Your company has two brands, not one: The brand you know is what your company as a manufacturer or service provider stands for, your corporate brand. The one you may not be aware of is what people think of you as an employer, your employer brand.
You communicate your corporate brand to potential customers with marketing. You should do the same with your employer brand. And just like corporate marketing, employer marketing or employer branding is all about reaching and convincing your target group - in this case potential employees instead of potential customers - and about beating the competition. The following steps will help you get there.Define your EVP.EVP stands for "employment value proposition" - it's the total of all the advantages and perks you want to pitch to potential candidates:•Your corporate mission, values, and goals•Your products or services - and why they are worth contributing to•Your benefits for employees (e.g. free canteen, on-site childcare, pension plan)
Define your audience.Just like with classical marketing, you need to know exactly who you want to reach:•Do you want to raise general awareness as an employer or focus your communication towards a specific target group?•Do you want to reach active job seekers or convince employees of other companies to work for you instead?•Where can you reach your target group? On social networks? Traditional job boards? Specialised industry magazines?Define your message.Remember the golden rule of marketing, the "4D communication principle" - it should be applied to your employer marketing as well:•Desirable: Offer something that your potential candidates want.•Distinctive: Present something unique that sets you apart from the competition.•Deliverable: Make sure you don't promise something you can't keep.•Durable: Your offers shouldn't have a best-before date but be sustainable.
Now you're ready to get the message out: Use a variety of channels such as your website, email signatures, online job postings, career fairs, and employer ads that can be either generic or targeted, depending on your intended audience. And here's a final tip to add authenticity and credibility to your employer marketing activities: Embrace online employer reviews and highlight them in your marketing communication.
Are you experienced in the art of employer marketing? Are there certain aspects you can recommend or potential pitfalls you want to warn your colleagues about? We'd love to hear both - feel free to leave a comment at the end of this article.
If you would like to find out more about the topic, then read the eBook Critical Touch Points of Recruitment. More information on successful employer branding you can find on bookboonglobal.com.