If you’re hiring right now, you’re not imagining it

If you’ve posted a role on Seek lately and thought, “Surely there are more good people out there than this”… you’re not wrong. Most business owners I talk to are seeing the same thing: - fewer applicants - more tyre-kickers - people applying to everything (and ghosting when you call) It’s frustrating because you’re not asking for the world. You just want a solid person who turns up, fits the team, and does good work.

What recruitment marketing actually means (without the buzzwords)

Recruitment marketing is just using the same thinking you’d use to win customers but for hiring. Instead of “post a job and hope”, you: get clear on what makes your workplace a good deal for the right person, put that message in front of people who aren’t actively job-hunting and make it easy for them to take the next step That’s it.

The part most people miss: you’re competing with “staying put”

Here’s the thing: your best candidate usually isn’t scrolling job boards at 10am on a Tuesday. They’re already employed. They’re flat out. And changing jobs feels risky. So your marketing has to do one job first: lower the perceived risk. That’s why a plain text job ad often loses to a business that can show what the place is like.

Seek isn’t the enemy — it’s just not the whole plan

Seek (and Indeed) can still work, especially for urgent roles. But if you’re relying on it as your only channel, you’re basically fishing in the same pond as everyone else and wondering why the bites are getting smaller. Recruitment marketing adds a second pond: - people who would move for the right opportunity - people who didn’t even know they were open to moving

What to focus on first (keeping it simple)

If you want the short version of what moves the needle, it’s this: Clarity beats hype The more clearly someone can picture the job and the team, the more likely they are to respond. Proof beats promises “Great culture” means nothing until you show it. Speed beats perfection The best campaigns aren’t the fanciest. They’re the ones that get launched, tested, and improved. I’m not going to dump a full step-by-step playbook here, because the details matter (and they change depending on the role, the location, and what you’re competing against).

A quick self-check (are you set up to win?)

If you can answer these, you’re in a good spot: - Why do good people stay with you? What would someone not like about the role (and how do you manage that honestly)? Can a candidate see the workplace and the team in under 60 seconds? - If someone raises their hand today, can you call them within 24 hours?

If you’re hiring in Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and surrounds (or Australia-wide) and you’re sick of rolling the dice on job boards, book a 15-minute discovery call with Good Crew Media. We’ll ask a few questions, work out what’s actually holding your hiring back, and map a simple recruitment marketing plan that fits your business (without turning it into a full-time project for you).