Recruitment marketing isn’t just a recruiting trend, it is a new and vital function that talent acquisition specialists need to master. This process of building the employer brand to attract relevant, quality talent is now a standard part of the talent strategy. A strong and positive employer brand can make an incredible difference in landing the right talent, but there is no road map or 

The technologies and data that surround the recruitment marketing function are ever evolving, and therefore, the strategy is as well. Here are several trends we believe will be essential for recruiters to follow in order to stay relevant in the ultra-competitive employer branding world.checklist that will lead to a winning recruitment marketing strategy.

Pay Attention to Reviews

If you believe company reviews are a losing battle that no one pays attention to anyhow, you’re dead wrong. Software Advice conducted a survey of over 4,500 job seekers to find out how and if job seekers are using employer reviews. The study revealed 48% of candidates used Glassdoor at some point in their job search. The research also revealed 60% of job seekers would not apply to a company with a one-star rating (out of 5).

So, the moral of the study is a large portion of job seekers are using employer/workforce review sites, and poor ratings and reviews are, in fact, affecting their job seeking behaviors. 

●  68% of job seekers said they would accept a lower salary if the employer created a great impression through the hiring process

; the challenge here is 29% of job seekers don’t think employers do a good job of reinforcing why their companies are a good place to work. 

●  Job seekers also said they would accept a lower salary if the company had exceptionally positive reviews online (67%) or if the company had a lot of positive press recently (65%). 

Keywords and Rankings are Losing Steam

A significant part of employer branding and recruitment marketing is making your brand visible. Obviously, there is no point in building a boast-worthy employer brand if no one sees or hears about it. So, we think it’s important for recruiters to keep up on the latest and greatest in SEO practices.

“Google's encryption of keyword search data was an indicator of what is to come in the near future. As information consumption fragments across platforms, channels, devices, and applications, search engine optimization will likely lose even more of its touch with keywords and rankings. CMOs can prepare by starting to think of search optimization as increasing brand visibility across a multitude of properties, expanding presence to each and every corner of the digital space where prospects and customers can be found.” - Aaron Aders (@DRelevance), Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of DigitalRelevance

In short, Google is switching it up on us again. Recruiters and their marketing partners will have to consider using every outlet possible to drive engagement. From the career page, content marketing, social media and job board presence, learn to spread your recruitment marketing love. 

Content Marketing is a Must

Content marketing isn’t just essential for establishing credibility and gaining thought leadership status as a product or service provider, it is becoming increasingly popular in talent attraction. Beyond simply establishing that you know what you’re talking about, candidates want to see, feel and hear about what type of employer this is. Does their passion show? Are they excited about being a leader? Do they praise their team? An employee wants to gain this personal insight before they even consider this as a potential employer. 

“We use content marketing to attract the right employees. We have written dozens of articles going in-depth about our company culture, core values, and overall opinions on the way a business and team should operate. When we started including a few of these articles in the job descriptions we sent out, we saw a major uptick in the quality of the candidates.” - John Hall (@tweetJohnHall), Co-Founder and CEO at Influence & Co. 

Influence & Co. has found that content marketing as part of their recruitment marketing strategy brings three vital strengths to the table:

1.     People who disagreed with our core values or quirky behavior self-selected out.

2.     People shared the articles with their friends.

3.     Candidates came more prepared, which resulted in better interviews

As we progress into 2015 and talk of budgets occur, please keep in mind the necessity to stay on top of the latest trends in recruitment marketing and the overall employer brand strategy.

Bio: Kelly Robinson

Kelly Robinson is the founder and CEO of Broadbean Technology, a sourcing and recruitment technology company. Broadbean Technology has created a strong global presence with offices in the US, Europe and Australia The company remains true to the core fundamentals of its inception: “Keep it light and fun while getting the job done!” Kelly writes about leadership and culture, as well as reducing friction in the candidate experience.