The HR Pro's Guide to Thinking Like a Marketer

Uncategorized Jun 28, 2022

You might assume that the only thing HR and marketing have in common is a love of acronyms—we'll see your FMLA and give you two SERPs and a TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU. But, once you get past the specifics of what we do and the metrics by which we measure success, you'll notice that we're both after the same thing: a deeper understanding of how to communicate to the right people, in the right way, at the right time to get the correct result.

HR can develop enduring connections and a true feeling of trust and care among applicants and workers by adopting strategic thinking from three areas of marketing: channel marketing, branding, and demand creation.

Communicate Your Brand

Build Your Employer Brand with Brand Marketing Strategies

A company's brand is more than simply the product or service; it's also its identity, its mission, values, and distinctive customer proposition.

They want customers to absorb that identity—that brand—and they do that through effective communication.

Your employer brand is comparable to a corporate brand in that it encompasses your values, mission, and the unique offering of your workplace culture and employee experience.

It consists of thousands of interactions, such as:

How do you welcome new employees into your company?
The advantages you provide workers and how you market them
How you interact with the candidates, you don't hire
Leaders' level of transparency when it comes to business choices
Your managers' resources and training to create a clear route for people to grow and achieve.

How to Market Your Employer Brand to Potential Employees and Candidates

Brand marketing is a long-term approach that relies on regular contact. It takes more than putting your best foot forward to actively mold the impression consumers and candidates have of you as an employer. To gain favor with others, you must always put your best foot forward, at every chance, until it tells a tale that others will remember.

Here are some ideas for expanding the reach of your employer brand using brand marketing tactics.

Start with positioning your brand
Sell the right brand to get the right people
Tell the truth

Target Your Communication

Understand Demand Generation Strategy

Demand generation is based on the idea that you can't just put your brand or product out there and expect interested purchasers to find you. You must go out and persuade others that you are the best option.

Demand generation accomplishes this through a variety of strategies, some of which have previously been mentioned:

Brand awareness: People require an excellent impression of what you offer and who your firm is as a whole, as discussed in our company and employer brand discussion.
Brand authority: This is accomplished through content marketing (i.e., blog posts, videos, podcasts, infographics, webinars, etc.). As consumers assess your organization, each piece of content increases your authority and generates trust.
Lead nurturing: Best case scenario: marketers continue to establish trust and loyalty even after someone has reached the sales phase. This relates to our topic of the employee journey in HR—you must continue to create connections after the hiring process.
Account-based marketing (ABM): Best case: marketers continue to establish trust and loyalty even after someone has reached the sales phase. This relates to our topic of the employee journey in HR—you must continue to create connections after the hiring process.

Communicate on a Human Level

The most important lesson from marketing is to speak truthfully, whether you're refining your employer brand, increasing your reach via numerous media, or targeting specific talent pools. When we're getting scripted marketing or sales presentation, we all recognize that there's no reason to think potential or current workers will fall for it.

The more we engage with prospects and customers via customer tales, being personable, and addressing problems, the better we can establish trust and loyalty. Remember to use the marketing methods described in this piece with the individuals you're communicating with, both within and externally.