I think it’s safe to say that you have to be scrappy to work in employer branding. Oftentimes, we’re juggling everything on our own, working as a super lean team or as the sole person handling it all. Or maybe it’s an added responsibility on top of your full time job. As if that isn’t tough enough, the budgets we’re given are peanuts. With lack of bandwidth, skill set limitations, and scarce financial resources, it can seem impossible to do your job effectively.
And yet...it doesn’t have to be.
To make it work, I’ve learned to be resourceful throughout my career. Since 2013, I’ve worked in roles that didn’t exist before I stepped into them, often as the only person running the show. There were no defined job descriptions, non-existent career paths, and zero team members or leaders to help or teach me.
It was up to me to define my role and figure out how to get it done with little to no help. So, I got to work, and I thrived.
As an employer brander, I might not have had the budget I needed to really push the envelope. And maybe I didn’t have the teammates to help me manage the workload so I could think more strategically. Sometimes, I even had to fight my way to prove to the very people I was supporting (e.g., the recruiters) that what I was trying to do mattered, and maybe if they partnered with me I could actually help them.
Through all of it, I learned how to get things done with the few options I had, and I watched the brands I built flourish. So, how did I make it work?
By leveraging specific tools, people, and resources (bonus: most of them are low-cost or free). In a previous blog, we talked about the people you could partner with to support your goals. Here, we’ll talk about the different tools and resources you can use to build your employer brand.
Design
Hiring a designer can be costly, especially for simple designs you need regularly to promote on your social media channels or career site. If you’re lucky to partner with your internal design team, you may find they push your work requests down in the queue in favor of sales and marketing activities that generate revenue.
Of course you’ll want to use a professional for bigger designs, like booth design, web development, or collateral. However, for your simple day-to-day designs, there are plenty of tools you can use on your own that are user friendly and cheap. This includes:
Stock photography and/or videos
Photography editing and presets
Graphic design
Content Creation
You know that employer branding requires a lot of content. Even if you’re repurposing content to give it a fresh perspective, you need to make sure your copy is engaging enough to make people want to click. Once they do, everything needs to be clear, scannable, and not riddled with mistakes.
When considering content creation tools, look for options that help you craft more engaging copy and also ensure it’s grammatically correct. Also, to keep your content creation process flowing, using content development plans to create a consistent content schedule.
Social media
Social media can be a beast to deal with. The algorithms seem like they change every ten seconds, which means you need to constantly test out new content, posting frequency, and time to post. You also need to keep a watch on your engagement rates.
Thing is, you don’t have every waking second available to devote to monitoring your social media streams or posting new updates. By using a scheduling tool, you can plan out your social media posts (I usually spend about an hour a week scheduling posts for the following week), manage comments, perform social listening, research hashtags, find out best times and days to post, and see how your posts perform.
Project Management
You’re basically a whole marketing department, which means all the tasks to build and sustain your employer brand have a lot of moving parts. Not to mention, a lot of what you do can require completely different skills. From content creation and social media to analytics and budgeting, there’s a lot to deal with.
Leveraging project management tools can help you juggle everything on your plate so you don’t feel like you’re going crazy. These tools keep you focused and on track.
Educational
Marketing changes quickly. What you’re doing now might not be relevant a year from now. Add in the fact that unexpected situations (like COVID) pop up, and the world of work changes too. To keep things fresh, it’s best to take courses, listen to podcasts, read blogs, and attend conferences to stay up-to-date on best practices. Whether you’re learning the basics or wanting to uplevel your career, there are plenty of options to choose from.
Now, I’m not here to be vague about the tools and resources to leverage. However, I first wanted to give you a high-level overview as to why you may want to look into these things. If you’re sold and eager to know which you should consider, I’ve got you covered.
I pulled together a FREE resource roundup. Download it here to see which tools I highly suggest.
Need help building your employer brand? Harlow offers strategy, activation, and coaching services. Contact us here to learn more.
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