Your website is the digital front door to your company. But it’s not just customers that are stopping in to have a look around. Your next best employee is, too.
“Research by Monster finds the younger generation reacts strongly to what they find on an employer’s website when looking for work.” – computerweekly.com
Is your website a tool for recruiting talent? Or is it chasing away top candidates?
If you’re not sure, that’s OK. We have some great news.
You know those killer marketing strategies you’ve used to convert traffic to customers on your website? They also work to make your site a powerful tool for talent recruitment.
You just need to tweak them a bit for an audience of job seekers.
Here we’ve compiled a list of seven proven marketing strategies you can use to turn your website into a talent acquisition machine.
And as a bonus, applying these tactics might just help you convert more customers, too.
7 Ways to Turn Your Website Into Your Best Talent Recruitment Tool
Whether you rely on your website directly for sales or not, it still matters. In fact, 75% of customers admit to making judgments of a company’s credibility based on website design.
Well, the same holds for someone looking for their next career move.
So if nothing else, you should at least make your website clean, modern, and well organized. It could mean the difference between attracting the people that will help your company grow, or chasing them into the arms of your competitors.
(Don’t forget that website copy is an important part of design)
With general website housekeeping complete, you can begin to use these easy talent recruitment strategies.
Don’t worry about tackling them all at once. Pick a couple that fit your company and current capabilities. Then expand from there.
Strategy #1: Create applicant personas
When you want to guide someone to a conclusion — in this case, that your company is a great place to work — it helps to first imagine the person you’re guiding.
For example, a mid-level manager is likely in a different stage of life than an entry-level associate. Of course, both will want competitive pay.
But what else?
One may be thinking about family leave benefits while the other wants a job close to a commuter train stop.
What else makes your ideal candidate tick? Are they super-techy? Or would collaborating with creatives get their gears going?
With that in mind, paint a mental image of this person — their education, work experience, hobbies, and so on. Then create a simple persona.
Marketing teams have done this for years to make their messaging more compelling. Once you have a persona for your ideal candidate, your recruitment messages will be more compelling, too.
Strategy #2: Improve the talent “conversion rate” of your website
In marketing, conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the process of increasing the percentage of website visitors that take an action like placing an order or scheduling an appointment.
In the case of talent acquisition, you want people to apply for a job.
One thing that will destroy your hiring conversion rate is a difficult application process.
Here are a few tips to make it a smooth flow from the first click to a completed application:
- Make the entire process mobile-friendly
- Provide an easy way to add a cover letter
- Make any forms responsive
Not sure how to make a responsive form mobile friendly? Let’s talk!
Strategy #3: Provide testimonials
According to a survey by BrightLocal, 88% of people trust online reviews written by other consumers.
You can leverage the power of recommendation for your hiring process by including employee testimonials. Videos would be great here, but brief written endorsements will work, too. Always include a photo of the employee, though. It will help with credibility and engagement.
Don’t forget to consider the persona you created and use current employees that will be most relevant to the position you’re hiring for.
Strategy #4: Create a “day in the life” video
One important goal of marketing is to help customers imagine what life will be like once they start using their new product or service.
A day in the life video is an incredible way to help job seekers imagine themselves in their new role. It doesn’t have to be highly produced. Walk the floor with an iPhone, say “hi” to a few coworkers, and talk about the exciting work your firm is doing.
Include shots of any great amenities — like the neighborhood vibe or state-of-the-art tech the applicant will have access to.
A gallery of still images is also a possibility, but video is more powerful.
Strategy #5: Create a killer About Us page
Your About Us page is the best place to expose your company culture, mission, and success. It gives potential customers a chance to know what kind of people they’re about to do business with.
For job seekers, it might be even more important.
Linkedin found that 64.7% of job seekers say that not knowing, or disagreeing with, a company’s mission, values, or purpose is a deal-breaker when considering a future employer.
Your About Us page should answer:
- What problems are we solving and for who?
- Why do we believe this is an important mission?
- How have we been recognized for our work?
While humility is often an admirable quality, this is not the place for it. Be loud and proud about the awards you’ve won and your company’s growth.
People want to know they’re working for a company that’s changing the world, even if it’s for one person at a time.
Strategy #6: Create an irresistible CTA
A call to action (CTA) is the pointy tip of your marketing spear. It’s the most direct ask of your customers (think: “click here”, “book now”, or “add to cart”).
Your ask of job seekers might simply be “apply now”. Or it can be much more.
Here are some ways to write strong CTAs.
- Give your CTA some space, don’t hide it in the middle of other text.
- Make it clear how and why to apply (prioritize clarity over cleverness).
- Use verbs that elicit action and avoid weak phrasing.
- Make it personal.
- Make the reader feel safe.
For example, let’s say you’re a salon looking for new stylists. Your CTA might go something like this:
Apply now and join us in the war on bad haircuts
(and rest assured, your information will not be shared!)
Strategy #7: Use an email autoresponder to confirm receipt of applications
For most companies who use email marketing, order confirmation emails have the highest open and engagement rates. That’s because customers expect them and they hold valuable information.
For savvy marketers, this is a golden opportunity to include other links to content and promotions.
Use this same strategy to engage your new applicants. Send a thank you email with some “next steps” information. Then add links to your social media pages, relevant blog posts, About Us page, and newsletter subscription page.
It’s likely that this candidate is applying for multiple jobs. Your thank you email is a chance to prove that you have the best opportunity for them.
Conclusion
In an employee market, where available jobs outnumber skilled workers in some areas, finding talent is difficult.
Finding the right talent to match your company culture? Well, that can feel impossible.
Marketers have been working on attracting a qualified audience for a long time. Rip a few pages from their playbook and you’ll make your website a talent acquisition machine.
Of course, if your website hasn’t been updated in a while you will have a much more difficult time meeting your next rockstar employee.
Give us a call and we’ll show you how to make your site the best salesperson, and recruiter, you’ve ever had.