5 Lead Magnet Ideas to Attract Better-Qualified Talent

How Lead Magnets Work 

Before we dive into the benefits of lead magnet, let's quickly discuss the conversion path that turns passive candidates into future employees:

1. Call to Action (CTA) – a button that website visitors and blog readers need to click to access the lead magnet. Examples: 'Register for this Webinar', 'Get the Salary Guide.' 
2. Landing Page:  after clicking the CTA, candidates are lead into this page, where they are required to fill out a form with their name, email address, phone number and other relevant details
3. Thank You Page: job seekers arrived at this page to download your resource and officially adding them to your mailing/newsletter list 
4. Welcome Email: this is the follow-up message to the candidate after the exchange takes place. Email marketing campaign starts when they start receiving updates and other resources to keep them engaged in the hopes of becoming a future employee. 

Reasons to Consider Lead Magnets in Your Content Marketing Strategy 

Before you start churning lead magnets with your content team, consider the following reasons for including them in your content strategy:

• What’s the purpose of your lead magnet?
• What type of employees do you want to attract with your lead magnet? 
• Are you prequalifying candidates who may potentially be interested in working for you?

If your lead magnet doesn’t result in increased job applications or position you as a great place to work, then that’s a lead magnet you should discard. 

With that said, there are benefits in incorporating lead magnet in your marketing strategy. 

Reinforce Employer Branding

In a recent survey by Glassdoor, 75% of active job seekers are likely to apply to a job if the employer actively manages its employer brand.

Producing a high-quality lead magnet is essential to attract the right talent and create a long-term reputation as an employer of choice.  By presenting a better employer value story will help you attract more and better candidates than your competitors. 

Providing gated, high-value content allows the candidates to gain a complete understanding of your employer brand. It will help them better understand what you have to offer when it comes to employment opportunities.

Build your Candidate Database

Creating the right content can enhance the recruiting process. Most candidates perform upfront research on your organization and your vacancies even before sending their applications or talking to a recruiter. 

Communicating your brand messaging, EVP and purpose via lead magnet help ensure that the job seekers are better qualified because they've decided to apply based on what they've learned about your organization. Your employer/company culture and values appeal to them. 

Nurture Passive Candidates to Become Active Applicants  

If candidates opt to your lead magnet about building an incredible LinkedIn profile, it indicates interest. Most likely, it's a problem they have and being the company that presents solutions; it will help keep your company on top of their minds.   

If you continue to build trust and nurture your target with helpful resources, they are inclined to appreciate the value you bring to their career and consider you their next employer.  

When you’ve decided, here are things you need to keep in mind to increase conversions: 

1. It should be precise and targeted to the right candidate and what it helps them achieve. 
2. It should provide information or instructions that they can implement quickly.
3. Simple and easy to consume. 
4. Covers only one idea 

Types of Lead Magnet 

Salary Guides

Salary guide provides job seekers information about their market value. It serves as an important benchmarking tool during job hunting. 

The usual content includes the most updated information on salaries according to years of experience or skill level. Figures are based on market trends, location, industry, type of role and historical averages. 

Example: 

Robert Half

Guides

Lengthier than a blog, a guide educates candidates on common job search challenges like creating a resume, handling job interviews, preparing for the first day at work, etc.    

Guides can work well as part of nurturing part of your candidate journey to educate them on why they should trust you and eventually be your employee. 

Example: 

Flexjobs

Online Course 

An online course is the structured delivery of educational content hosted on your website or microsite. It usually contains individual lessons designed to be consumed in a specific sequence to help candidates successfully acquire a new skill.  

Online courses are sometimes supplemented with lesson summaries, worksheets, study guides and quizzes to check for learning. 

Offering training videos or online courses can be a great way of starting a relationship with your target audience. 

Example: 

UK Reed 

Webinars

Webinars are online events, video presentations, workshops and seminars using webinar software. Just like guides, they cover topics concerning job hunting and career development. 

Webinars are an effective form of lead magnet and a great way to qualify your candidates further because it takes time and commitment to get through them. Some topics to feature on your next webinars: 

• Present your company culture, management style, and policies
• Lecture on common issues faced by many candidates: career tips, finding the next employer, reviewing job offers, salary negotiation, etc. 
• Broadcast your job vacancies: showcase your salary package, learning and development opportunities, career progression possibilities, work/life balance perks. 

When preparing your webinar, you need to set up the following: 

• A well-developed presentation with eye-catching visuals
• Registration for interested candidates
• Webinar tool 
• Recording software for future sharing   

Webinars are high-value because they are held at specific times and on a limited run. However, if applicants cannot attend, organizers will send a link to the recording to watch at their convenience. 

Example: 

Flexprofessionals 

Checklist

Checklists are popular lead magnets because are they are quickly consumed, concise and actionable. 

And easy to create, usually 1-2 pages only. 

You can summarize a blog post as a checklist by simplifying it into a series of bullet points or numbered steps in helping candidates create a better resume, nail that job interview, improve their LinkedIn profiles, etc. 

Offering a printable checklist can inspire candidates to tick -off each item on their list as they complete it. 

Example 

Avant Healthcare 

Case Studies 

In recruitment marketing, case studies illustrate how you, as an employer, helped candidates achieve their dream career through employee testimonials and interviews. 

You can use the following questions to build your employee case studies:  

• How did you hear about our company? 
• What made you decide to apply/work for us? 
• Would you recommend us an employer to your friend or colleague? 
• How did your life changed for the better now that you’ve been working for us? 
• What was the moment you knew you’d make the right decision to work for our company?
• What are you most proud of working for us?
• What kind of career growth (and promotions) have you experienced since joining our company? 
• Tell me about a time when you had challenging situations that resulted in a new skillset and capabilities?
• Tell me a new skill you've learned while working for us? 
• What keeps you working for our firm? 

Example 

Vista Staffing

How to Distribute Your Lead Magnet

After creating your lead magnet, the next step is making sure it is delivered to the right talent at the right place and at the right time in the candidate journey. 

Your website

Some common locations include: 

• Homepage - sidebar, in a pop-up, in the footer
• Resource page – a specific page to host all your ebooks, guides, checklists, webinars, etc
• Thank you page – thank you, people, for converting and then promote another offer. 

Check your website analytics to help you decide which page will get the most conversion. 

Example:

Avant Healthcare 

Email/Newsletter

Offering a career newsletter is an excellent way of staying in touch with job seekers. It fosters long-term connection with prospects that ultimately results in them applying for your job openings.

• It works if an applicant hasn’t found a vacancy that fits his work experience and skills. 
• It is a way to get back to job seekers who weren’t chosen for the role or have rejected your job offer.

Example:

Adecco 

3^rd-Party Blogs and Sites

Blogging platforms like Medium or LinkedIn allow you to expose your employer brand to a specific target audience. 

Write a blog narrating your company or employee success stories, the personal takeaway from industry conferences or your unique perspective on the latest industry trends. Within your blog, put a link to download the appropriate lead magnet. 

Want more excellent lead magnet ideas?

If you need more topics and inspiration to craft more compelling and high-value lead magnets, check out the following blogs:

Recruitment Marketing Tips: 11 Recruitment Content Ideas

Recruitment Content for Every Step of Candidate Journey

6 Tips for Creating a Perfect Recruitment Video

About the Author: 

Gem is a digital marketer and freelance content writer at Recruiter Copywriter. She specializes in recruitment marketing and employer branding, helping staffing agencies and small businesses for over ten years. Connect with her on LinkedIn.