experience less and less engagement, the time is right to start thinking about and executing tests in the influencer space. You’ll see the return in high levels of net new traffic to your career website. Influencer marketing is emerging, but there are already brands experimenting in this space and seeing the impact of this new, untapped source of passive talent.
Author Bio:
Tracey Parsons is Co-Founder of Flockity, where influencer marketing meets recruitment marketing. At every intersection of the talent revolution, Tracey has seized opportunities to push innovation and be a change agent. She is also the president of Parsons Strategic Consulting. Her extensive experience in talent strategy, social recruiting, marketing, thought leadership, brand development, and consulting makes her an ideal partner for up-leveling your talent game.
The post Why Influencer Marketing Is the Next Big Thing in Recruitment appeared first on SocialTalent.