No different than Jell-O is synonymous with gelatin, and Kleenex with tissue, you want your name to be synonymous with recruiter. This is a long term strategy that is tied in to the in-bound marketing approach. This effort can range from hiring a third party PR firm to constantly keep you in front of major media outlets, to simply creating a stellar website that truly encompasses the caliber of recruiter that you are. Your marketing outreach should not be limited to only a phone call once every few months, but staying in front of your audience through newsletters, participating in industry associations, and penning articles in trade publications. This section will give you a variety of ideas from big to small to allow you to create a consistent branding effort.

Documents

Video

Branding and Advertising Overview

In this clip, Jeff Kaye covers the essence of using branding and advertising to build your brand – even after you hang up the phone.

Articles

Marketing Tools

This outline breaks down each of the categories in the Marketing Strategy document above. For the months in which a Marketing Call is suggested, see those sections in the Learning Library for more information.

Marketing Messages

Building E-Newsletters:

Gary Stauble’s article, “10 Steps to Developing a Client Newsletter,” is a great step-by-step guide to get you started on building your newsletter. A newsletter is a unique way to build your branding, deliver value to your marketplace, and keep your name and email in front of your audience. Once a newsletter is created, it can be an easy template to use over and over again – while just updating the content. Remember to just start somewhere – this is one of those tasks that just seems overwhelming and time consuming – and usually falls to the bottom of the ‘to-do’ list. Create something simple at first – some industry insights, an informative article, and testimonials from recent placements. Get it up and out of your inbox – once you’ve sent the first one, you’ll find that it’s much easier to make a part of your routine.

Birthday, Holiday, and Life Milestone Cards:

When was the last time you got an actual hand-written card in the mail? How did you feel when you got it? That same feeling of incredulousness can be recreated for your candidates and clients. So when do you send a hand-written card?

Some Big Billers send a card to both the placed candidate as well as the hiring authority on each anniversary (after you’ve verified the candidate is still there)! This reminds the candidate and the client that you did a great job, found a great match, and have high retention in your placements.

Although the idea of sending a birthday card to every candidate and client can seem overwhelming, make a short list of those you’ve done work with in the last 24 months. You’ll find that the list is pretty manageable – it just comes down to tracking what to send when. Most software systems allow for customizable fields – utilize those for a birthday date or set a reminder on your Outlook schedule. Even if you aren’t able to send a handwritten card, e-cards can work well too!

Lots of successful recruiters take the time to send a card after an initial conversation with a candidate or client you know you want to keep on your ‘short list’. Put in the card at least two copies of your business card – one for them to keep, and one to have as a spare just in case they know anyone who needs it.

Building a Social Media Presence

LinkedIn:

Currently, there are over 43 million people on LinkedIn – but since one new person joins the LinkedIn Network every second, that number is sure to be outdated no matter when you read this! When you join, you create a profile that summarizes your professional expertise and accomplishments. You can then form enduring connections by inviting trusted contacts to join LinkedIn and connect to you.

Most recruiters know of LinkedIn, but don’t fully realize the impact that it can have on your branding efforts. Have you ever ended the call with a new candidate or client and thought: “that could have gone better – if only they really understood who I am and what I do!” LinkedIn not only allows you to provide a full history of your track record and accomplishments, but the strongest feature of this site is the ‘recommendations’ section. Here, you can show testimonials from their peers, all proclaiming how great you are and how happy they’ve been with your services.

This can be used as a great public relations piece for your organization as well. You can include your company logo, a summary, and other branding information that will allow you to better showcase your firm.

Utilize LinkedIn to find companies who are hiring, network with groups of recruiters willing to do split placements, and track down long lost candidates. LinkedIn allows you to be more prepared for those initial introductory phone calls – know where your candidate came from, where they went to school, know how long they’ve been in the business – and know if they are worth a phone call at all.

Facebook:

The most used social networking site in the world, Facebook can be a recruitment tool that adds a personal connection to a professional one. Adding clients and candidates to your social network on Facebook can create a new level of friendship when they see pictures of your family vacation, pets, and children – but it’s important to recognize that you’ll lose some credibility if your pictures and posts are anything but professional. Social networks can be used to track down candidates or find mutual connections – but is best used selectively if you are networking with prospects.

Twitter:

One of the top 50 most popular websites (by traffic), Twitter allows its users to send and read messages known as “tweets”. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters that are posted to your profile, sent to your “followers”, and are searchable on Twitter search. When someone “follows” you, it simply means that they are receiving your Twitter updates.
How does this benefit recruiters? Think about delivering immediate messages to a group of candidates and clients who have asked to receive messages from you (by being one of your “followers”). You can send out tweets to instantly educate your audience on a new search you just got, alert them to a new article that would be helpful, or alert them to some breaking industry news that they need to hear. You could provide links to blogs, videos, or websites that would be beneficial for them to review. If you are networked with other recruiters, you could tweet for splits, with the overview of your candidate or open job order.

Blogging:

Blogging is a good social media tool that can again be overwhelming to figure out where to begin. If you hate being creative or are a poor writer, blogging is probably not the social media for you. However, if you’d like to have an outlet to educate your marketplace on trends, tips on staying valuable to your company, and other insights – start with one post! Pick a subject that you are excited about, but also that (most importantly) your audience would be interested in reading. Create regular posts, and create a shortcut on your signature link driving people to your blog website. This can be a great way to communicate with your marketplace in a more casual, friendly, and weekly basis.

Market Research and Industry Trade Websites

Conduct a Market Research Study:

Often, recruiters hear ‘market research study’ and automatically assume it will take loads of time to formulate a plan, reach out to contacts, and then compile all the information. What is often overlooked is the fact that every single phone call you make has the potential to be someone submitted in the ‘study’. If you talk with 15 connects a day, 75 a week, and 300 in a month, that’s a pretty good sampling of an audience!

Now, what should your study study? It’s easy – whatever information in which you think your clients and/or candidates would find value. Salary surveys are usually the most obvious, because everyone wants to know about compensation. If you are using a Candidate Data Sheet, take the last several dozen that have been taken, compile the information with some key identifiable information (number of years in the business, title/role, certifications, size of company) and you’ve got your survey. You can get more detailed if you’d like, or keep it simple.

If a Salary Survey seems overwhelming, think simpler. What information would your clients want to know?
• “What’s something unique that management is doing to motivate the current team?”
• “What are you currently doing to retain your top producers right now?”
• “What was the primary motivator for you leaving your last organization?”
• “What’s the best way your company is securing new accounts in this current economy?”
• “Outside of your own, what company has the best reputation in the marketplace? What gives you that impression?”
• “What benefits have been modified or what cuts have been made recently in response to the economic conditions we are facing?”

Pick a question and make sure that before you hang up the phone on each call, you ask: “Hey (name), real quick,“ followed by then asking your survey question. Do this 75 times a week and you’ll get some market intelligence that nobody else has!

Trade Magazines and Industry Websites – Articles and Advertising:

Just like recruiters are always on the lookout for good candidates and new clients, trade magazines and industry publications are always on the lookout for new material to publish that will make their readers value the site/magazine. Once you’ve identified the best and most utilized sites and publications for your marketplace (more than likely by asking your marketplace), reach out to those publications with the offer of a free article. You’ve got one shot to make a good impression – so spend some time on your piece before you reach out to editors. This is a great time for you to start to use some of the Market Research information that you’ve compiled, since it is information that only you have.

Once you’ve reached out to your target publication(s), it’s an ideal time to consider ad space around your article as well. Consider either purchasing space or negotiating for free space in return for your article contribution. A great rule of thumb is to have an ad on the site or in the publication for the month prior, during, and month post your article’s release.