Tech is the fastest growing sector, and with growth, comes the requirement for new talent. Tech talent might not turn up in abundance, you may need to go looking for it. But do not fear, we have some branding and marketing must-haves you can implement in your business to attract new tech talent.
What is employer branding?
Employer branding is what your reputation says about your organisation and what it stands for from past, present and future employees. It’s about knowing your brand’s values and culture, and creatively proving that you practice what you preach to existing and potential employers.
Employer branding is all things behind the scenes which attract potential employees-the hiring process, working environment, communication- anything which could affect an employee’s opinion or experience.
The importance of employer branding
Employees are your company ambassadors, and have a huge impact on a company’s reputation. Job seekers will consider a businesses reputation as a top factor when looking for new career opportunities. No matter the level of talent, individuals might avoid a company if the company is not highly ranked by employees.
Strong employer branding will help you draw top talent for less and convince employees to stay on at your business for longer.
Your employer value proposition
Your employer value proposition is your company’s core benefits that make up your wider employer brand.
It can be looked at as a promise between an employer and a potential applicant. What can your company and culture offer them, in exchange for their talent, skills, and experience?
How to curate a brand culture that attracts top talent
Brand culture is more than creating an external image which appeals to possible candidates. It’s essential you practice what you preach and make that image a reality.
Here our top 5 steps which could be key in curating a brand culture which is effective in attracting top tech talent:
Celebrate current employees
By celebrating your existing people and standout achievements, you are supporting and staying connected with your employee ambassadors. This is a great way of showcasing the culture, existing talent and boosting the employee brand.
Build brand advocacy
Building brand advocacy can be a very effective form of marketing, and peer to peer recommendations are one of the most trusted forms. This can also be applied to recruitment.
Getting all individuals who could have power contributing to your employee brand- from MDss to assistants could have a lot of power in boosting advocacy.
Treat candidate like customers
With online platforms like Glassdor and Indeed, candidates can treat job searches like online shopping. Job seekers now want to know all about a company’s expectations, interview process, work culture and style; and can leave a review about their experience as a candidate. Provide a consistent and engaging experience in all parts of the journey for candidates.
Connect employer and corporate brand
As we know, employer branding helps those outside your company understand your vision, values and culture through your employees. Corporate and employer brands will most likely have different audiences but will be communicating the same message. You can use many of the same channels to speak to customers as you would candidates. It is important to implement consistency across all branding communications.
Understand brand perception
Brand perception is the thoughts and feelings associated with a company. It’s what people believe a brand represents, rather than what a company itself says it represents.
Most employees, customers and potential talent will be using social media platforms such as Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, and therefore have the accessibility to look at reviews and experiences around the company. Understanding how to use this information as valuable feedback to consider in your employee value proposition can be very useful in capturing the right talent to apply for your business.
Recruiting vs recruitment marketing
With the tech sector growing at an insane rate, there are more tech job opportunities for top talent now, meaning recruitment marketing is more crucial than ever for all businesses, big and small.
Recruitment marketing uses conventional marketing strategies to promote the employer brand and benefits of working for your company as well as attract possible candidates.
Recruitment marketing is measurable
Recruitment marketing can be easier to track and measure results. It can provide metrics like traffic sources, social media reach and cost per applicant, meaning employers can adjust and test their campaigns where necessary.
Candidates are consumers
The tech world which we live in today allows new talent to find and research employers and job opportunities the same ways consumers will do with products or services.
Candidates now start their job search online and have the facilities to thoroughly research employers before applying. If they can learn about the company’s culture and mission, then a positive perception can be made and encourage them to apply for a job with you.
Recruitment marketing is more effective
Today’s job market has quickly turned candidate driven. Talent now has the power to pick and choose who they want, meaning it can be challenging for employers to pursue and hire qualified talent. Synchronising marketing and recruitment can be key to gaining trust of candidates and convincing them to choose your company over competitors.
Developing a recruitment marketing strategy
Creating a recruitment marketing strategy will help shape your campaign and keep you on track throughout the process. Here’s our 5 steps in creating the perfect strategy to attract tech talent.
Set your recruitment marketing goals
Setting out achievable goals will make it easier to track your progress further down the line, when the campaign is live. Having your marketing goals align with your company’s objectives will also be key here.
Your target market is your ideal job candidate and who you will be tailoring your marketing towards. Figure out who this ideal individual may be; create a persona based on their characteristics and tailor your marketing communications to this persona.
Plan and produce your content
It’s now time to start planning and producing the content for your recruitment campaign.
Once you have your target audience, you can figure out where you can find them including mediums and channels.
To get the most out of your budget, you will want to know where marketing efforts are successful and implement into your recruitment campaign.
Content creation is a large part of this process. The better quality content you create, the higher talent you will attract. You may want to create a content calendar to stay organised and ensure that everyone can see the planned content.
Collaborate with your cross-functional teams
Recruitment marketing isn’t down to only the marketing team. It is important people from all departments get involved with reviewing and signing off content. Collaborating with other teams will ensure your publishing on-brand, appropriate and proof-read content.
Engage with your audience
Now your content is published, you can start engaging with your target audience.
Most tech individuals see social media as an essential tool, so if you have published content on social media channels, you can use messages and comments to interact.
If candidates spark interest on your website via email, keep in touch with them and keep them engaged in the company.
Measure your performance
It’s finally time to measure your performance and reflect on your initial goals to see if you have achieved them.
Alternatively, you can use this to evaluate the performance so far and make relevant edits to the campaign.
When using metrics to evaluate your recruitment marketing campaign, here are some examples you could measure:
- Cost-per-applicant
- Cost-per-hire
- Visitors-to-applicants ratio:
- Applicants-to-interviewees ratio
- Interviewees-to-offers ratio
- Offers-to-hires ratio
- Time-to-hire
- Quality-of-hire
Hopefully now you have the components to adjust your branding and marketing to attract the abundance of talent which is in the growing tech community. By focusing on making workers and candidates feel positive and engaged towards your brand, you’re on the road to successful recruitment.
The Tech South West Tech Talent report delves deep into the talent pool of the South West tech sector. Read the report here for commentary and analysis from tech experts from across the region: https://www.techsouthwest.co.uk/reports/
Additionally, If your company is in need of any further help with branding or marketing, we are here to help. Find out more about what we have to offer to bring your company to its next level: https://program.agency/services/
30/08/2022