What Top-Performing Recruitment Agencies Do Differently With Events

There’s a certain kind of optimism that kicks in during January. You’ve got the best of intentions. You’re going to do things properly this year, not just reactively chuck together campaigns, but actually plan.

When it comes to events, that mindset matters more than ever.

Because let’s be honest, too many recruitment businesses treat events like a last-minute box to tick.

Book a stand? Tick.

Post a selfie? Tick.

Collect a few business cards and hope something sticks? Tick.

But events, whether you're sponsoring, speaking, or just attending, can (and should) deliver far more than that. If you put in the prep, they can build a pipeline, attract candidates, spark sales conversations, and create months of quality content.

And right now, in January, is exactly when that planning should start!

1. Get Ahead of the Calendar

The best opportunities aren’t won by the people who hustle hardest on the day; they’re won by the teams who start planning months in advance.

Create a shared calendar of relevant events your agency could attend this year:

• The big-ticket expos (RecFest, Recruitment Agency Expo)
• Niche sector events your clients and candidates care about
• Regional business showcases or start-up events
• Roundtables or conferences where your competitors are already visible

Don’t just note the event dates - look at sponsorship deadlines. The earlier you get in, the better your options for stand placement, speaking slots, and exposure.

Top tip: Ask your best clients and candidates which events they rate. You’ll get far better intel than Google can give you.

2. Sponsor or Attend? Choose Your Role Wisely

There are two ways to approach events: make a splash as a sponsor or make connections as an attendee. Both work. But both need a plan.

If You’re Sponsoring:

Don’t just rock up with a roller banner and a handful of pens. Treat it like a campaign:

• Be crystal clear about what you do: Your banners need to say something - not just look pretty.
• Use QR codes that link to landing pages, not your homepage.
• Pick your freebies carefully - if they’re not useful or memorable, they’re landfill.
• Prep your team to talk to prospects, not just chat among themselves.
• Have a follow-up plan ready before you get there - don’t wait until you’re back in the office.

If You’re Attending (Not Sponsoring):

You can still extract value - if you treat it like a content opportunity.

• Before: Share a post about attending and what you’re looking forward to. Tag the event and speakers.
• During: Share live updates. Snap photos. Post quotes from sessions. Don’t just sit and scroll - be part of the conversation.
• After: Reflect. What did you learn? Who did you meet? What trends are coming through for your sector?

Top tip: Nominate a “content captain” from your team for each event. That way, someone’s responsible for capturing the moment.

3. Make It Part of Your Marketing & Sales Strategy

An event should never sit in isolation. Done right, and it should fuel your wider marketing and sales efforts.

• Email marketing: Invite your audience to come and say hi. Share what you’re speaking about or looking forward to the most.
• Sales outreach: Use the event as an excuse to reach out. “Will you be at X? We’ll be there - fancy a coffee?”
• Lead magnets: Got a salary guide or market report that fits the event theme? Tie it into your follow-up content to keep the conversation going.
• Consultant enablement: Give your team talking points. Help them post content before and after. Show them how to connect their personal brand to your event presence.

Events can be content gold, but only if you plan for them!

4. Repurpose What You Capture

Don’t let all that good energy go to waste. You can squeeze a lot of content from one well-attended event:

• Carousels: Share your top takeaways in a visual format (these are nice and easy to digest and catch people’s attention whilst they’re scrolling)
• Podcasts: Interview attendees or other speakers for future episodes
• Blog recaps: Write a short piece with key learnings for your niche
• Reels & Stories: Use short clips from the day across LinkedIn and Instagram
• Newsletter snippets: Tell your audience what trends are coming and what they mean

The content should live beyond the day itself. With a bit of planning, it can feed your marketing for weeks to come.

5. Set KPIs That Go Beyond ‘Good Vibes’

This is the part most people skip. Yes, it was fun. Yes, the merch looked good. Yes, the team got some nice selfies.

But did it deliver?

Set goals before the event:

• How many leads do we want to generate?
• Who are the key people we’re hoping to meet?
• What content do we want to capture?
• What should we track post-event?

Use HubSpot (or your CRM of choice) to:

• Add leads to a campaign list
• Monitor engagement
• Measure post-event conversions from QR codes, forms or follow-ups

Otherwise, it’s just an activity. And here at Marmalade, we’re only interested in impact.

Final Thoughts: Be the Business That Stands Out

Most recruitment agencies will keep doing what they’ve always done with events turning up, crossing fingers, and hoping to get lucky.

But the ones who win? They’re thinking about ROI before the lanyards are even printed.

In a market where attention is hard to win and even harder to keep, every touchpoint matters.

Make your events count.

And if you’re not sure where to start, whether that’s choosing which events to go to, making your sponsorship pop, or turning event days into weeks of content, that’s exactly what we help our clients with.

Let’s make 2026 your best year yet. Get in touch with us today to start planning your marketing strategy.