As the newest member of the Rally team, the past few months have been a whirlwind – in the best way! I’ve spent my time learning about Recruitment Marketing practices, creating new content for the Rally Blog and connecting with the great people in our community.
So I was delighted when I had the chance to kill three birds with one stone by attending the Employer Branding Strategies Conference – more affectionately known as EBrandCon – in San Diego earlier in May. To me, work conferences are one of the best ways to gain more industry knowledge, network with the people who will help propel you in your career and learn new ways on how to hone your skills for great results (Plus, give me any excuse to trade Boston’s chilly spring temps for the warm breezes coming off the Pacific Ocean and I’m in!).
Thanks to my background as a recruiter and then later as a content marketer, I went in to the conference with a strong knowledge of both spheres. But what I came away with was incredibly valuable insight from some of the top employer branding and Recruitment Marketing practitioners that I cannot wait to put to the test in my own work.
One of the most important and eye-opening aspects of attending this conference was seeing how many practitioners are in need of tips, advice and guidance on how to best market their employer brands. When I joined Rally, I knew there was a need for this information, and that we, as a company, are doing our best to fill that need. But understanding this need better from talking with conference attendees helped ignite a passion for our company to continue providing this insight to our community.
I want to share with you my observations and what I learned from my time at EBrandCon. Hopefully this will help inspire you in your own efforts and maybe even motivate you to attend upcoming work conferences that will help you expand your skill set (If they’re in a warm locale, I’ll see you there!).
Content is Your Key to Everything
Prior to the first day of the conference, Rally held a workshop titled “How to Create Your Recruitment Marketing Content Playbook.” This was the first instance when I got to see in action the need that many practitioners have for marketing advice, tips and tricks.
If there’s anything to sum up from the workshop, it’s that content is your everything. Want to generate awareness about your employer brand? Check! Want to better engage with candidates to encourage them to apply? Check. Want to showcase stories that tell talent about your culture and teams? You guessed it…Check!
Content is what turns a careers site visitor into an interested lead. It’s what turns that lead into an applicant. It’s what turns that applicant into a hire. And it’s even what can help turn that new hire into an advocate of your company! Of course, how you promote that content in order to market your employer brand is crucial. But one of the first steps of any successful employer branding strategy is content creation.
Some of our workshop attendees discussing different types of content to use for Recruitment Marketing.
Here are some of the top takeaways from Rally’s pre-conference workshop:
- Your content must answer candidates’ questions at every stage of their journey.
- Variety is the spice of life! Vary up your content formats and channels.
- To make your content truly stand out, get current employees on board to tell their stories.
- Repurposing if your best friend! Turn one content asset into many pieces to use again.
Note: Rally will be hosting this workshop at other conferences throughout the year, including in New York and Boston! Click here to see all of our workshop dates and cities, and sign up to attend one of our workshops on how to create your Recruitment Marketing Content Playbook!
Aim for Authenticity
EBrandCon featured a wide range of incredible speakers who shared their insight into new and exciting ways for companies to strengthen and evolve their employer brand. CareerArc’s SVP of Strategic Partnerships, Mira Greenland, spoke on how storytelling helps to inspire and engage with candidates. One of the most important keys to achieving this? Authenticity in your content!
Creating and generating authentic content isn’t hard. In fact, Mira said it’s easier for companies to have authentic content by tapping into their employees. You can also curate authentic content by creating a company hashtag. She also recommended incorporating video as part of your content strategy to really hit the inspiration and engagement mark.
Mira said to do away with the generic – and boring – content. Go for authentic!
Strategies for the Greatest Impact
Another EBrandCon speaker who gave us all something to think about was Craig Fisher, Head of Employer Branding and Global Marketing at Allegis Global Solutions. In his presentation, he talked about some of the greatest strategies that practitioners can use to improve their employer brand:
- Better engage with candidates before they even apply! Candidates aren’t engaging with you until you engage with them. Get out in front by finding ways to establish connections before they apply.
- Employee referrals are great tools! Creating initiatives like employee advocacy programs can help you capture those referrals that bring in top talent.
- Immediate feedback pays off! Provide feedback shortly after a candidate interview to let them know how they did. One company even does it by phone!
Now that I’m armed with all of this incredible knowledge (and motivation!), I can’t wait to continue to share more guidance and insight with our Rally community. Stay tuned for guest blogs from some of the industry’s leading practitioners and additional resources that will help you grow your skill set and successfully promote your employer brand.