Marketing is continuously changing, and a recruitment business is one of those businesses that deal in almost all industries. Different recruitment businesses work in different ways and most of them make mistakes – some very common while recruiting new employees, writes Usman Raza, Co-Founder & CEO at Christian Marketing Experts
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In the past few years, digital marketing has changed how companies reach clients. New social media platforms, enhanced social sites, and mobile technology play a major role in successful marketing for your recruitment business. Even though you sell invisible products, which is your service, your company should not be invisible. Your customers and candidates must be able to see you online. You may have a solid business plan and exceptional recruitment strategies, but it will be for nothing if you are making these marketing mistakes.
1. Ignoring Customer Service
Truth is, the internal culture of a staffing company will be reflected in any marketing strategy. Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh says customer service is a marketing investment that must be increased. Zappos has a reputation for its exceptional customer service, and its profits continue to benefit from such a culture. Recruitment businesses need to focus on providing a positive work environment for employees. They should encourage customer feedback and provide only the best in customer service. Happy work teams lead to happy clients and a successful business.
2. Forgetting about Brand Identity
Prospective clients will not reach out to your recruitment business if they cannot see beyond a cheap website or outdated logo. Instead of using the same logo and copy style, it may be time to re-brand. Transitioning from an old brand identity to a new one is fairly easy and is not likely to lose you any business. The new brand identity should reflect the passion and vision of your firm, giving you the kind of brand recognition you can support.
3. Not Using Photos
Content may be king, but a picture is worth a thousand words. At least, that is how it works in marketing your recruitment business. Recent research concludes that photo content is as good as, if not better than, text at driving customer engagement. Think about the new social platforms like Instagram and Pinterest. Their success proves how valuable an image can be. Successful marketing for your staffing agency should include infographics, picture boards and visual forms of media to drive client traffic and increase interest.
Learn more: Ramp up Your Recruitment With Intelligent Job Descriptions
4. Cluttered Web Design
Just like a brand identity, a company website needs to be simplified, streamlined and easy to navigate. It also needs to be a direct communication of your values, passions and quality of services. If the website for your recruitment business is full of unnecessary content, complicated navigation and stale images, it is of no use; no use to you and no use to your clients. Instead, a site should be professional, useful and creative.
5. Remaining Immobile
Choosing to have a mobile-enabled website is no longer an option. Your clients are mobile, and your website should be too. Just three years ago, having a mobile-enabled site put you at the forefront of marketing. Now the lack of a mobile-recruiting strategy will leave you in the dust of your competitors. Mobile traffic hitting recruitment sites can measure anywhere from 25 percent to 60 percent. This means without a mobile site your recruitment business could be missing anywhere from 30 to 150 potential clients per month.
6. No Video Content
Along with optimized photo content comes video content. Did you know the second largest search engine behind Google is YouTube? Historically, search engines indexed websites based on text content alone. But now, with the blended results of Google, people will retrieve image, video, news and local content results. Video is one of the most effective ways to get your site to the first page on the search engines.
7. Neglecting Social Media
Social media is the greatest opportunity for “free” marketing, but it requires much of your time. However, being busy on social media platforms is not the same as being productive. Many job seekers use social media sites to browse jobs and find out more about companies, brands, cultures and environments. Users of these platforms want new, engaging and relevant content. This means if you do engage in social media, you will have to keep engaging, making sure your content is current and an ongoing forum for open communication. A successful social media campaign can bring both new employees and clients. So, make sure you take full advantage of it.
8. Not Staying in Touch
Recruiting businesses may forget the importance of cultivating and maintaining relationships with their clients. Written communication remains one of the best methods of staying in touch with clients and prospective customers. Mail and email should be used to provide useful information with candidates and clients. You should make your recruitment business part of an ongoing process to help identify and create value for customers.
9. Foregoing SEO
Technical search engine optimization is still of great necessity. Sitemaps, relevant content and even load times all contribute to getting your site in front of prospective clients. The best kind of content is specifically designed to sell the right services to the right customers, at the right time. Do not make the simple marketing mistake of undervaluing SEO.
10. Relying Solely on Calls and Emails
Though these are great methods of contact, they are just not enough for the modern client always on the go. More and more candidates say their preferred method of communication is texting. In fact, more than one in every three adults prefer to be reached via text. By supporting texting in your recruitment business, you will not miss out in this huge communication opportunity.
11. Neglecting Client Relationships
Being a recruitment business makes most client relationships be transient at best. Once clients have benefited from your services, they no longer have need of you, right? This is the wrong kind of perspective and one major marketing mistake. To be a success, you have to be able to look after clients long term. Items like newsletters, loyalty programs, referral systems and forums for client feedback will help your business remain in contact with clients and earn new business.
12. Poorly Designed Job Boards
This might be one of the biggest marketing mistakes you are making for your recruiting business. There are some staffing companies with bad job board strategies. An applicant tracking system (ATS) may be necessary and useful, but often will be the reason you lose so many viable candidates. Instead, you need to find a solution, an on-site, mobile, social and properly SEO’d job board. Just this one tip will affect all the rest of your marketing strategy.
Learn more: Social Media Recruiting Dos and Don’ts