Ah, yes – it’s the most wonderful time of the year, and for many recruiters, it may well be one of the quietest. With many other businesses slowing down as the Christmas markets open and office parties draw closer, it's also an excellent time of year to engage with both candidates and clients through your marketing channels.
Here are a few good ideas to make good use of the free time you may get during the festive season…
Spend this time warming up your brand
This one might sound obvious, but hear us out: It’s no secret conversions are likely to be lower at this time of year, so it may be time to park those lead generation campaigns and instead focus on developing the brand of your agency and individual recruiters. It's also a great time to engage with candidates to build some positive brand association for when they are looking for something new. Here are some options to put you on the Christmas social map!
Meet the team
The tried and tested campaign for putting a nice friendly face and personality to your recruiter colleagues. This adds an extra layer to their online presence which can so easily become attached to pushing new roles and cold calling. It also gives you the chance to showcase your areas of expertise as an agency and highlight the roles and industries you specialise in.
Recruiter takeover
Along the same lines as the meet the team, the recruiter takeover is a great way to bring some colour to your agency’s day-to-day. Among some of the most viewed content on any social platform, a day in the life or takeover gives candidates and clients a peak behind the curtain of what it takes to be a recruiter. Allow candidates a glimpse at the hiring process and showcase your expertise to prospects by showing them the level of industry insight and the work required to find and introduce top candidates.
Temp of the Year
Coming right off the back of the Firefish Crowdcast with Angela Cripps of Recruiting Gym, it's time to bring back Temp of the Year. Something that may have faded out of a lot of marketing plans, the Temp of the Year is a great way to reward your best candidates, showcase the kind of talent you work with to prospects and maybe even inspire applications from new candidates. Moreover, there’s nothing to say you have to stop at temps! Split this by team and have a perm placement of the year, too.
It’s the season for giving – so do
Christmas has its own rules – and marketing during this time can be hard, especially considering that most things have already been done. One that never gets old? Giveaways.
Client Gifts
Inspire loyalty and go to your clients' door – providing it's their offices – and take with you something sweet, something practical or something seasonal to decorate their offices. Thoughtful gifts that go beyond simple branded pens are always well-received and give you a great excuse to see your clients, book in-account reviews and enquire about next year's resource plan.
Sharing content
If gifts aren't your style or the budget is a little too tight, sharing your expertise and providing access to knowledge can be just as valuable. Giving without looking to receive can work wonders for your brand, whether it's free client advice, sprucing up CVs for candidates or sharing some content that would normally be gated. Giving just to give often still comes with its benefits.
A way to do Christmas marketing right
It’s important to remember that Christmas can be a gold mine – if you follow the right trends and utilise emotions that eCommerce businesses learned to use a long time ago. Taking a page out of their playbook can not only skyrocket your end-of-year profits, but also put you on the recruitment map (and in prospects’ minds) quicker and more effectively than any of your competitors.
Remember about emotions
Christmas is a highly emotional time – for many reasons – and capitalising on that has been most businesses’ forte for years. And as finding a new job is also an emotional time, linking these two can bring you insane results. During the new year, 1 in 5 people will look for a new role – so why not take advantage? It’s a time for resolutions, new beginnings, and hope. If you follow in your eCommerce colleagues' footsteps and flip the popular “new year, new me” narrative to work for your industry, you can capture prospects' attention better than at any other time of the year simply because you’re referring to emotions they are already feeling.
Use the busiest time in your sector
If you’re working within sectors that typically get busy during the Christmas period, you can connect the dots between the generic demand of this time and the feelings surrounding it with a targeted marketing campaign. Research your current clients, look for gaps in their hiring processes, and address them – with a Christmas twist. If you know that most of your hospitality clients are desperate for temp staff this time of year, make sure to speak to them directly, relating to those feelings.
Capitalise on desires
Christmas is the time when everyone is thinking about presents – things that would make their lives easier, more pleasurable, and generally better. And whilst you might not be giving away a new phone to all your prospects, you can hint at those desires in your campaigns. Who wouldn’t add a pay rise or more flexible work hours to their wish list? Well, you’re the guy that can provide it – so make it known!
