You’ve likely heard the term “omnichannel recruitment advertising” before, but you may not be aware of the full power this strategy can have when intentionally focused on the talent funnel.
Most know that top talent is dispersed across platforms, devices, and moments in time, making it essential for talent acquisition (TA) teams to think bigger, broader, and more strategically. But, it’s not just about adding more channels to your recruitment mix for better results. How you handle channel selection (and timing) against specific job seeker behavior and intent can be the difference between basic omnichannel, and omnichannel that is intentionally focused on the talent funnel to convert qualified applicants into hires — faster, and at a lower overall cost.
It is more than simply running ads on multiple channels to reach top talent; it’s a strategic approach that connects and unifies your brand messages and candidate experience across every touchpoint — from awareness to application.
Expand visibility
Getting in front of potential candidates is the first step toward gaining brand awareness and fueling your talent pipeline. Although the concept may seem straightforward, attaining true awareness may fall flat without the right advertising channels, media activation tools, and a unified brand message.
The most effective omnichannel recruitment strategies balance compelling brand storytelling with high-performing, conversion-driving media to continually optimize recruitment campaigns and better engage candidates at every stage of the talent journey. By promoting open roles across high-intent, active job seeker sites, employers can increase visibility and drive more qualified talent to apply, especially for high-volume or hard-to-fill positions.
From mainstream platforms (e.g., search, general web, connected TV, digital audio, digital out-of home, and social media) to active jobseeker channels such as job boards,, tapping into multiple channels with a unified message will allow you to reach a wider audience with more varied skills and experience who may be perfect for an existing or future opportunity.
To increase talent visibility and brand awareness, TA teams may activate:
- Top-of-funnel brand amplification (audience targeting) and retargeting with targeted display, video, and audio
- Social media ads (e.g., LinkedIn, Meta, Tiktok)
- Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
- Optimized job ads with AI-driven bidding to ensure spending on only the highest-performing sources, boosting efficiency and cost savings
- ROI tracking with deeper job ad performance insights
The common thread woven through each of these channels and tactics is a unified and data-driven approach to recruitment advertising, delivered at the right time based on data signals that represent where they are in the talent funnel.
AdventHealth, for example, adopted advanced analytics and real-time optimizations in their recruitment advertising strategy to unify their brand and increase brand visibility. “So now, we show up as AdventHealth, no matter what location, what region, what market, it all can feel similar and feel the same,” shared Keisha Malivert, Executive Director of Workforce Strategy, AdventHealth. Beyond achieving a unified brand message, AdventHealth was able to deliver:
- 7x more applicants vs. prior year
- 29% click-to-apply rate (industry benchmark: 3.49%)
- $4.50 cost per application
- $336 cost per hire
Attract a broader, more diverse candidate pool
Getting in front of talent is only part of the story, however; TA teams must take that attention and entice talent to take a closer look and engage. Attracting not only right-fit talent, but a diverse pool of talent is an important ingredient in your recruitment strategy.
A funnel-based omnichannel recruitment advertising strategy ensures you are able to reach varied talent pools of both active and passive talent. And, with the help of clear targeting and segmentation, TA teams can advertise with greater precision, increasing visibility of relevant roles to individuals with the right skills, industry exposure, and experience level.
To attract a more precise talent pool, TA teams may activate media leveraging:
- Account-Based Marketing (ABM) audience segments, targeting specific job areas / levels at competitors
- Social profile data / social retargeting pools
- First-party (owned) data sources, such as your talent community to create lookalike audiences and ad personalization
- Geo-targeting / geofencing down to hyper-local radiuses
Omnichannel recruitment advertising doesn’t just put jobs in more places — it creates a coordinated, consistent presence across the channels where talent actually spends time, which directly impacts brand visibility, talent attraction, and conversion.
Convert right-fit talent to apply
Converting right-fit talent to apply is the ultimate goal. You’ve brought them into your brand story and intrigued them enough to pay attention and engage with your job ads. The next step is to convert them from interested to applied.
Retargeting ads keep your organization and job opportunities top-of-mind, encouraging candidates who browsed but didn’t apply to come back. And with the help of personalized content and calls-to-action, you’ll be able to appeal to talent at the right time with a message that meets them where they are in their decision process — from awareness to consideration to application.
At the consideration stage, TA teams may activate:
- Career site experiences
- Email and SMS nurture campaigns
- Retargeting campaigns
- Talent communities and CRM outreach
Power up your recruitment results
Omnichannel recruitment advertising meets candidates where they are, reinforces your brand identity through repetition, and guides them toward applying by removing gaps between awareness, interest, and action.
A strong omnichannel recruitment strategy has the power to fuel your talent pipeline, streamline processes, reduce recruitment costs, and empower TA teams to:
- Integrate paid, owned, and earned media channels
- Tailor content and targeting to different funnel stages
- Align media investment with hiring goals and market trends
- Drive stronger awareness, engagement and conversion
To remain competitive, you need a more powerful approach to reach, attract, and convert top talent. And that’s where an omnichannel recruitment advertising strategy, supported by Symphony Talent technology and our team of experts really shines.
To learn how to not only adopt, but optimize your omnichannel recruitment advertising strategy, check out our Omnichannel Recruitment Media Strategy Playbook!
