Why Employer Branding Is Important and How to Get it Right

Recruitment can get very costly. And after all your efforts, you could still end up with less than stellar hires. Wouldn’t it be great if you could find a way to make top talent come to you of their own accord? Employer brand development can help you do just that. It enables your company to build a reputation that appeals to your target candidates.

What is employer branding?

Employer branding is the process of promoting your organization, so you become the preferred employer of your prospective applicants. It helps your company recruit and retain the right talent.

Our interconnected world has paved the way for a highly globalized job market. Now more than ever, companies need to work on employer brand development to attract the best talent.

Six key benefits of  employer branding

Recruiters agree that employer branding significantly impacts hiring. It comes as no surprise that 77% of leaders from more than 500 companies consider recruitment marketing a priority.

Companies across the globe are constantly making improvements on their employer brand to stay ahead in an increasingly competitive market.

Attract the right talent

Just as you check the background of potential recruits, your prospective applicants are also looking into your company’s reputation to see if you’re the right match for them.

According to a LinkedIn study, 86% of job seekers check company reviews and ratings before applying for a job. Research has also revealed that 48% of boomers, 56% of gen-Xers, and 68% of millennials visit a company’s social media channels to assess its brand.

Save money

When your company identity speaks for itself, you won’t have to spend so much on advertising to attract talent. A job page on your website or an announcement on your social media channels will be enough to draw in candidates. Moreover, you won’t have to join the ranks of companies that need to offer a higher salary to make up for their bad reputation.

Showcase a vibrant company culture

Candidates seek a work environment that’s fun and rewarding. You need to showcase not only the job opening but also your unique culture. The opportunity to demonstrate your diverse workforce and company perks is one reason why employer branding is important.

Recruit and retain exceptional employees

One of the best ways to reduce recruitment costs is to pay attention to employee retention. Employees who take pride in being part of a reputable company are more likely to stay. And, of course, applicants are more likely to accept your job offer if you have a good reputation to back you up.

Make employees your brand ambassadors

Employees who are proud to be part of your company become your brand ambassadors. They’ll have good things to say about the workplace. And you’ll be raking in talent via referrals. Moreover, positive feedback from your employees feeds into word-of-mouth marketing that impacts not only recruitment but also your sales.

Cultivate brand awareness

Building your employer brand allows your company to become a recognizable name. This brand recognition then makes it easy for you to attract top talent.

With an effective employer branding program, potential hires will have heard of you even before they’ve graduated. You’ll be top-of-the-list by the time they start hunting for a job. Even more established professionals will strive to gain the skills and experience required to earn a place in your organization.

Tips on how to improve your employer branding

Ready to build strong employer branding for your organization? Take note of these employer branding best practices.

Define your candidate persona

Buyer personas make marketing efforts more targeted and effective. Creating a candidate persona will bring the same success to your own recruitment efforts. It will help you craft content that speaks to your ideal employee.

But how to create a candidate persona? Define the candidate’s age, demographics, work or educational background, and the social media and offline community they belong to.

Stay active on social media

As mentioned earlier, candidates tend to check a company’s social media presence to assess its reputation. Make sure your online presence creates the right impression.

Employer branding through social media involves building and maintaining an active presence on traditional channels for brands or recruiters, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Depending on your branding and candidate personas, it may be a great idea to have a presence on Instagram and TikTok.

People tend to put more weight on recommendations made by their friends, family, or colleagues. Make sure you’re treating your employees right, so they become your brand advocates on social media.

Manage your presence on career sites

Make sure you don’t neglect places like Glassdoor where current and former employees freely talk about their experiences with a company. Address negative comments graciously. Use it as an opportunity to demonstrate your efforts to improve work conditions for your employees.

Provide growth opportunities for your employees

Make sure you’re providing your employees with opportunities to improve their skills and advance their careers within the company. These growth opportunities will help you attract and keep top talent.

Stand out with perks and benefits

Benefits are among the top priorities for candidates when searching for a job. And no, modern amenities, free coffee, and remote or flexible work arrangements just won’t cut it anymore — not when practically every company already offers them.

You’ll have to be more creative when coming up with company perks. One way to find out what your employees value the most is to run a well-designed survey.

Solicit feedback

Make sure you’re maintaining a great work environment by asking your employees for their feedback. You can do this informally at meetings and formally via surveys. Ensure your staff can provide honest feedback without fear of retaliation. And, of course, you should act on the feedback. Take action to improve conditions where necessary.

Add an element of fun

Yes, fun is good for business. An enjoyable workplace improves the well-being of employees and allows them to perform better. Plus, happy employees are bound to talk about your company on social media — which is great for branding!

Who is responsible for developing employer branding?

Many people think that they can just leave employer brand development to their recruiters. But the job requires work that may overburden those in charge of scouting for the right candidates.

You’ll have to build an in-house talent marketing team that will take charge of specialized tasks like content production and event management or rely on a third-party recruitment company to get the job done.

Talent content manager

You need to make the right impression online. Bad content won’t be doing you any favors, so make sure you have a talent content manager in your corner. They’ll ensure the tone and voice of your content are on-brand and that you’re reaching your target audience.

Community manager

You need one to build a community of people who resonate with your brand. They’ll be responsible for developing the voice and image of your company. Communicating with people on behalf of your company, they’ll be involved in activities related to communications, public relations, and events.

Talent marketer

A talent marketer does more than just posting job ads on career websites; they take charge of tasks that are essential to employer branding—working on building awareness, creating demand, and converting target talents into applicants.

You can count on a talent marketer to create appropriate messaging for your brand, considering the whole candidate life cycle.

Recruitment event manager

Event managers are responsible for planning and organizing recruitment events that keep your target talent engaged. They’ll be at the helm of activities like career events, webinars, and courses.

Your team = your rules

You get to decide who makes up your talent marketing team. You can have one person taking charge of all the abovementioned roles, or you can hire 20 people to work on employer brand development. It all depends on the size of your business and your unique needs.

How MagicHire can boost your employer branding

Work with MagicHire to find the best candidates for your team. Our agency reaches candidates across the country or even globally if that is appropriate for your needs, allowing you to expand your hiring opportunities. We use real-time collaborative tools to provide the best hiring experience.

Conclusion

Successful companies have built a reputation that has the power to attract the best candidates. You can join their ranks by building your employer brand. This process entails crucial steps like creating candidate personas and building a strong online presence, which takes time. The right talent marketing team can help you get the job done.
In the meantime, trust MagicHire to boost your employer branding by finding the perfect candidates for your team. Our professionals find excellent candidates who fit in well at your company. These employees will readily recommend your company to other people and help boost your brand awareness.