Just last week (before her theatre outing) I had a chat with Sharon at Superfast Recruitment about How To Use The Science Of Getting Attention To Stand Out and Attract The Candidates And Clients You Want. It’s well worth a watch as she crammed in loads of great tips. Now, I have a blog from her sharing her thoughts on the marketing collateral recruiters need…
Last week, I went to see a fantastic production of 9-5 at The Kings Theatre in Glasgow. Admittedly, I might have been overcome by the impact of being in a theatre again with real human beings. Within twenty-four hours, I used my credit card multiple times to book tickets for two other shows in the same venue, ordered the original 9-5 DVD, and left the auditorium with some prime Dolly merchandise.
I blame it all on the brochure I was given as I walked to my seat: a classic piece of marketing collateral handed to an ideal musical theatre avatar.
As I flicked through the pages and surfed with my phone, I was then retargeted on multiple occasions with additional purchases I might have missed.
The power of marketing collateral on multiple channels in front of someone ready to buy now.
The thing about marketing material like this is that it can be designed to work in all parts of the buying cycle. Collateral can move people from being unaware of your recruiting brand or service to being ready to buy.
Remember, not every candidate or client is ready to work with you straight away, especially when they have so much choice of recruiting suppliers in the current marketplace offering, on the surface, the same service.
This is where your marketing collateral can help conversion.
The good news is that micro and smaller SME organisations can finally compete in how they interact and influence their market as an expanded digital landscape and A.I. technology makes marketing affordable.
Online media has opened up multiple opportunities for companies like you to build their authority presence.
So, what pieces of material and what channels should you consider using to promote your brand?
Having worked in the sector for over fifteen years as a supplier of marketing services and consulting, we want to share certain pieces that stand out above others.
A Website That Communicates What You Do
The first one is a website that communicates what you do, with multiple pieces of content that interact with both candidates and clients at all parts of the buying cycle.
I wish I could say everyone has a ‘good’ website that does this; they don’t. Unfortunately, I still see many websites with a handful of pages and no dynamic blog or insights content.
Consequently, they are losing the opportunity to communicate their authority in the market, so critical to conversion in today’s market.
Not only is influence missing from sites I see, but visitors are rarely encouraged to take the next logical step, e.g., pick up the phone, upload their CV, download a report, book a career consultation, and the list goes on.
You may have a website, but how well is it structured to turn browsers into buyers?
Claim and Use All Your Social Media Channels
The events of 2020 resulted in all social channels increasing their membership more than at any time since their launch.
As human beings, we crave connection, which is why many of us have profiles on multiple social websites. Whether you agree or disagree with its impact on our lives, the branding presence and selling opportunities social media brings can exponentially increase your reach into the market.
How often have you come across a brand for the first time on social media? I suspect on multiple occasions.
Here is the data that starts to explain why.
As I write this article, approaching 3 billion people have an active Facebook account, with Instagram reaching 1.4 billion users in 2021. The favourite haunt of most recruiters, LinkedIn now has over 800 hundred million users and approaching 60 million registered companies.
And all of these channels provide multiple ways to advertise to their users too.
Pareto’s principle logically predicts that at least some of your candidates and clients will be on these platforms, so what are you saying about you and your brand that they can experience?
Ideal content to share on these channels can impact people in all parts of the buying cycle. For example:
- Access to authority building reports
- Instructional and promotional videos
- Articles and PDFs
- Links to your content assets
- Quotes revealing how effective your recruiting process is
- Job adverts
- Testimonial snippets
- Why work with us updates
- Case studies
- Live training
Consistency of communication builds brands, and with the technology available today, this is such an easy win.
LinkedIn deserves a special mention here as many recruiting pros still only use it as their sourcing tool. Though the big L isn’t as fast at embracing new updates as the likes of Facebook and Instagram, you can do a lot to use both your profile and page as a way to create demand.
You can upload guides and PDFs and feature them on your profile. You can post your blog articles on both your profile and company page.
What about testimonials and case studies? Tick both these off because you can share them on and down your profile. LinkedIn allows you to ask for recommendations, which continues to be a key convincer for clients and what it would be like to work with you.
Social Proof: Testimonials, Case Studies and Reviews
We currently inhabit the review society. My recent trip to Glasgow involved checking out various hotels and restaurant reviews before booking.
When I engage with a service provider, I check out what other people like me say about their service before saying yes. As human beings, more than ever, we want to ensure we don’t make a mistake when making significant purchases and having access to Google makes this easy.
Knowing we are wired to seek evidence like this should be used to your advantage.
Social proof comes in many forms, from Google reviews, testimonials, and case studies.
Case studies are particularly good because then, as a candidate or as a client, we can transpose ourselves into the environment of the person sharing their experience of working with you.
Let’s say that you want to bring in more candidates or clients in a certain micro-sector that you want to work in, and you’ve got some experience working in that sector.
Think about the impact a relevant case study will have in convincing people you are the company to work with.
Social proof like this can be used in multiple ways. You could jump on a quick Zoom or Teams call. This video can be uploaded on your website and YouTube. It could be transcribed and put into a PDF branded document. Snippets and sound bites could be created and added to your sales brochure and in images sent down all your social channels.
The way you can leverage content convincers like this is only limited by your imagination.
Your Company Sales Presentation in Multiple Formats
The next important piece of marketing collateral is your company sales presentation, the content of which can also be used in a brochure. Though it’s easy to think this is ‘old school’ marketing past its sell-by date, that most certainly isn’t the case.
Your sales brochure needs to meet the conversation going on in your clients’ and candidates’ heads. Here you can use a copywriting process like A.I.D.A. (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) to explain how you can help the person in question, share your results, case studies and testimonials.
Sales brochures aren’t only for clients either.
With the skills shortage in most sectors at unprecedented levels, it is critical to stand out to candidates. Why not create a candidate-specific brochure where you highlight the value you can bring to them as they develop their career?
Practically, this can be created as a PDF that is emailed or printed and sent in the post; hot tip – direct mail like this is working incredibly well at the moment.
Content Assets Used in Conversion Campaigns
When it comes to business-to-business selling, multiple touchpoints are needed to move people through the buyer’s cycle, so they eventually say yes to working with you.
Recruiting falls into this category, with the selling and buying process being even more complex when both client and candidate influencing strategies must be deployed.
The fact is that both clients AND candidates need to be convinced about the value of your service and for candidates, if moving organisations is right for their career right now.
Luckily this is where marketing collateral becomes invaluable.
Here your collateral is in the form of multiple content assets you can use throughout the candidate and client journey.
[Important: If you haven’t mapped out the candidate and client pathway your people follow, then make that a priority.]
Content assets are chunks of information that consistently help to move people along the buyer’s cycle. They will answer the questions going on in your clients and candidates’ minds.
It is the same for a candidate or a client and is a simple way to demonstrate the value your process adds to their career planning or recruitment challenges.
Content on your website does this incredibly well. Answer those questions well in a blog post, and you will start to build your authority as THE recruiter in your sector.
Content assets can also be used in the form of reports and guides that add value, blog posts and multimedia updates. Videos, masterclass training, and lives on LinkedIn or Facebook and Instagram help too, while also profiling you as the person to work with.
Assets designed in this way can also be used in automated email campaigns that nurture candidates and clients who aren’t ready to act now.
One of the easiest ways to identify what content you need is to review the client and candidate pathways I mentioned earlier. Brainstorm typical questions your consultants are asked and the objections that regularly come up. Then, create your assets to answer these questions.
Final Thoughts
After a strange few years in the sector, many recruitment companies are realising that having a consistently full pipeline of candidates and clients is a good thing.
If you have made that decision, too, then following the process I have outlined for you will make a huge difference to your results.
Thanks,
Sharon Newey M.D. Superfast Recruitment. Superfast Recruitment has been providing marketing coaching, consulting, and services to the recruitment and staffing sector globally for over 15 years. You can listen to their award-winning marketing podcast here. In their latest free masterclass video series, they share the two critical frameworks their clients use to bring in a constant supply of targeted candidates and client leads. You can access the recordings here.
