In my prior blog posts, I’ve talked about creating a visually appealing employer brand. How you communicate, your social media and other interactions, all become part of your employer brand as well.
Candidates will take a look at a company’s social media pages to make sure they’re the right fit for them. Once you’ve hooked them with a great look and feel, you need to keep them with you. Because people are attracted to people they happen to like, it’s really important that your branding is personable, friendly and good-natured on social media. Be authentic, be human and try to be less corporate. This goes for the colors you use, the images you share, and the way you write.
Use social media to emphasize your values and why you do what you do. Make sure to post real-time updates, too, so that you don’t come across as inauthentic, or automated.
Starbucks is one brand that does social media very well. Their posts are colorful and bright — this is branding 101, and it speaks to both their customers and potential candidates. People want to work for brands like Starbucks because of how they come across on social media.
Starbucks also communicates how well they take care of their employees on their social media.
Tell stories. In marketing, we put our customers through sales funnels. They start at the bottom and — hopefully — reach the top, before we seal the deal.
When it comes to hiring the best talent, there’s also such a thing called a recruitment funnel. It works in the same way as a sales funnel, except, instead of nurturing a customer, you’re nurturing a candidate. But you need to nurture them in a similar way, starting with the initial contact and finishing with the “conversion.”
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Between the initial contact and the conversion, you can sweeten the deal by telling brand stories that help you make a proper connection with outstanding candidates.
For example, you can share stories from existing employees who talk about their experiences working at your company; you can send links to landing pages that include a video related to the job role they’ve applied for; and you can directly talk to them one-on-one in a bid to keep them engaged.
HubSpot displays videos of its COO and business development rep stating why they like working there.
Your one-on-one chats can be done online, and you can use them to offer advice and to answer any questions the candidate has. This will also help your candidate come up with suitable ideas for what to wear when (or if) they reach the interview stage.
By sorting your branding out and presenting yourself a professional, ambitious and value-focused company that people want to work for, more of the right candidates will start coming to you. This will improve your chances of hiring an All Star straight off the bat, and will also have the knock-on effect of boosting morale among your current team members.
