Brand Awareness for Recruiting

Recently, I was asked about generating local brand recognition for a company — to help with recruiting. I hadn’t expected the question and I don’t think my answer was as good as it should have been, so I’d like to consider this a do-over…

The first question you need to ask is: who are you trying to recruit? To answer this question, you need to define your target audience (potential employees). To start with, are you looking for recent grads or seasoned professionals? Also, what type of position(s) do you need to fill — is there a key functional area such as technology, finance/administration or sales/marketing.

Depending on the organization and the positions they are trying to fill, it might be helpful to create a detailed profile of potential candidates. Are there specific demographics and psychographics that apply? Also, is there anything you can identify that these people are not?

From this information, you will get a better idea of how to reach your audience. Two common tactics for generating local brand recognition are: getting involved in local events and advertising. Knowing something about your potential candidates will help you determine which events are most appropriate to reach your target audience.

Getting involved at an event can mean many different things: sponsoring a sporting event, participating as a speaker at a business or industry event, or having a booth at a job fair or tradeshow, to name a few. There are also a number of advertising channels to be considered — building signage, transit ads, advertorials, career ads, radio spots, etc.

Before choosing how you will reach your audience, you need to consider what you want to accomplish. Are you just looking to get your name out or do you want to engage with people? Do you need to explain what you do or do you want to position your company as an industry leader or innovation-focused organization? Which will best serve your recruiting goals?

This step will lead you to developing messaging. What do you want to say about the company? How much will you be able to say given the situation? And, how open in your audience to what you have to say? If you are sponsoring a business luncheon and get to introduce the speaker, you might have the opportunity to mention your organization, but a blatant sales pitch will be frowned upon. As the title sponsor of a sporting event, you may get your logo plastered everywhere, but you likely won’t have the opportunity to explain much about your organization.

To key to success is an integrated approach that includes a variety of activities, planned to build on each other. If possible, different campaigns focused on specific types of candidates will improve your chances for success. In addition, including a public relations element will further strengthen your message.