7 steps to recruitment content marketing

success

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Recruiting in 2016

Candidates have become more discerning.

They’re more likely to research potential employers to assess company culture and levels of staff satisfaction.

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Did you know…

* Source: Software Advice

think employers don’t do a good job

of reinforcing why their companies are a good place to work*.

of job seekers said they would accept a lower salary if the employer created a great impression through the hiring process.

68%

29%but

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Competition is fierceCompanies need to woo potential employees…

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Recruitment meets marketing

Many organisations are using traditional marketing tactics to showcase their culture and attract the

best and brightest…

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Introducing...recruitment content marketing

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Definition of content marketing

Content marketing is the marketing and business process for creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.The Content Marketing Association

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Recruitment content marketing is the business process for creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire and engage clearly defined and understood candidates – with the objective of developing a talented workforce.

OUR Definition of recruitment content marketing

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The 7 steps...

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step 1

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Develop your strategy

All successful marketing starts with a clear strategy.

This is your long term vision, taking into account your company’s distinct characteristics and challenges.

Tactics are your short term tools for getting to your destination. We’ll come to those later.

Remember, strategy isn’t tactics.

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Develop your recruitment marketing strategy

Where are you now in terms of your recruitment and where would you like to be?

How do you think you might go about getting there?

Does anything need to change in order to achieve that position?

Do you have clear company values?

How will you ensure they shine through?

What’s your employee value proposition (EVP)?

Strategic questions to consider...

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step 2

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Set clear KPIs

Web traffic to your careers site / join us pageBounce rate on your careers site / join us page

Pathways through your careers contentCost per hire

Length of time to fill positionsNumber of applicationsQuality of applications

Diversity of applications

Think about what you will need to measure in order to understand if your strategy has been successful...

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step 3

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Secure stakeholder buy in

Budget holders are often stuck in their ways when it comes to recruitment…

…you need to convince them there’s a better way.

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Secure stakeholder buy in

Do your research and present stakeholders with facts to support your case.Look at what your competitors are doing.

Are they ahead of the game, or can you steal a head start?Anticipate objections to a recruitment content strategy and prepare a

response. Visit howtoconvinceyourboss.com for inspiration.Start small – suggest a trial with a few key hires.

Once you have buy-in, track and measure results and report successes far and wide.

How to get important stakeholders on your side...

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step 4

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Create candidate personas

This is a classic marketing technique where you build up a profile of the kind of person you’re targeting to help direct your communications activity.

Start by speaking to line managers and those in similar roles to get first hand insights into the kind of person who’s right for the job, then fill any knowledge gaps with desk-based research.

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Questions to consider

Why might they be interested in this job – what are their needs and what benefits does this role offer?

What are their values – do they match your company values?What kind of personality is likely to suit the role in question?

What do they read, watch, listen to, engage with?What messages and tone will attract their attention – do they want to be

informed or entertained?

Remember, these things may vary depending on their age, gender and level of experience so you may need to create sub-personas.

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step 5

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Produce a variety of content

Careers sites and join us pagesSocial channels

Employer brand videosJob advert videos

Blogs

JobographicsJob profiles

Q&AsSlideshares Podcasts

Different people respond to different types of content.

Here are a few things to try...

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step 6

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Amplify, amplify, amplify

Promote your content across relevant channels, informed by your candidate personas.

Different social networks are suited to different audiences.

FacebookInstagramLinkedInTwitter

18 to 29-year-olds 30 to 49-year-olds 50 to 64-year-olds

87% 73% 63%53%23%37%

25%31%25%

11%30%12%

You’ll find loads more social demographics here.

Remember, direct contact from an employer is more valuable than from a recruiter.

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Consider paid promotion

Organic reach on social media is declining.

Content posted on your corporate social channels is being seen by fewer people. Time to consider social media advertising to boost those views.

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step 7

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Get employees to tell your story

Need convincing?Salesforce.com – rated by LinkedIn as one of the top 10 most in demand companies to work for in 2014 – saw a 60% increase in employee referrals after CEO Marc Benioff asked employees to help promote high-priority roles on their social networks.

Your employees’ connections are likely to be the sort of people you’re looking for.

Your staff are living the story you’re trying to tell so the message will be more personal and credible.

People are more responsive to content shared by people than brands.

Reasons to ask your employees to share your content...

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A few helpful tools

You might want to use an employee advocacy tool that facilitates the sharing of your content across large numbers of employees.It’s wise to provide your staff with the content you want them to share and guidelines on how to do it. This doesn’t have to be prescriptive, but you need to let them know what you’re trying to do and the message you want to get out.Also check out employee review site Glassdoor to find out what people are saying about your company.

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and finally...

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It’s a marathon not a sprint

It’s competitive out there, but it’s possible to cut through the noise and reach the candidates you want.

Successful content marketing takes time.

With a clear strategy and trackable goals it’s possible to adapt and do more of what works to attract quality candidates.

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