Here at Three Sixty, we're diving into the new financial year with optimism.
While it’s hard to figure out what will happen next, things at home are looking healthier. With the cash rate finally coming down, domestic GDP growth getting a bit of a lift and the job market softening – we’re getting all the right kind of vibes for FY26.
It’s the perfect time to be talking about marketing strategy, so let’s look at the best ways to maximise marketing spend in recruitment. Where should you invest? What should you let go? How do you get the most bang for buck?
Let’s dig into it.
1. It's all about goals
When it comes to recruitment marketing, the best place to start is the end. What do you want to achieve by end of the financial year?
It helps to be specific. Instead of saying “grow our agency”, you might say, “win 30 new clients”. The reason being, if you know precisely where you want to go, and you know where you are now, planning for success is just a matter of joining the dots.
2. Fight the right battles
Marketing channels aren’t made equal. What drives ROI for those recruiters over there might not work for you, and what works for you may not work for the next agency either.
You’ll likely hear a lot of voices telling you that you should be on this and you should be posting that, but if it doesn’t work for you – and your business goals – then it’s just not right. Spending money in the wrong place wastes budget, and that’s not what we’re all about.
How do you choose the right marketing platforms?
Ask yourself a few questions...
Know your audience: You have to know your people. What does the perfect client look like? What do they read or watch, where do they hang out online?
Get clear on your budget: What are you willing to spend? Do you have room in the budget to experiment, or does this need to be utterly airtight?
Think about your team: What’s your in-house know-how? Do you have the technical expertise to run a more complex multichannel campaign, or will you be keeping things super simple? Does someone have time to do those bigger projects, or is everyone squeezing this in around their existing schedules?
Now evaluate your options
Think about all the common marketing channels (think email marketing, social media, paid advertising etc.). Determine if you can reach the right people, with the right budget, in the right timeframe, on these platforms, based on the answers to the questions above.
Some of them won’t feel right, even if they’re common among other agencies. That’s OK! We aren’t doing what everyone else is doing – we're doing what’s right for you.
3. Measure what matters
In marketing, numbers are life. Numbers tell you that you’re following the plan – or when you’ve taken a wrong exit. To get bang for buck, you need to keep an eye on the metrics associated with your chosen marketing goals.
At first, this is going to feel like one part science, one part art and a whole lot of guesswork. That’s OK too. The more you test, the more you’ll learn, and the better you’ll be able to fine-tune what you’re doing – turning that guesswork into a science-backed lead machine.
Where do these numbers come from?
This part is a little trickier. Each platform has its own numbers, though some CRMs can help to pull them altogether (like HubSpot). Still, if you find yourself spending more time fighting analytics software than optimising your strategy, you might want to outsource for expertise. Speaking of which...
Learn more: How data can revolutionise your recruitment marketing
4. Outsource ... or don’t
At some point, you’re going to ask yourself: do we have the in-house expertise to pull this off? Or is there budget to bring in the right people? It’s possible the answer will be no.
In this case, you end up with another choice.
Outsourcing your marketing: Pros and cons
When you want a cost-effective marketing A-team, outsourcing is your friend. It’s usually cheaper than an internal hire and gives you instant access to =the full suite of tools and expertise without having to know any of it yourself.
The drawback is that they’ll be juggling other clients too. Even the most accessible agency can’t be as accessible as Tom from the next desk over. And, like any new hire, you’ll need to give them time to get up to speed.
Keeping your marketing in-house: Pros and cons
Here you’d hire someone to fully immerse themselves in your brand, giving you a dedicated expert who is 100% focused on you. They’ll learn your brand like the back of their hand, and you can get really flexible with what they do – after all, they’re only a water cooler conversation away from a new idea.
Except ... it’s not easy to find one person who can do it all (and still do it well). Marketing is an increasingly specialised industry and the ‘unicorns’ of old aren’t as common anymore. Plus, you’ll be footing the bill for their salary and any subscriptions/software they may need, upping the costs.
In short, the decision is about budget, expertise, flexibility and simplicity. But don’t forget, you can also hire someone in-house to handle part of your needs, outsourcing everything else, to get the best of both worlds.
Learn more: How hiring an agency can help your recruitment business grow
5. Be consistent
Let’s end on a simple one.
Don’t think of this year’s marketing as a one-year thing. This is a game of momentum, building over time – the more you put in, the better the results will usually get over time.
But have patience – and start small
It’s easier to start small and grow over time, rather than trying to do it all at once. You might identify that you need to be across four or five channels eventually, but you could start with just one today.
Give it time. Check the data. Refine as you go. Marketing isn’t a fling – it’s a relationship. And like any good relationship, it takes time, consistency and the occasional reality check.
The magic happens in the momentum. Keep going, keep learning, and your results will start to snowball.
Need a hand? Maybe what you really need this financial year is for someone to handle it all for you. Learn why more APAC recruiters choose Three Sixty Digital, or start the conversation here.
