How to Align Your Employment Brand with Your Company Brand? Part 3 of 3

By Jessica Miller-Merrell

So far we’ve discussed the power of the employment brand, how to align your brand with marketing efforts for the best results, and in the final part of the series we’re going to discuss how to focus on target and meaningful conversations and messaging directed at the candidates that is consistent with your marketing messages.

Being involved in the overall brand strategy for your company is important when it comes to creating clean and consistent messaging. Your employment brand is just as important as your company’s overall brand, if not more important. Without being able to hire smart and effectively your company will be gone before you get started.  

If you want creative employees to apply for your company you have to be creative in your employment brand messaging. Look at the 12 Best & Most Ridiculous Employer Brand & Recruiting Videos list that we compiled and take note on how these companies weren’t afraid to be different in their messaging.

Attracting an entirely new base of candidates through recruitment videos has paid off for several companies. Not only in recruiting better talent, but their actual brand image is increased. There are several lessons you can learn from employer brand and recruiting videos about messaging and creating meaningful conversations. These lessons can transcend from any form of marketing your employer brand. Here are just a few lessons:

Don’t be afraid to be different. As a company part of your goal is to be the best and brightest in your industry. If you’re like all your competitors you will never be #1. Take a look at Apple and how they transformed the cell phone and computer market.  They weren’t afraid to go up against one of the biggest tech giants of all time. They were different. Create brand messaging that exemplifies how your company is different then the rest. This will not only allow you to attract the best talent, but create a legacy brand.

Use your employees to tell the message. When you’re using employees who are truly passionate about your brand – customers and candidates will flock to you. As a candidate looking to find a new job I want to know what your cashier thinks about their job. If they hate it, it tells me that the company doesn’t put a lot of effort into company culture throughout all levels of the business. One big obstacle of your employment brand is not only external marketing, but also marketing internally as well.

Play on emotions. This one might seem a little out there, but who doesn’t cry when they watch Sarah Mclachlan support the SPCA? Great marketing pieces catch the candidate’s emotions and plays on it. Take a look at Reba McEntire in a Whirlpool video and an AT&T recruitment video.

These pieces of advice can be used across your entire brand and aren’t limited to video recruitment. In every piece of your employment brand you shouldn’t be afraid to be different, you should let you employees tell the story, and if you are able to play on the heart – do it. It works. Candidates and customers are drawn to emphatic companies.  So while you’re working on aligning both brands, be clear in your message and work at attracting not only good talent, but the best talent through several efforts. Utilize your HR department and let them be apart of the conversation when it comes to building an overall brand strategy. 

Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR is a workplace and technology strategist specializing in social media. She’s an author who writes at Blogging4Jobs. You can follow her on Twitter @blogging4jobs. 

Photo Credit.