People everywhere are talking about millennials (born 1983-99). Where to reach them, how to capture their attention, and how to move them toward brand loyalty. But amidst all the talk surrounding this elusive group of consumers, we often forget that millennials are also our future employees. Ninety percent of recruiters agree that having a strong employment brand is more important now than it was five years ago, especially as millennials continue to infiltrate the workforce. According to Shaunda Zilich of General Electric, “People now choose companies based on their lifestyles and interests. You have to catch them with the right message the moment they’re receptive.”
As you begin developing more creative hiring strategies for your company, content marketing will play a vital role in building and improving brand awareness.
Who Are You Hiring?
It is projected that by 2020, millennials will make up 50 percent of the workforce. This is the largest generation we’ve ever seen, and it is certainly a powerful group. According to a study by iCIMS, millennials have unique career preferences and ambitions, and 83 percent are willing to relocate for the right job. Competition is high for companies to attract and retain talent, and that’s where content marketing comes in.
Tell a Story
Marketers are storytellers. We’re pros at writing and sharing our clients’ stories, but it’s time we sit down and consider how we’re telling our own story. Prospective hires want to know why they should work for you. They want to know if your company aligns with their values and aspirations, what a typical day in the office looks like, and what initiatives your company is working on. Show them.
Define your mission, your capabilities, and your long-term goals, and make sure your language is consistent across all of your online channels. Prospective hires will most likely find your website or your LinkedIn page first. If you capture their attention, they’ll search online for your other profiles. Don’t leave them confused by promoting different messaging on Facebook than you gave them on Twitter, and so on.
Update Your Blog
The easiest way to use content marketing to capture and maintain the interest of millennial talent is to keep your blog updated. Nothing is more disappointing to an excited job seeker than stumbling upon a blog that hasn’t been updated in months. If you decide to add a blog to your company’s site, you also need to develop a strategy to maintain a constant flow of content.
A successful blog is relevant, offers solutions, and adds value to your readers. Again, millennial job seekers want to know what your company cares about, and whether or not your work aligns with their future goals. With an outdated blog, your brand looks outdated, too.
If you’re struggling to develop a content strategy for your blog, consider using Hubspot’s free calendar template to help you get started. Content calendars offer a simple, effective way to organize and schedule content without adding unnecessary stress to someone’s workload.
What’s more, blog posts are easily shareable on social channels like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Once you’ve updated your blog, you’ll also be able to create a relevant, up-to-date social presence that not only engages readers, but drives traffic to your website.
Create a Talent Community
By keeping your blog and social channels up to date, you’ve got all the content you need to create a newsletter and begin cultivating a “talent community.” A talent community will begin to form as readers interested in your brand, the work you’re doing, and the positions you’re hiring for subscribe to a newsletter you create. Include your latest blog posts, upcoming events or webinars, relevant company stories, and job postings in a bi-weekly or monthly newsletter, and you’ll have a captive audience at your fingertips the next time an employment need arises.
Not sure how to draft a newsletter? MailChimp is a good place to start. It’s user-friendly and cost efficient, especially if your audience starts out small. If you’re looking to engage a larger audience, consider SalesForce. SalesForce offers a variety of integrated marketing tools for businesses big and small. And it doesn’t have to be just for business prospects. Segmenting a list for your talent pool will help target exactly who and what you’re looking for. Take the time to explore how these services can benefit your company.
It will be easier to recruit millennial talent once these readers have willingly engaged with your brand. Now, millennials are only one click away from applying to your next open position. By effectively using content marketing to recruit, you’ll not only capture millennials’ attention, but you’ll retain their interest for years to come.
