Three-quarters of all candidates consider an employer’s brand before they decide whether or not to apply for a job. So, as with any other key business initiative, you need to know what successful branding looks like at your company.

Branding involves capturing seemingly intangible qualities that make your business a great place to work, so it may seem like brand authenticity and effectiveness are hard to measure. But in fact, the opposite is true, and it can and should be done.

For maximum impact, have a data-driven brand. Doing so will help you more fully understand your candidates’ expectations and your recruitment needs and challenges, and set your sourcing strategy on the right path.

The Value of Data

Successful branding depends on your recruitment team understanding exactly who your messages resonate with and where that content needs to be. It also offers deeper insight into factors such as which jobs would best suit different candidates, what type of culture a person is seeking, and more – in other words, the crucial elements that result in a successful hire.

Know Your Target Audience

Your ultimate goal is to have candidates self-select. So, it’s critical that you get to know your target audience and then offer opportunities in ways that appeal to job seekers who are most qualified for a role and would be the best fit for your organization.

• Your current top-performing employees are a great start as you seek to attract like minds. Using surveys, focus groups and other tactics, you need to attain a solid grasp on where your most pressing hiring needs are, which qualifies you should seek in specific candidates, and where this targeted talent is spending time.

Analyze Your Best Content

Once you know who you should be targeting, focus on your message points: What should you be targeting them with?

• Start by paying attention to the analytics for your social media accounts. Which of your posts have the highest engagement levels?
• Also look at the analytics for your career site. For example, if you learn that most clicks through to your application page occur after a user views an employee testimonial video, that’s a good indicator that you should leverage more video content.

Measure The Impact

There are numerous places you can start to measure whether your employer branding content and efforts are working. For starters, has your application rate increased? Do you have more visitors to your career site? And if so, are they converting into applicants? These are all good signs that your employer brand is resonating with desired candidates.

Contact Haley Marketing for a deeper dive into optimizing your employer brand content, as well as any and all aspects of your ongoing recruitment marketing strategies.

Want to boost recruiting by building a stronger employment brand?

Download “Using Content to Drive Your Employment Brand” eBook for actionable ideas.