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Are you investing time in social media marketing but wondering if it’s worth it when engagement seems low?
Many recruitment business owners fixate on likes, shares, and comments as the only measures of success. But the truth is, these visible interactions represent just a tiny fraction of your content’s real impact.
The recruitment sector presents unique challenges for social media engagement. Candidates rarely interact with your posts publicly (they don’t want current employers seeing their activity), whilst clients often avoid revealing they’re working with recruiters (to prevent being flooded with calls).
Yet, despite this apparent silence, your content is doing powerful work behind the scenes.
In this podcast and post, I’ll reveal why social media marketing remains essential for recruitment businesses regardless of visible engagement metrics.
You’ll discover how the “lurker phenomenon” works in your favour, understand the buyer cycle that explains why most of your potential clients aren’t ready to engage yet, and learn practical strategies to maximise your social media presence for long-term business growth.
The value isn’t in the likes—it’s in consistently positioning yourself as the go-to expert when your audience is ready to act.
The LinkedIn Lurker Effect: Why Engagement Isn’t Everything
When discussing social media, it’s easy to focus on visible metrics like likes and comments. But these statistics tell only a fraction of the story.
LinkedIn now has over 900 million users, yet less than 4% post regularly. Most are “lurkers”—people who consume content without visibly engaging.
This silent audience represents your true target market. They read your posts, watch your videos, and form impressions of your brand without ever clicking that like button.
Consider this example from one of our clients, Rachel. She had been consistently posting on social media following our guidance. One day, she received a call “out of the blue” from a former connection with a CTO role to fill.
When Rachel asked why they reached out, they replied, “I’m seeing your content all over LinkedIn. It reminded me we used to work together, and I thought you could help.” That’s the lurker effect in action.
Understanding The Buyer’s Cycle
One of the most critical concepts to grasp in marketing is the buyer cycle. Based on extensive research, at any given time:
- Only 3-7% of your potential market is ready to buy immediately
- 15-20% are actively researching options
- Up to 40% are aware they have a problem but aren’t actively looking yet
- 40-50% don’t even realize they have a problem you can solve
Most businesses focus exclusively on the 3% % -7 % who are ready to buy now, ignoring the massive potential in the other 93% % -97 %.
This is precisely why a consistent social media presence matters. When you regularly appear in people’s feeds, you’re positioning yourself for that moment when they move from “not looking” to “ready to buy.”
Another client, Steve in Sydney, experienced this firsthand. After resuming regular posting on LinkedIn, past connections who had forgotten about him started reaching out. They suddenly remembered his expertise precisely when they needed it.
The Real Goals of Social Media Marketing
Rather than obsessing over engagement metrics, focus on these five fundamental goals of social media marketing:
- Brand Awareness: People can’t hire you if they don’t know you exist. Regular posting makes your recruitment company more visible in a crowded marketplace where many competitors post rarely or only about jobs.
- Expert Positioning: Demonstrate your sector knowledge, authority, and expertise. This creates a powerful impression, even when people don’t actively engage.
- Education: Many potential clients aren’t aware of their specific problems or how you can help solve them. Your content educates them through case studies, stories, and valuable insights.
- Relationship Building: Consistent posting keeps you top-of-mind with past clients and candidates, nurturing those relationships even when you’re not directly in contact.
- Trust Building: Regular presence signals reliability and stability. In contrast, when people can’t find recent information about a business, they become sceptical about its credibility.
This leads to what psychologists call the “Familiarity Effect”—people naturally prefer to work with individuals and brands they recognise, even if that familiarity comes solely from seeing your content regularly.
Sharon experienced this at a recent NPA conference where numerous attendees approached her, feeling they already knew her from consistently seeing our LinkedIn content and emails. They had become familiar with us without ever directly interacting.
Practical Strategies for Effective Social Media Marketing
With a clearer understanding of social media’s true value, here are some practical strategies to maximise your effectiveness:
Embrace consistency over perfection. Regular posting matters more than creating the “perfect” content that rarely gets published.
Mix educational content with personal branding posts. People want to work with individuals they know, like, and trust, so let your personality shine alongside your expertise.
Focus on communicating that you understand your clients’ and candidates’ problems. The four main reasons people choose to work with you are to solve their pain points, save them time, make their lives easier, and make them feel good about their decisions.
Incorporate short-form video into your strategy. These are easier to create than longer videos and currently seem to be prioritised by the LinkedIn algorithm. They’re also highly engaging and build stronger connections.
Remember that social media is part of a longer game. While it can provide quick wins, its true power lies in consistently building your brand over time. The compounding effect of regular posting creates exponential results.
Taking Your Content Beyond Engagement Metrics
When evaluating your social media effectiveness, look beyond surface-level metrics to the real business outcomes.
Have past clients reached out “out of the blue” and mentioned seeing your content? Social media works as intended, regardless of whether they ever liked your posts.
Are you getting more connection requests and profile views? These often indicate lurkers becoming more interested in your services.
Do people at industry events mention seeing your content? This face-to-face recognition demonstrates your social media’s effectiveness in building familiarity.
The recruitment industry presents unique challenges for social media engagement. Candidates won’t interact publicly for fear of alerting current employers, whilst clients avoid revealing they’re working with recruiters.
Understanding this dynamic frees you from measuring success solely through likes and comments. Your true measure of success is being top-of-mind when someone needs your services – which often happens long after they’ve consumed your content.
Social media isn’t about instant gratification through engagement metrics. It’s about consistently positioning yourself as the expert solution provider so that when someone’s ready to hire, your name is the first that comes to mind.
Think of it as planting seeds that may take time to germinate. Some will sprout quickly, and others might take months or even years – but nothing grows at all without consistent planting.
Thanks
Denise and Sharon
How We Can Help
Ready to create a social media strategy that builds real business results beyond likes and shares?
Book a call to discuss how we can help your recruitment business develop a content approach that positions you as the go-to expert in your recruitment niche.
