If you googled your company, would you want to work for you?
The first time a candidate hears your name, visits your website, or scrolls through your social media, they're already forming opinions. Before they ever click "Apply," they're asking themselves questions: What does this company stand for? What are the people like? Can I see myself here?
The truth is, simply going to Indeed or LinkedIn and hitting “Publish” on a job posting isn’t enough.
So, how do you use marketing to attract top talent?
Well, if you know me at all, you can probably guess where this is going. 😉
HINT: Here are a few of my favorite blogs we’ve published:
Yup, that’s right. It’s all about storytelling.
The bottom line is, you have to show the personality behind the logo and the people behind the product. Tell a story. Connect as humans.
Doing so will help you attract not just talented applicants, but the right applicants. The people who genuinely believe in your mission. The people who are excited to come to work each day and be surrounded by others who share that same passion.
Believe it or not, a company brand has a lot in common with a person. It has a personality, an identity, and a way of creating experiences through how it communicates. Long before someone submits an application, they're forming opinions based on those signals.
💡No, seriously! It’s crazy — the modern website visitor decides somewhere between two heartbeats and 47 seconds whether they’re going to stick around on your website. Best-case scenario, you have less than a minute to win them over.
These first impressions tend to become the deciding factor in whether or not someone will want to move forward with a company.
In my opinion, the “About Us” page is one of the most underutilized assets on a website. It's your opportunity to tell your story, showcase what makes your business different, and give people a feel for who you are. That's valuable when you're attracting customers, but it's equally valuable when you're using marketing to attract top talent.
Take Wild Fig's “About Us” page, for example (and excuse the shameless self-plug):
Sure, it tells people we're legit. I studied marketing in school. I've been working in the industry for more than two decades. I've owned my own business for most of that time, and I've built one that's learned how to adapt and evolve.
But those aren't the only things readers take away from it.
Calling it our "Biz Backstory" instead of something more traditional immediately gives people a glimpse of our personality. I could have introduced Kevin as our "Chief Propeller Head." Instead, I called him my "IT-savvy Prince Charming." Small details like these tell visitors that we're approachable, a little playful, and deeply invested in what we do.
That's important, because applicants aren't just evaluating whether they're qualified for a role. They're asking themselves whether they'd enjoy working with the people behind the brand. The “About Us” page helps answer that question.
What's the first thing you ask someone when you meet them?
"What's your name?"
Okay, fair enough. But stick with me: What's the second thing?
"What do you do for work?"
🔔DING DING DING 🔔
For many Gen Z and millennial professionals, work is core to how they see themselves; it’s literally a part of their identity. And as a result, they’re on the hunt for employers who align with their values.
My writers tell me some of you are probably skimming right now and would prefer statistics, so here are some interesting numbers from Deloitte Global's 2025 Gen Z and Millennial survey:
So here's the takeaway: applicants are searching for personality. They're looking for the human side of your brand. They want to work for a company they can feel proud to represent.
Another shameless self-plug as an example 😉:
At Wild Fig, our team is proud to work for a business that celebrates creativity, energy, and fresh thinking. Those values aren't hidden away in a handbook. They're visible throughout our marketing, which helps prospective employees picture themselves here before they ever apply. This kind of visibility makes marketing to attract top talent much more effective.
Job descriptions have shifted away from brief, concise bullet points and toward storytelling. It's a pretty neat tactic because it helps candidates feel like they're stepping into a story rather than applying for a list of responsibilities.
A strong job description helps candidates visualize how they'll fit into the bigger picture of the company, what their day-to-day might look like, and the positive impact they'll have. As they start to picture themselves in the role, they begin forming a connection with the brand.
Otherwise, what's going to make your open position stand out from your competitor's open position? If it's just a bulleted list of duties and expectations ... probably not much.
So be bold. Stand out. Build some personality into your job descriptions. Add a little fun. Let candidates get a feel for the humans behind the brand and the culture they're stepping into.
Social media is another great way to showcase your company’s personality, and it’s one of the most effective channels for marketing to attract top talent.
In many ways, it’s one of the easiest places to do it. You don’t have to wait for someone to stumble across your website, and you don’t need an elaborate, multi-step marketing funnel before they get a glimpse of who you are.
Your content can start telling your story right away.
This is where a lot of businesses go wrong. If every post sounds like generic promotional fluff that could be posted by virtually any company, there’s very little reason for someone to remember you.
That’s why we like to follow the 80/20 rule: roughly 80% of your content should be personality-driven and human-focused, while the remaining 20% can be dedicated to promotions, announcements, and sales messaging.
We believe in the 80/20 rule so much we wrote a whole blog post about it! 👉 The Marketing 80/20 Rule: Why Your Content Should Be More Than a Sales Pitch
Some ideas for content that feels both professional and personal:
Content like this helps give potential applicants a sense of your culture before they ever submit an application. It's another example of how marketing to attract top talent relies on authenticity rather than promotion alone.
I get it. Depending on your industry, showcasing personality doesn't always feel intuitive.
It's easy enough for me to say, "We're creative, and we show it!" when we're a marketing company. Creativity comes with the territory.
For other businesses, though, making 80% of their content personality-driven can feel like a stretch at first.
Take a look at what we created for one of our clients, Superior Consulting Services — it's a great example of marketing to attract top talent in an industry that doesn't always feel naturally suited to employer branding:
Consulting isn't exactly a field that screams, "We're fun! Come work with us!" Yet by sharing snapshots of daily life — from office games and quirky bobbleheads to successful charity events — Superior Consulting Services gives people a glimpse into the culture behind the company.
Suddenly, applicants aren't just looking at a consulting firm. They're looking at a team.
One of the simplest ways to increase visibility is by boosting posts.
Want to learn about some of the other technology you can use to your marketing advantage? 👉 Leveraging Technology To Improve Sales: Our Favorite Tools
Boosting a post simply means that you pay a small fee to have the platform (Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, etc) push your post to more people’s feeds. It doesn’t guarantee clicks — which is why strong content still does plenty of heavy lifting — but it does guarantee visibility.
And considering every company has a story to tell, sometimes getting that story in front of the right people is the final piece of the puzzle.
Fear not, I have another example for you! Or should I say … another “story” … 😉
Once upon a time, Red Wing Anytime Fitness owner Corey O'Day found himself in a tough spot. Two trainers had left unexpectedly at the same time, leaving him to absorb personal training responsibilities on top of everything else that comes with running a business.
The workload simply wasn’t feasible long-term; that's when Corey reached out to Wild Fig and asked us to help attract the talent they needed.
But the real magic happened after we boosted it.
For just $100, Facebook gave the ad additional visibility for seven days. During that time, the post generated nearly 1,600 engagements, 68 link clicks, and five messaging conversations.
The results spoke for themselves. Within a week, Anytime Fitness hired their newest coach and even had another candidate waiting in the wings.
Anytime Fitness isn't the only partner we've helped attract top talent, and boosted posts aren't the only tool in our arsenal. To learn more about how we leveraged a targeted email marketing campaign to help another client, LearningRx Eagan, or to see how we developed a custom two-pronged recruiting strategy for Kid’s Haven, check out this blog post: Fully Staffed: How Wild Fig Helped 3 Companies Fill Open Positions.
Modern job applicants are looking for a lot more than a paycheck. They want work they can feel proud of. They want to join a team that shares their values. And they want a behind-the-scenes look at who they're signing up to spend 40+ hours a week with …
… which works out perfectly, because at the same time, you want people on your team who genuinely believe in your mission and connect with your culture.
Posting on social media, boosting job ads, and refining your website are all great when trying to attract top talent. But those tactics only work when they're backed by a story — your story.
So, if you only take one thing away from this article, let it be this: don't focus solely on filling an open position. Focus on attracting people who are genuinely excited to join your team and become part of your story.
If you'd like help attracting top talent, Wild Fig Marketing would love to partner with you. We’re big believers in personality-driven marketing, and we happen to love a good story.
And if you’re willing to take two things away from this article, consider downloading our FREE ebook: Top 7 Reasons To Outsource Your Digital Marketing.