I was listening to the radio the other day when an ad came on for the zip recruiter, a new online service that helps find the perfect candidate for businesses looking to hire. This got me thinking about how in our fast paced world of technology, we are constantly searching for ways to make our lives easier. Staffing and recruiting have always been a very useful service for those in search of good employees, but how well is this service marketed?

While traditional advertising such as TV and radio ads don't quite fit some of the newer media marketing might help you to reach the appropriate clientele! Companies such as Parqa, Haley Marketing, and Newsletterville all offer a variety of marketing tools. 

Blogs & Newsletters

Many companies provide services such as newsletters and blogs in which they provide content or can highlight your own companies writers. These can help provide a stronger web presence and inform your potential clients. Blogs and articles create a bigger web presence by giving your potential clients more things to Google and more opportunities to engage with your company. Emailed newsletters and email blast can be a great way to deliver a direct message and interesting content. It also can draw your potential clients to your website. Online web content such as blogs can help make your website easier to find and pop up more frequently during seemingly unrelated searches potentially putting your company in front of a new group of potential clients. But in order have a blog work, you must have a great website!

Website & web presence

Today more then ever a web presence is essential. Personally when looking for a service the first thing I do is get on the Internet and check out websites. Being able to see products and services and then Googling reviews help a potential client make a decision on what company to use. So making sure that your web presence is fresh, accessible and most importantly easy to use will enable you to engage more potential clients. If a site is too outdated, or hard to use, people will simply move on to one that’s more appealing. Often times this is even more important then the cost of the services. You may have the best prices, but if your site takes forever to load or is hard to navigate potential clients will move on. This also goes with too much text. Today people want blurbs, short articles and easy tidbits to read. If your home page is filled with paragraph upon paragraph of text people will get board and move on to a site with more pictures. Studies show that even in social media a picture draws more attention then words. You only have to think about your own experience surfing the web to know this is true. It's also true that people would rather see a picture of you (looking your best of course) then some random stock photo. So make sure your site is not only fresh, bright and filled with pictures, but also accurate photos of you, your company, staff and products.

Social Media

I touched on social media earlier, but it deserves more attention. Today most companies have at the very least a facebook page, but for those who don't, you are missing out on a important interaction. Social media allows companies to be out in front of potential clients by posting interesting and relevant information. It allows for a more personal interaction through the web by opening up dialog. Many social media sites also have stats and insights which allow you to see how many people view your post, when, and if they are clicking on your links and its free! Having this kind of data can allow you to see what your potential clients want and need. It also keeps you up to date with trends and viral phenomenons that can keep your company relevant to younger generations. 

Reputation Management

There are two sides to a web presence that we need to discuss. One is the one that you project to the world and the other is what Online users are saying about you. We all hope that people only say kind, positive things, but lets face it we cannot always please everyone. Some times those people take to the Internet claws out and ready to drawl blood. The results of these people and their disparaging comments and reviews can effect how you are viewed by those who goggle you. I know when searching out a product or service I often read the reviews to see what people have to say.  Today there are companies that can manage your reputation and help to calm or comfort those who would write scathing reviews. This is an excellent way to make sure that when someone Google your company they see all the happy customers! 

In this digital age having a good affordable service or product isn't enough, one must strive to be in front of the customer at all times by having a strong web presence, email marketing and social media interaction. It shows your company is with it and in the know as well!