Table of Contents
Introduction
Introduction.
Whether companies are actively hiring hard-to-fill tech roles, building candidate pipelines for the future or looking to retain their existing teams, an always-on brand strategy is a must-have, not a nice-to-have. Employers need to consistently build brand awareness as a tech employer of choice and engage hard-to-find talent so they can find specialized candidates when the time is right. Quality content also sparks excitement in current employees, so they are proud to stay.
Companies of all sizes across all industries are competing for a small pool of top technology talent, especially in hard-to-hire, specialized roles. In the first half of 2021, the number of technology jobs was 42% higher than pre-pandemic levels. Employers who want to proactively compete for and win top talent must maintain a steady stream of high-quality content about their culture, mission and organization.
1.8%
tech unemployment rate, one of its all-time lows
Today's technology job market is not just about getting an unemployed applicant to apply for an open role. To maintain a competitive edge, employers need to be able to lure and poach top talent from other organizations. Top talent often receives multiple messages from recruiters several times a month; strong branding, great content and positive employee reviews all play a role in drawing candidates in.
Section 1
The value of content in recruitment.
A strong employer brand is no longer just a nice-to-have: 92% of employees would consider changing jobs if the new company had an excellent reputation. Plus, a strong brand can reduce hiring costs by up to 50%.
Part 1
What is an employer brand?
A strong employer brand goes far beyond online reviews. Potential employees make rapid-fire assumptions based on your website, blog posts, any awards you've won, your social media presence and much more. Employee branding content is any content that is published with the goal of improving and influencing a potential employee's perception of the company.
Key Definition
Employee branding content is any content published with the goal of improving and influencing a potential employee's perception of the company.
Top technology talent are repeatedly bombarded with ads and content for jobs before they're even interested in looking. This is similar to how you see tourism, airline and hotel ads months before you go to book your vacation. By continuously consuming content from other organizations, many candidates have a short list of companies they'd be interested in before they even start looking.
The number of technology businesses is increasing by 7.5% year-over-year, making each year more competitive for talent than the last.
Part 2
Benefits of a strong employer brand.
While building a strong employer brand can be time-consuming and sometimes costly, the benefits are multifold. It can mean faster hiring and recruiting, reduced costs and improved employee engagement and retention. A strong employer brand allows team members to take pride in where they work and play an active role in recruitment, which can ultimately improve morale.
Especially for those outside of executive leadership, featuring team members in content creates a sense of ownership and makes their specific work journey feel valuable. When employees participate in creating a strong employer brand, they go the extra mile to disseminate content for you. A proud employee might share their interview on LinkedIn or email it to friends and family.
Potential hires are often skeptical of content created solely by employers, especially if it comes from leadership. Employee-focused content is relatable and encourages people from different backgrounds, geographical regions and walks of life to apply for open roles, creating more diverse and inclusive teams.
Section 2
Different types of content for different purposes.
One of the best ways to build a strong employer brand is through content. However, without expert outside resources, keeping up with the steady stream of content required is almost impossible for an in-house HR or marketing team.
Especially when you start creating different styles and formats and testing for what resonates, content creation can quickly become multiple full-time jobs. However, it's still very possible to build different types of content for different purposes without a huge team.
When creating any content, it's critical to understand who you are writing for. You want to engage the right fit for your hard-to-hire roles, spanning different interests, geographic regions, levels of industry expertise, age and more.
Start by developing a deep knowledge of why your ideal employees might hesitate to switch roles or companies. Are they happy with their current work-life balance? Do they have a clear path for growth? From there, create content that clearly explains the unique benefits of working at your company.
Your goal is to showcase not only the excellent product you're building but also the culture that's building it. Use these questions to get started:
Content Starter Questions
- 1What's the biggest problem your company is solving?
- 2What technology are you using to do it and why?
- 3How do your teams collaborate?
Content is best created from a variety of perspectives and departments in a company to showcase a diverse set of team members. For example, you can interview anyone from software engineers to accountants to customer success managers.
Recruiting Meets Marketing
Recruiting has never overlapped more with marketing. As the old marketing adage says, spend 20% of your time creating content and 80% of your time disseminating it.
Part 1
Owned vs. earned media and content.
Content dissemination can happen through two main channels: owned media and earned media. Both are valuable, and both serve different purposes in your employer brand strategy.
Owned Media
Content you create and control
Content hosted across your website, blog and recruiting platforms. Different types engage potential applicants in different ways.
- Employee interviews and Q&As
- Culture and day-in-the-life videos
- Blog posts and long-form articles
- Social media content
- Team retreats and event recaps
Earned Media
Content published by others
Content on platforms you don't own, shared with a wider audience and endorsed by another brand. Adds trust, social proof and awareness.
- News articles and press coverage
- Best-company lists and rankings
- Expert contributed content
- Industry awards
- Employee reviews on third-party platforms
Owned Media Example
Duolingo consistently highlights its culture and product across owned platforms like social media. Through their owl mascot "Duo," Duolingo took TikTok by storm by showcasing their unique voice and office environment, earning them 7.4 million followers. Their hiring team even uses TikToks to reach out to candidates, especially Gen Z and millennials.
Earned Media Example
Google's Employer Brand
Google is a great example of strong employer branding, garnering significant earned media thanks to its perks, work culture and behind-the-scenes looks at "Googlers." Google is often ranked on every top "technology company to work for" list and consistently wins awards around company culture.
Section 3
Why now is the time to build your brand.
Powerful brands take months and years to build, which is why even if you're not hiring at the moment, now is the perfect time to invest in building your employer brand.
Your content creation strategy should aim to build brand awareness before a candidate is even looking for a job. Trust is built over time and repeated interactions, meaning you need a steady drumbeat of content released continuously through owned and earned media channels.
70%
of the applicant search you'll miss if you wait until you're hiring to create content
By creating content now, you'll have a strong brand that pulls in top talent by the time you're ready to hire your next top employee.
Earned media can take time to gather, and award processes can span multiple months. To start, you can begin creating content quickly for your owned channels through interview-style blog posts, Q&As, day-in-the-life videos and more. Starting now creates a solid foundation for months down the line when you might be actively hiring.
Whether you're actively hiring for hard-to-fill tech roles, building candidate pipelines for the future, or trying to increase employee retention, an always-on brand is now a must-have. Creating awareness around your company as a top employer attracts specialized and hard-to-find candidates continually.
