By B2B, B2B Marketing, Employer Branding, Recruitment Marketing
According to a Linkedin study, more than 75% of employees research a company’s reputation before applying for a job, and almost 69% will refuse to work with you if they’re not satisfied with it. And for a good reason. The recruiting process has evolved tremendously in the past few years and there’s something that companies have started to understand. Simply waiting for the ideal employee is just not enough! Moreover, due to a large number of similar businesses on the market, many recruiters have started to implement innovative marketing strategies in order to attract employees and differentiate themselves from other market players.
As we mentioned above, two of the strategies that many companies rely on are employer branding and recruitment marketing, and although they might seem alike, there are a few notable differences between these two. Let’s clarify this confusion once and for all!
What is Employer Branding?
Before we start discussing the particulars of EB and RM, it’s essential to understand what each one means. Unlike any other recruitment strategies, employer branding is all about promoting your company as a desirable organization in front of your targeted candidates.
Having a strong employer branding has become mandatory these days, which means you need to focus on your company’s values, vision, and mission if you haven’t already. Furthermore, there are five Employment Value Propositions (EVP) aspects you should follow in order to be perceived as a great employer:
In the opinion of TalentLyft, maintaining a fair balance between these benefits will make your company stand out, draw 50% more qualified candidates, fasten the hiring process and reduce cost per hire by 50%.
(Foto source - TalentLyft)
What is Recruitment Marketing?
Moving on, recruitment marketing is mostly known as the process of promoting your employer brand on different channels such as social media, career pages, job boards, company profiles, networking events, and many others.
The first calling of every RM strategy is delivering the right message, at the right time, in front of the right candidates. But luring the best talents to apply on your vacant jobs ain’t such an easy task. First things first, you have to get to know them: what type of content they like, what are their expectation regarding a job, what’s their ideal working environment and so on. If you’re not sure of the answers to these questions, keep on studying.
Furthermore, let’s say your content is excellent, but the platform you used to share your vacant job does not include your targeted audience, or maybe your text is not correctly optimized for search engines. All these and many other are essential factors you should consider if you want to reach out to more qualified candidates.
Employer Branding Vs. Recruitment Marketing
By now it should be clear that EB and RM are two elements that rely on each other, but which one comes first? Some recruiters will say employer branding while other will stick with recruitment marketing; we say both. But there are a few notable differences we would like to bring to the fore.
First of all, notice that employer branding is the core and recruitment marketing is the shell. Mixing these two will increase the chances of your company to get known as an employer of choice. A good reputation is worthless unless you know how to promote yourself, or maybe you are really good at drawing attention to your company, but your employer branding situation is not engaging at all. Either way, you need to find a balance and maintain it.
Second of all, get used with constant changes because, although employer branding is more consistent and persistent, recruitment marketing evolves, always. People are changing and so should your strategies for attracting candidates if you want to keep their attention. For example, something that really catches millennial's attention nowadays is video content. Also, it has been proven that over 57% of job seekers use social media during their job research, so make sure you’re maintaining a valuable social presence.
Why is Employer Branding so Important?
Finding the right applicants with the proper skills seems to be a challenge for more than half of the employers. However, there are companies who enjoy an increased retention rate amongst the employees. What’s their secret? In order to build a strong employer brand for your company, you have to differentiate yourself from other organizations within a similar niche. This means to ensure that your company's goals are promoting aspects of its cultural values, traditions, and benefits. Furthermore, another important aspect to keep in mind is that your current employees are the best advocates and ambassadors of your employer brand. Taking good care of your staff members can lead to better engagement, higher retention and an increased number of applications when a job vacancy comes up.
Final Thoughts
Building a strong employer brand and distinctive recruitment marketing might take time, but once you figure it out, this is the best way to convert candidates into new employees and then into brand advocates. Are you facing hard times trying to implement your employer branding and recruitment marketing strategy? Let us know in a comment below or contact us office@nnc-services.com.
