Explore seven tried and tested ways to create the best content magnets that attract high-end talent for your clients.
What is a content magnet?
A content magnet, also known as a lead magnet, is an opt-in valuable offer that compels potential readers to exchange information (name, email address, or social media profile URL) in return for content such as whitepapers, newsletters, guides, etc.
For recruiters, it’s a long-form resource content you provide during the ‘consideration’ stage of the applicant’s journey.
Powerful content magnets help you—
- Reinforce employer branding
- Build your candidate database
- Encourage passive leads to become active applicants
Keep in mind that the highest converting ones are relevant, have a perceived value, and serve your business purposes.
Moreover, content magnets should—
- Be precise and targeted to your ideal applicant
- Provide information or structure that can be implemented quickly
- Simple and easy to consume
The best lead magnets must solve enough problems for the prospects to recognize you as an expert—piquing their interest in building a career with you.
Take Hubspot, for example. It leverages downloadable resources and educational blog posts as powerful content magnets primarily aimed at attracting marketers.
6 examples of content magnets you should consider
Now, with the basics clear, here are six content magnet ideas that work like magic in recruitment marketing—
1. Newsletters
79% of B2B marketers unanimously recognize emails as the most effective lead generation channel.
A well-written newsletter can not only drive similar promising leads for you, but it can also help you:
- Build an employer brand voice
- Personalize communication and engagement
- Add value to the prospective candidate by sharing the latest job opportunities, career advice, or industry trends.
Make sure to end every newsletter with a clear and concise call to action, whether it is to apply for a job, follow your social media channels, or contact your recruitment agency for hiring needs.
Read more: 6 mind-blowing ways in which Recruit CRM can boost your recruitment email marketing efforts
2. Free downloadables
Candidates love receiving educational and valuable content for free, especially if it’s coming from industry experts.
This makes well-researched freebies an incredibly effective channel.
These downloadable content magnets can include:
- Mini-guides
- Checklists
- Salary guides
- eBooks
- Resource libraries
- Templates
For maximum conversion, remember to align these resources with your ideal applicant’s interests and challenges.
Read more: Free resume search | Top 10 places where recruiters can get CVs for free!
3. Case studies
Next, case studies highlight what your hiring process is like, what clients can expect working with you, and how your agency is helping its current applicants achieve their dream careers.
Your placed candidates will be the stars of these case studies.
Focus on displaying their valuable and rewarding onboarding experience.
Here are a few questions you can ask both your clients and candidates to build more effective case studies:
- How did you like working with us?
- How was the communication handled?
- Did you get what you were looking for?
- Do you want us to improve something?
- Did you like our onboarding session?
- What keeps you working for us?
Read more: Cura Recruiting’s unbelievable 451% growth in just 1 year with Recruit CRM!
4. Online courses
Offering online courses is another smart move for recruiters aiming to attract top talent.
By focusing on high-demand skills like Microsoft Office Excel, PowerPoint, and AI-related courses, you can position yourself as a go-to expert in the field.
This strategy will help you build long-lasting relationships with potential candidates.
Plus, these online courses aren’t just temporary tools—they’re lasting assets that keep drawing in prospective employees, enhancing your ability to connect with the right talent seamlessly.
5. Landing pages
Landing pages are unarguably one of the most crucial pages over the lead generation marketing channels like career blogs, online webinars, paid advertising campaigns, and social media posts.
The right landing page can boost your conversions like nothing else. The right blogging, recruitment or ecommerce landing pages can boost your conversions like nothing else.
You can inspire already interested visitors and turn them into applicants.
Use short sentences, and be specific and consistent with your formatting for creating concise and meaningful page copy.
To further entice the right candidate, include these points on the page—
a. Office benefits and location
b. Career advancement opportunities the company offers
c. Testimonials (video testimonials if possible) of your client’s current employees
d. Tools you use for flexible work cultures, like self-scheduling, collecting team databases, role-based access, or Connecteam alternatives for communication. To optimize landing pages, ensure they are tailored to your target audience, include clear calls-to-action, and are visually appealing and user-friendly.
6. Webinars
Webinars include online events, workshops, seminars, or video presentations.
They give your audience a chance to engage with video content and, most often, participate in live discussions and Q&A sessions.
In fact, if you provide live webinars on demand, you can continue to benefit from quality leads for months and even years to come.
Here are a few webinar topic ideas perfect for lead magnet—
- Common issues faced by applicants–share career tips, how to find the next company, salary negotiation guide, review job offers, etc.
- Market open positions (career progression possibilities, salary packages, training, L&D opportunities, work-life balance, etc.)
Webinars are visual elements. Make them as presentable and eye-catching as possible.
Use a reliable webinar tool and good screen recording techniques to record the session and allow registration for interested candidates.
7 quick steps to create highly converting lead magnets
Let’s go over a simple seven-step process to create these content magnets that keep steering high-end talents in your direction—
1. Create a candidate persona
Before you start creating a lead magnet, conduct ground research to find out more about the applicant.
Create an ideal candidate persona, underlining their interests, needs, favorite communication channels, challenges, and more.
Use tools like LinkedIn insights and Google Analytics to better understand your prospect’s demographic and interests.
Let’s say you’re hiring a co-working space manager. Here, your research should have organizational skills, a blend of community enthusiasm, interest in workplace trends, etc.
Read more: All that recruiters need to know about candidate persona [+ 16 templates to steal]
2. Make irresistible ethical bribes
Consider the greatest outcome you can give a potential candidate through your content magnet.
Is it upskilling or career growth tips like guides on futuristic co-working spaces or strategies to engage with community members?
Whatever it is, make the bribe compelling, which drives them to act.
For instance, offering exclusive content like behind-the-scenes company videos that show your appealing workplace culture that is not available elsewhere.
3. Catch their attention
Think of eye-catching visuals and titles that can grab their attention and encourage them to take a look, share their email address/contact information, and engage with your content magnet.
For example, something like “Revolutionizing co-working spaces: A manager’s guide” can go far in engaging potential hires.
Conduct A/B tests on different attention-grabbing headlines, and soon, you‘ll find which format drives the maximum engagement and conversion.
4. Solve a problem
An impactful content magnet strikes a chord with interested leads.
This means clearly stating their challenges and validating them.
Here’s a quick tip: identify the top three problems faced by your ideal candidates today and create content that directly addresses them.
5. Get the content in the picture
Now, the crucial part is putting together the content you want to include in the magnet.
Remember, while your audience loves similar topics, their consumption habits can vary.
So, consider adding a couple more magnet types to the mix, such as handy checklists for everyday tasks or engaging webinars.
Also, utilize different media and platforms, like videos and podcasts, to cater to wider content consumption preferences.
Also read: 5 ways to incorporate video into your Instagram recruiting strategy
6. Leverage technology
Don’t forget to leverage technology to make the entire process (idea generation, content creation, distribution, and optimization) as seamless as possible.
For example, you can use AI-powered content creation tools to help generate the best content material and even personalize it for your potential candidates for a better experience.
You can also train an AI meeting assistant to use and leverage content magnets during meetings with candidates. In fact, one thing these assistants are great at is knowledge sharing and knowledge management: they make sure that the right piece of knowledge (in your case, content magnets) is used at the right time and in the right context.
Read more: Top 10 AI recruiting tools you MUST invest in to beat the competition [Updated for 2024]
7. End it with a CTA
As prospects travel closer to the end, make sure you have an intriguing offer or call to action waiting for them.
You may want them to explore the current openings or submit resumes for further consideration.
End with a bang that converts and keeps the conversation going–Apply Now or Join Our Talent Community.
Ensure not to leave them thinking, now what?
Final thoughts
Integrating one or more of these in your recruitment marketing strategy can take the qualified candidates further through the applicant cycle.
But no matter which lead magnets you bet on, keep the prospect at the heart of it—the conversion rates will speak for themselves.
You got this!
Author’s bio:
Ciara Byrnes spends most of her time reporting on digital marketing for an overstressed audience of marketers and business owners who are trying to keep up with the fast pace of change.
To center herself, she has become a wellness enthusiast, reaching “highs” like morning yoga on the porch of her family’s summer lake cabin to “lows” like failing to convince herself that wheatgrass is actually yummy.
