If I told you I knew of a “repeatable approach” that decreased spending on hiring and increased the volume of high-quality, interested candidates, would you believe me? I promise, this method isn’t too good to be true.
Employment Branding = PR + Recruiting
Employment Branding is a term that has gained steam as more and more companies understand the importance of content marketing as part of their PR efforts. What some c-suite members have overlooked though, is its potential to create demand of working for your company.
Companies that constantly churn out quality posts on a blog and promote themselves through social media have found many of their readers could be ideal talent to join their ranks.
To get started with Employment Branding, find out what people in your industry want to read about, then blog about it with words, infographics, videos and other media.
Why Employment Branding Works
No matter how compelling you think your job descriptions may be, people will always be more interested in blog posts than text about a job. Job seekers using company websites and job boards to look for their next gig, parsing through so much information that anything other than the nuts and bolts might be skimmed. A job description is technically an opportunity to show some personality, but it’s much easier to form a full story about your company in longer-form writing.
Catching job seekers in the right mindset makes it much easier to convince them that your company is right for them. After all, the potential employee needs your company to be as good a fit for him or her as you would like him or her to be for you. By offering worthy posts that are easy to find, you can grab some people that may not even notice they want a new job (maybe you!).
By exhibiting your knowledge without outwardly expecting anything in return, you become an authority within your field. More importantly, you establish a generous vibe for your company, because you’re bringing your value to anyone else willing to listen. You can show your audience the type of people you hire, your work environment and your personality to make sure anyone that comes back to your site again and again is someone who agrees with your company’s purpose.
How Employment Branding Fits Into The Big Picture
If you’re not sure that Employment Branding is something your company would support, use these arguments to convince your boss it’s the right way to go:
1. The content does double duty. It picks up passive job searchers and makes you more visible to everyone online. It can be included in the HR or PR budgets, because it can have a noticeable impact on both. Every post you publish is another chance to show why people should want to start a relationship with your company, whether it’s as a customer, employee or student of the industry. By fitting into both PR and HR, you have a better chance of receiving the proper resources to resonate with your readers.
2. Anything you can add to it will help your company’s visibility, even years later. Some of the most popular posts we’ve ever had at CAREEREALISM have been ones that were written a couple of years ago. They’re still driving people to many different pages on our site and inspiring readers to share our articles with others. Even some of the articles that haven’t had the numbers we’d like to see have had even longer average time on our site for the people who read them. The more people interact with the content you provide, the closer they are to buying, sharing or applying.
Content generation is the first step in the employment branding process. With the right promotion and funnel set up, content can place readers and potential employers at the beginning of the process and guide them along, making each reader even more qualified and interested with every post they encounter.
SmartRecruiters is the hiring platform with everything you need to source talent, engage candidates, and make great hires.
