The Recruitment Marketing and Sales Podcast

Welcome to episode 497 of the Recruitment Marketing and Sales podcast, and I am your host, Denise Oyston. Today, we are wrapping up our kick-off series for 2026 about the what and how of Standing Out this year. Over the past few weeks, we have covered mindset, visibility, and re-engaging your database. If you missed any of those episodes, go back and listen; they build on one another. This week, we are discussing something that can completely change how you approach your marketing: creating longer-form content that works harder for you. Now, before you switch off because you think this is going to be about writing 5,000-word essays, hear us out. This is actually about working smarter, not harder. It is about creating a single, substantial piece of content and getting maximum value from it. Whether that is a podcast, a report, a webinar, or a detailed blog post, the principle is the same. Create once, repurpose many times. So let’s get into it. The Pillar Content Approach Let us start by explaining what we mean by pillar content. A pillar piece is a substantial, detailed piece of content that demonstrates your expertise in your niche. It could be a comprehensive blog post or series. A thorough market report. A webinar where you go deep on a specific topic. Or a podcast episode where you really explore something properly. The keyword here is substantial. This is not a quick LinkedIn post or a two-paragraph update. This is something meaty that shows you really know your stuff. Why does this matter? Short-form content is brilliant at getting attention, but it is your longer-form content that builds trust. When someone engages with your quick posts and wants to know whether you actually understand what you are talking about, they will look for something more substantial. They want to confirm that you understand their sector and its challenges. Think about it from your own experience. When considering working with someone, do you look at their social media posts? Or do you dig a bit deeper? Do you read their blog? Listen to their podcast? Download their report? Of course you do. We all do. The research backs this up. 71 per cent of B2B buyers consume blog content before making a purchase decision. They want depth. They want evidence. They want to feel confident that you know what you are talking about. The Repurposing Model Here is where it gets exciting, especially if you are running a small team and do not have endless hours for content creation. The smartest recruitment companies we work with follow a simple principle: create one substantial piece of content, then repurpose it into multiple shorter pieces. Let us give you a concrete example. Say you record a 45-minute podcast episode about hiring trends in your sector. From that single recording, you could create six LinkedIn posts pulling out key insights. Two blog articles going deeper on specific points. A dozen short videos or audio clips for social media. An email to your database summarising the main takeaways. Content for your newsletter. And quotes and statistics you can use in proposals and pitches. That one piece of content has now given you weeks’ worth of material. And the beautiful thing is, it all came from the same source, so your messaging stays consistent. This approach ensures quality and depth before brevity. You are not scrambling to come up with something to post every day. You have already thought. Now you are just packaging it in different ways for different platforms. Why Podcasts Work So Well We would like to discuss podcasts, as they are particularly effective for recruitment businesses. Podcasts continue to grow in popularity, particularly with executives and founders, which is exactly the audience most of you are trying to reach. Decision-makers listen to podcasts during their commute, at the gym, or while walking the dog. It is a way to reach them when they are not at their desks, ignoring emails. But here is the bit that makes podcasts especially clever for recruitment businesses: they serve a dual purpose. First, they are relationship-building and positioning tools. When you invite someone onto your podcast as a guest, you are building a relationship with them while positioning yourself as the go-to person in your niche. And who might make a good guest? Often, your potential clients. Think about it. You reach out to a hiring manager or business owner in your niche and invite them to share their expertise on your show. That is a much warmer conversation than a cold sales call. You are offering them something valuable: a platform to share their knowledge and raise their profile. Second, podcasts are content engines. As we just discussed, one episode gives you material for weeks. The conversation generates ideas, insights, and quotes that you can use across all your other channels. And niche podcasts can reach very specific audiences. A show about scaling health tech companies. A podcast for legal practice managers. A series on finance recruitment trends. When you narrow your focus, you become the go-to voice for that specific audience. Other Forms of Pillar Content Podcasts are not the only option, of course. Let’s discuss other formats that work well. Market reports and salary guides are brilliant for recruitment businesses. You have access to data and insights that your clients and candidates find genuinely valuable. A well-researched report on salary trends or hiring challenges in your sector positions you as the expert. It also makes a great lead magnet: people will happily give you their email address in exchange for useful data. Webinars let you go deep on a topic while building your email list. You can invite guests, share screens, and answer questions live. The recording becomes an asset you can use long after the live event ends. A detailed blog series lets you explore a topic in depth across multiple posts. Titles such as “The complete guide to hiring fintech sales leaders” or “Everything you need to know about legal recruitment in 2026” demonstrate genuine expertise and attract readers seeking that specific information. The format matters less than the substance. What matters is that you create something substantial enough to demonstrate your expertise and generate enough material for repurposing. Quality Beats Perfection Now, we know what some of you are thinking. “This sounds great, but I do not have the time or resources to create professional-quality content.” Here is the truth: you do not need professional production values. What you need is valuable, consistent content. A podcast recorded on a decent microphone in your office is absolutely fine. A report created in Word or Canva will suffice. A webinar run through Zoom works perfectly well. The key is consistency and specificity, not production value. Your audience cares far more about whether your content is useful and relevant than whether it looks like a big agency made it. In fact, overly polished content can feel less authentic. People want to hear from real experts sharing real insights, not a slick marketing production. So do not let perfectionism stop you from starting. Good enough, published consistently, beats perfect, but never finished. Using AI Smartly We cannot talk about content creation in 2026 without mentioning AI. Yes, AI can help you create more content more efficiently. But here is the important bit: AI works best when you give it good raw material to work with. The companies that get AI right use it to increase output without sacrificing quality. They do not publish AI-generated content as-is. They use AI as a starting point, then make the content specific, opinionated, and genuinely useful. This is where your pillar content becomes so valuable. Record a podcast where you share your genuine expertise and opinions. Now you have rich source material that AI can help you repurpose into other formats. The insights are yours. The expertise is yours. AI helps you package it more efficiently. The human element, your knowledge, your opinions, your specific experience in your niche, that is what makes your content valuable. AI cannot replicate that. But it can help you get more value from it. Getting Started Without Overwhelm If you are new to creating longer-form content, the prospect can feel daunting. So let us make it simple. Start with what you know deeply. What questions do clients ask you all the time? What mistakes do you see companies making when they hire? What do candidates always want to know about your sector? You already have expertise. You need to capture it. Choose one format to start with. Do not try to launch a podcast, write a report, and run webinars all at once. Pick one. Get good at it. Build the habit. Then expand. If you want to start a podcast, the minimum setup is simpler than you think. A decent USB microphone, free recording software, and a hosting platform. You could be publishing your first episode within a week. If a podcast feels like too much, start with a detailed blog post. Write the definitive guide to something in your niche. Make it thorough. Make it useful. Then break it down into shorter pieces for your social channels. The most important thing is to start. Your first piece of content will not be your best. That is fine. You will get better with practice. But you cannot improve on something you have not created. Closing Let us conclude this series with a final thought. Over these four episodes, we have talked about mindset, visibility, re-engaging your database, and creating content that works harder for you. And if there is one thread that runs through all of it, it is this: the recruitment businesses that will stand out in 2026 are the ones that commit to consistently delivering valuable content. Not perfect content. Not content with massive production budgets. Just useful, relevant, consistent content that demonstrates your expertise and keeps y