Effective Blogging Strategies for Recruitment

SHARE THIS

image_010Locating and then recruiting the right staff members is a challenge for any organization. As job candidates increasingly look to blogs, online postings and social media to search for jobs, one way that Human Resources personnel can recruit the top tier of applicants is by taking to the blogs themselves and enticing the best candidates to apply for openings within the organization. These top four blogging strategies for recruitment are effective and efficient at getting the most desirable person into the job.

Infuse the Blog with Personality

Even corporate blogs should be infused with personality that is in line with the operations of the organization. The tone of the blog should allow readers and future applicants to get a feel for the culture of the organization. A light touch of humor can go a long way in helping applicants feel welcome to the company.

Vary the Posting Types

Readers of a business blog do not want to read the same material over and over again. Vary the type of posts to maintain reader interest. Consider various post options such as tips for applicants, hints about what is going on in the industry and success stories of people working in the company. Interviews with current staff members and list-type posts also help to recruit top-notch candidates.

Make a Point in Every Post

Give applicants a reason to come back and join the corporation. Every post should have a point. Making each recruitment posting worthwhile helps applicants understand that their time is respected and that future events at the company, such as staff meetings, will be productive and worthwhile. Blog posts should not be too wordy or too vague.

Share Industry Insights

Keep it interesting by sharing industry insights that show why the business is top in its field. Infographics are an up-to-date means of sharing information in a way that is eye-catching and easy to understand. Embedded videos are another way to share insights while maintaining the applicant’s interest in being recruited to the organization.

 

Quick SEO Tips for Recruitment

SHARE THIS

Promoting jobs online is a great strategy. Not only is it a cost-effective way to advertise specific opportunities, online venues have the potential to reach a younger demographic—often an attractive hiring range for companies looking to fill positions. But even by accessing a variety of online job posting opportunities, if nobody’s reading your postings, there isn’t anybody who’s going to apply through this medium.
One important topic to address is optimizing your jobs for search engines. The more index-able your postings, the more potential employees will connect with your opportunities. Here are a few tips.
Cross post: Promote opportunities on your site, as well as through Facebook, Twitter, and your blog.
Optimize: Use searchable phrases common to the industry. Shoot to hit these job phrases that are based on what people would actually type into their search engine.
Integrate real media: Use print and brochures to send potential hires to your job listings.
Stay current: Post often. If you don’t have any new openings, stay fresh by posting topical news and other career-related interest bits.

Signing off for now,
Buyer Advertising
www.buyerads.com

Strengthen Your New Media Footing With StumbleUpon

SHARE THIS

Much like Digg, StumbleUpon is a site that’s rapidly gaining popularity. What does this mean for businesses? An opportunity to drive new traffic to your social media sites. StumbleUpon (www.stumbleupon.com) is revolutionary in that it’s a highly personalized experience for every user: as a person votes on what sites he or she likes, the portal picks up on interests and suggests new sites to satisfy their tastes. Think Netflix, only without the monthly fee.

This model is a great business opportunity because, as a business, you have more control over the way your content is presented. Unlike the also-popular Digg.com, registering a site with StumbleUpon is more individualized. You must a) visit a site either through StumbleUpon’s portal or by using their toolbar, and b) type in your URL and then “Thumbs Up” your site.

If you’re the first to register a page on StumbleUpon (say, your company blog), you’re in a very good position. You may set up searchable criteria by listing “topics” that your site covers. You can add tags. You can write a review. You even have the option of naming your site appropriately—something that you might not want to trust to an average web-surfer.
Once your site is in the system, StumbleUpon users can encounter your site if their interests match the particular tags you’ve defined for your page. This is a great feature. By attracting relevant consumers, you’ll be cutting down on spam messages and increasing the odds of generating a dialog concerning your subject material: the Holy Grail for social media content managers.

StumbleUpon is up and coming, and a great diversion for Internet surfers. Turn their rec time into face time for your organization.

Till next time,
Buyer Advertising
www.buyerads.com

Building a Community

SHARE THIS

With recent changes to the way search engines like Google return results, and as a necessary step in the evolution of hiring strategies, social media is unmatched. Every day, we see companies like Progressive and Staples use their Facebook collective buying power of thousands to increase sales revenue—not to mention to exist as a powerful well of talent to draw upon. You recognize Facebook’s role in your own ability to stay competitive. But how do you get started? For those beginning from scratch, here are a few tips to steer you down the right path.

Don’t Market. Social media is a whole different species from traditional channels. When you’re deciding what to write in the omni-present “update” box, steer clear of anything that promotes your business. “Friends” are not customers, and they can smell a pitch a mile away. Stick to content that benefits them, not yourself.

Start Right. First rule of social media: empty fan lists tend to empty unless acted upon by an outside force. Ask friends and employees help “seed” your fan list to get you started. If your new fans like what they read, they just may invite friends of their own.

Lighten Up. All work and no play makes Jack… well, you know the saying. Facebook and its ilk are mediums of leisure—therefore, part of your posting strategy should be to entertain your fanbase. Try a few techniques and see what works best.

Happy hunting,

Buyer Advertising
www.buyerads.com

An Agency Advantage: Perspective

SHARE THIS

If you have a favorite book, you know that every time you re-read it, it loses a little bit of punch. A week of your favorite food may send you to Fresh City, hungering for a little variety. Even your favorite song, on loop, will make you feel as if you’re hanging out in an elevator. The truth is, the more familiar material is, the more we become blind to its effects. The same holds true for companies who write and produce their own hiring marketing material.

Whether your hiring campaign is being considered by management, product experts, or internal team members, it’s likely for them to simply assume key benefits and essential elements that just don’t register for someone browsing online or flipping through a magazine. For a business deciding on a hiring strategy, the results could be disastrous.
One great advantage of any agency can deliver is a little perspective. As outsiders, agency professionals immediately engage by considering a message from the viewpoint of an audience. This is such a critical process of attracting new talent—and frankly, communicating any marketing message.

If you’re testing your current employee messaging, ask yourself these questions: Is what I’m saying immediately apparent to my audience? Why should they care about what I’m saying? Is my content too detailed? Not detailed enough? Thinking like a consumer is something agencies are trained to do, and through audience-first perspectives, help you arrive at an optimized brand and hiring strategy that could work wonders for your organization.

Signing off for now,
Buyer Advertising
www.buyerads.com

11 Advertising Trends for 2011

SHARE THIS

As we gear up to say farewell to 2010, we find ourselves already looking forward to the future—to a year of new technology, interesting recruitment strategies, and approaches that will innovate the field of HR, advertising, and beyond. Here’s a quick look at what the year ahead may hold.

More about mobile:

1. More apps at your fingertips. Look for organizations to deliver real-time product offerings and availability, as well as instant job openings and qualifications

2. Mobile coupons and promotions being delivered and utilized from handheld devices.

3. Innovative new ways for companies to use existing connections (think Facebook and Twitter friends/followers) to reach potential customers.

4. Text messaging growing as a means to distribute information—and reach a target audience in the process.

5. Increased opportunity to order products and provide ebrochures online.

Viral desires:

6. New games to provide some fun distraction while pitching a business.

7. Silly YouTube videos. Wacky podcasts. Increasingly bizarre commercials.

8. More ways to reach more audiences online: think the next Digg, but with social media integration.

Steamlining.

9. Expect a merge: Today, on your Facebook page, you see advertisements and content. Expect a blend of the two in the future, where messaging becomes a promotional tool for companies themselves.

10. According to eMarketer, expect an increase of 10.5% spent in online advertising.

11. Advertisements becoming more content focused, delivering information rather than just the same ol’ pitch.
Join us in 2011 as we explore the wild frontier of advertising together!

Until the New Year,

Buyer Advertising
www.buyerads.com

Human Resources—Preparing for 2011

SHARE THIS

As HR professionals, we’re looking forward to the future as new trends constantly emerge. Today, the landscape of hiring quality employees is shifting more rapidly than ever. 2011 will be no exception—expect plenty of changes that affect the way your organization recruits new talent.

According to the HR Management blog, there are 10 major changes to the way recruitment will work in 2011. Here are the highlights:

1. Rise in health care costs.
2. Focus on domestic safety and security.
3. Use of technology to communicate with employees.
4. Growing complexity of legal compliance.
5. Use of technology to perform transactional HR functions.
6. Focus on global security
7. Preparing for the next wave of retirement/labor shortage.
8. Use and development of e-learning.
9. Exporting of U.S. manufacturing jobs to developing countries.
10. Changing definition of family.

(Thanks to http://www.humanresources.hrvinet.com/hr-trends-2011/)

Make sure you bookmark our blog as we explore some of these issues in greater depth. Share your thoughts with us!
Signing off for now,
Buyer Advertising
www.buyerads.com

Striking Back Against Facebook Spam

SHARE THIS

Once a ripe garden of opportunity, Facebook has become a haven for spammers who would cloud your walls with offers of weight loss products, cheap online colleges, and, ahem, various pills and medicines for those of the male persuasion. And with some clever solicitors enjoying social media conversion rates as high as 47%, it’s no wonder they’re camping your site and peddling their electronic wares. Don’t let it happen! Here are a couple of tips to keep your messages clear and you boards spam free.

Should you encounter an advertisement on your company’s Facebook wall, the important thing is to take immediate action. You could simply delete the message from your wall, but many spammers will test a site’s responsiveness with a single message before unleashing a wave of spam that could clutter things up. Even a few hours exposure can be effective for a spammer—not to mention the possibility of “friending” your fan base for some one-on-one spamming at a later date. Block the user. Facebook makes it simple under your company’s account preferences.

A distant, much more virulent relative to Facebook spam, solicitations using your blog as a platform have become rampant. Typically, a poster will address a theme in your article before listing a service with associated website, but many don’t even take the time to include that level of detail. On an unmoderated blog, this can get out of hand—fast. One sure-fire solution is to turn on moderation, and only allow comments that an administer approves his or herself. If you’re on WordPress, spend some time learning about plug-ins that allow you to block commentors by IP, shrugging off habitual spammers and sending them back to the untamed, unnoticed wilds of the Internet where they belong.

Thanks for reading,
Buyer Advertising
www.buyerads.com