Recruitment marketing: what it is and what it costs

Summary: recruitment marketing in short

Recruitment marketing is marketing for your vacancies: you use ads, content and targeting to reach the right people, even when they are not actively looking. The campaign itself often costs a few hundred euros of ad budget per month per vacancy. Hiring through a recruitment agency costs on average 25% of the gross annual salary per hire, so €11,250 at €45,000. At Game-changers recruitment marketing starts from €500 per month excl. VAT, with no set-up fee. Request a free analysis.

• What: Promoting vacancies the way you promote a product, on Meta, LinkedIn, Google and YouTube.
• Why: According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS) there were 92 vacancies per 100 unemployed people in the third quarter of 2026.
• Costs: Ad budget plus management. No fee per hire, and the candidates stay yours.
• Our advice: Optimise for interviews and hires, not clicks or applications.

What is recruitment marketing?

Recruitment marketing is using marketing techniques to attract candidates, spark their interest and get them to apply. According to Ahrefs, Dutch people search 1,800 times a month for “recruitment marketing” and 150 times for “wat is recruitment marketing” (what is recruitment marketing). The difference with posting a vacancy: you do not wait until someone searches, you find the candidate where they already are. LinkedIn describes it as using targeted ads and web pages to reach candidates. Recruitment marketing has four parts:

• Audience: Who fits the role, what motivates them and which platforms are they on?
• Employer brand: Showing what it is like to work for you: team, working day, salary and growth.
• Campaigns: Ads on social media, Google and YouTube that lead to a short application page.
• Measurement: Tracking which campaign delivers applications, interviews and hires.

You will also hear the terms labour market communication (arbeidsmarktcommunicatie) and employer branding. Labour market communication is the Dutch umbrella term for all communication aimed at candidates. Employer branding is about your reputation as an employer in the long run. Recruitment marketing is the part that fills concrete vacancies and that you can measure directly.

Why recruitment marketing works now

The Dutch labour market is still tight. According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS) there were 375,400 open vacancies and 92 vacancies per 100 unemployed people in the third quarter of 2026. So there are almost as many vacancies as unemployed people, and in many fields such as engineering and healthcare far more. If you only post a vacancy, you fish in the small group of people actively searching at that moment. With recruitment marketing you also reach people who do good work at another employer and are open to something better.

What does recruitment marketing cost?

Recruitment marketing costs ad budget plus the time to build and adjust campaigns. In a study by Boostpoint of 891 recruitment campaigns (August 2026, US figures) the median budget was about €299 per month for an average of 20 applicants. That is €7 to €12 per applicant. Boostpoint states the amounts in dollars; we converted at the ECB rate of 6 November 2026 (1 euro = 1.1165 dollars). For comparison: according to YoungCapital a Dutch recruitment agency charges on average 25% of the gross annual salary per hire.

What you end up paying per hire depends on the role. A vacancy for a mechanic or nurse needs more reach and a stronger message than a role that attracts many applicants. That is why we always calculate back to cost per interview and per hire, not just per applicant.

Recruitment marketing or a recruitment agency?

A recruitment agency finds candidates for you and charges a fee per hire. Recruitment marketing builds your own flow of candidates, which keeps working for the next vacancy. This is how the options compare:

At Game-changers you pay no set-up fee and no fee per hire. Request a free analysis and we work out what a campaign costs for your vacancy compared to an agency.

Our research: what Google shows for recruitment marketing

On 9 November 2026 we looked at the Dutch search results for “recruitment marketing”. At the top is an AI answer from Google, then three local agencies in Google Maps and then the ten regular results. What stands out:

• Mostly explainers: 7 of the 10 results are explainers or knowledge base pages, 3 are agency service pages.
• Often old: Only 3 of the 10 pages were updated in 2026. The oldest is from March 2022.
• No prices: Not a single result shows a price in Google, even though “What does recruitment marketing cost?” does appear in People also ask.

That is why this article does give amounts, with sources. Anyone choosing how to recruit wants to know what it costs.

How recruitment marketing works in 5 steps

1. Analyse the audience and vacancy

We define who fits the role, what matters to them and where your current recruitment loses candidates.

2. Create the message

Not a job description, but an honest picture of salary, team, working day and growth. With photos or video of real colleagues.

3. Launch the campaign

We often start on Meta, because there you reach many people who are not actively searching. Read what that costs in Facebook ads costs.

4. Make applying easy

A short page or form that takes less than two minutes. Our landing page checklist helps with that.

5. Measure and adjust

We link campaigns to interviews and hires, with proper tracking, and move budget to what works.

Which channels work for recruitment?

• Meta (Facebook and Instagram): Large reach across all ages and professions, including people who are not searching. See Instagram ads costs.
• LinkedIn: Strong for office roles and specialists, but more expensive per click. See LinkedIn ads costs.
• Google and YouTube: For people already searching for a role or employer, and video to show the workplace.
• Job boards: Useful for active job seekers, but every other employer is there too.

What recruitment marketing delivers

For Hedin Automotive we built recruitment campaigns for roles from mechanics to account managers: 12.6 times more qualified applicants per vacancy and hired 77% faster than through job boards. Zorggroep Amsterdam Oost got 3.6 times more qualified applicants and was 58% faster from vacancy to contract. For Fydee Vitae we manage recruitment for more than 30 physiotherapy practices, with an average of 24 days from vacancy to signed contract. Read more cases in healthcare and automotive.

“A job description is not an ad. The best candidates are not searching, they are scrolling. You reach them with an honest picture of the working day, the team and what they gain. And we do not optimise for the number of applications, but for interviews and hires. Only then do you know what a campaign really costs.”

Annefleur van Osta

Online marketing strategist at Game-changers

Do it yourself or outsource?

Doing it yourself can work if you have one vacancy, time to learn advertising and your measurement in order. Outsourcing pays off when you have several vacancies, look for hard-to-find profiles or want predictable recruitment. At Game-changers recruitment marketing starts from €500 per month excl. VAT, for which we work at least 4 hours a month on your campaigns. You pay the ad budget directly to Meta, LinkedIn or Google. There is no set-up fee. Request a free analysis. Combine recruitment with social media advertising or content creation and it becomes cheaper.

Frequently asked questions about recruitment marketing

What is recruitment marketing?

Recruitment marketing is marketing for your vacancies. You use ads, content and targeting to reach the right candidates, even when they are not actively looking.

What does recruitment marketing involve?

It covers audience research, a strong message about you as an employer, campaigns on social media and Google, a short application and measurement up to the hire.

What is labour market communication?

Labour market communication (arbeidsmarktcommunicatie) is all communication from an employer aimed at (future) employees. Recruitment marketing is the measurable part that fills concrete vacancies.

Why does labour market communication matter?

Because there are almost as many vacancies as unemployed people: according to CBS, 92 vacancies per 100 unemployed in the third quarter of 2026. If you do not stand out as an employer, you get few responses.

What is the difference between employer branding and recruitment marketing?

Employer branding builds your reputation as an employer over the long term. Recruitment marketing uses that brand to fill concrete vacancies now, and can be measured directly.

Is recruitment the same as HR?

No. HR covers everything related to employees, from contracts to sick leave. Recruitment is the part that attracts new employees, and recruitment marketing helps with reach.

What does recruitment marketing cost?

You pay ad budget plus management. In 891 campaigns the median budget was €299 per month (converted) for around 20 applicants. At Game-changers management starts from €500 per month excl. VAT.

What does recruitment marketing cost per vacancy?

Expect a few hundred euros of ad budget per month per vacancy, depending on the role. Hard-to-find profiles cost more per applicant, but usually far less than an agency fee of 25% of the annual salary.

How do you set a recruitment marketing budget?

Start from the number of hires you need and work backwards: how many applicants per hire and what does an applicant cost. Start small, measure for a few weeks and scale what works.

What does doing recruitment marketing yourself cost?

Only the ad budget, but a lot of your own time for copy, visuals, targeting and measurement. Without experience you often pay more per suitable candidate.

What does outsourcing recruitment marketing cost?

At Game-changers from €500 per month excl. VAT, with no set-up fee and no fee per hire. You pay the ad budget separately to the platform. Request a free analysis.

How can I recruit staff quickly and cheaply?

Run a targeted Meta campaign with an honest message and a two-minute application, and call candidates back the same day. Fast follow-up often matters more than extra budget.

How do you recruit staff through social media?

Show real colleagues and the working day, target interests and region instead of job titles only, and send people to a short application page.

Is LinkedIn or Meta better for recruitment?

That depends on the role. Meta has more reach and a lower cost per candidate, LinkedIn is stronger for specialists and office roles. A combination often works.

How does labour market communication work in healthcare?

In healthcare it is about purpose, schedule and team. Campaigns that show this honestly work well: Zorggroep Amsterdam Oost got 3.6 times more qualified applicants.

What is recruitment marketing automation?

Software that follows up candidates automatically, for example with email, WhatsApp or a link to your ATS. It mainly helps when you have many vacancies at once.

What does recruitment marketing deliver?

More and better candidates at a lower cost per hire, and your own candidate flow. At Hedin it meant 12.6 times more qualified applicants per vacancy.

How quickly does recruitment marketing bring in applicants?

Campaigns can go live within a few days and bring in the first responses. The best results come after a few weeks of testing message and audience.

Sources

Statistics Netherlands (CBS), Labour market tension (Q3 2026, Dutch)

30 October 2026

YoungCapital, Recruitment agency costs (Dutch)

viewed 9 November 2026

Boostpoint, Recruitment Marketing Budget: What to Spend (2026), 891 campaigns

26 August 2026

LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Recruitment marketing

viewed 9 November 2026

ECB, euro to US dollar reference rate

6 November 2026

Ahrefs Keywords Explorer, Dutch search volume

9 November 2026