In order to attract customers, organizations must develop a strong marketing brand. The same goes for recruitment. A strong employer brand has a similar effect – attracting and getting candidates excited about the possibilities of being part of the organization. How does an organization achieve a strong employer brand? Again, it’s all about the way the company markets itself. Recruitment marketing is at the forefront of competing for talent in a labor market that is short on skilled individuals to fill job openings. While the employer brand is the reputation of the organization, the marketing brand is the message that goes out there.

How important is recruitment marketing?

According to HR.com’s State of Recruitment Marketing report for 2018, 63% of hiring managers say that it has become more important to have a strong employer brand. The growing impact of social media, the historically low unemployment levels around the US, and the increasing number of Millennials and Gen Z in the workplace are all driving recruitment marketing forward.

Additionally, there are some key benefits of promoting a strong employer brand out there. 85% of the recruiters polled said they were able to identify qualified talent using recruitment marketing methods. They were also able to engage with passive candidates 54% more effectively, and this is a biggie in today’s labor market!

Pro Tip: Don’t fall for these 5 common recruitment mistakes

It’s all about the content

One of the standards in marketing happens to be creating searchable and relevant content that attracts the right people at the right time. This works well for recruitment marketing, so long as it’s done strategically. But don’t worry, you don’t have to get a college degree in marketing now just to become effective with creating a marketable employer brand!

Create and share employer brand content

Think it costs a lot to maintain a marketing brand? Think again! Here are some free and easy to use tools you can use to launch a successful recruitment marketing campaign while you create and share employer brand content. Keep in mind that some of these resources start out with a free trial and then have a monthly fee.

Google

Some of the most popular, and FREE, resources that millions of marketing and recruitment pros use around the world are to be found on the Google platform. For example, Google Trends helps recruiters to spot trends in the recruitment market, based on historical web search data. For example, recruiters can use this tool to find out what month is best for listing “new graduate jobs”, or to see what people are searching for in general from the new Google Jobs engine. Google Analytical tools can be used to track website user visitors and sources on the company career website, which can help with targeted advertisement.

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Check My Job

Want to avoid bias when writing job descriptions and help-wanted advertisements? Check My Job verifies that job information is free of unconscious gender bias. And it includes a nifty feedback tool that recommends the best length of your descriptions, while adhering to recruitment marketing best practices. This free resource can help you to write better job ads, which supports a great employer brand and better candidate attraction. The same UK company offers a free Value of Hire Calculator so you can make sure to offer a competitive wage to candidates.

UnSplash/PikWizard

A big part of establishing a strong brand today is by promoting content in visual formats. Content that’s built on images and videos performs better on websites, blogs, social media profiles, job advertisements, and more. Use Unsplash or  Pikwizard  to locate plenty of royalty free images of people that are perfect for recruitment marketing themes. 

Canva/Piktochart

If you are feeling particularly creative, you can also get a free account over at Canva and start creating graphically designed recruitment materials. Canva is especially great for creating social graphics or email banners with a very easy to use platform. Piktochart works in a similar fashion and is great for designing posters or infographics without requiring any design background. If you can’t have a designer on your team, these tools are the next best thing to give your content a boost.

We hope you find these free employer branding and marketing tools helpful in your quest for candidate attraction and recruitment.