Recruitment PR and Marketing Blog

The concept of ‘word of mouth’ reviews has changed dramatically now that the internet is an integral part of our lives. Years ago, disgruntled clients and candidates would express their dissatisfaction by telling their friends and colleagues. Now, they tell the world via a frustrated tweet, withering LinkedIn comment or damning Google review. The speed at which these comments can be shared means that your business can suffer widespread reputational damage, which is why it is important to manage them with care. Just Google 'viral negative reviews' and you'll be amazed by how many results you get. So, if an unhappy client or candidate has left your agency less-than-glowing feedback, what can you do?

You’re an excellent recruiter and you know it - but when it comes to writing... perhaps not.

You already know the importance of having a business blog for your recruitment firm. But what's the next step once you get started? For a successful content marketing strategy, you need to use the right keywords for recruitment agencies, and then apply them effectively. This can be difficult to get to grips with at first, however it is a crucial step to master in content writing, as without the correct keywords, your carefully crafted blog post risks being lost in the depths of Google! There are a number of free keyword research tools online such as ‘Google Trends’ or ‘Answer The Public ’ to help you find out what is trending around your topic and the relevant keywords you should be using.

Did you know that you can find paid social ads your competitors in the recruitment industry are running?

As most people operating in and around the recruitment industry will have heard, recent ONS figures reported that, for the first time since records began, there are fewer unemployed people than job vacancies in the UK. While this shows that the efforts of recruitment are certainly paying off, businesses still have vacancies that need to be filled, and with talent pools drying up, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to attract top talent.

Over the past several months, LinkedIn has been busy tweaking its algorithm to increase the number of valuable conversations taking place on the platform whilst reducing the number of irrelevant posts that appear in users’ feeds.

After receiving an invite to the Global Recruiter Summit 2022, I was delighted to get out of the office and attend. Throughout the day, I listened to some extremely thought-provoking talks, indulged in some delicious complimentary treats and had fun networking with other attendees from the recruitment industry. Here are my highlights from the day:

Have you noticed a decline in your recruitment firm’s organic reach across social media over the last few years? You’re not alone. Algorithm changes at Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter have all negatively impacted the number of people that businesses are able to reach.

Is your recruitment firm struggling to get noticed on Twitter? Engagement is a major ranking factor in the platform’s algorithm. So if you want your posts to be seen, they need to be engaging.

Research suggests that articles that feature relevant pictures receive up to 94% more views than articles that are made up of pure text. So it’s pretty surprising that so much content is still posted without relevant visual aids, especially considering that just over 65% of us are visual learners. Ensuring that your content is accompanied by a relevant photo or graphic is also key for social sharing.

In an increasingly candidate-led market, it is more important than ever that your recruitment firm’s marketing is as effective as can be. Candidate personas enable you to successfully target jobseekers and produce compelling content that resonates with them so that you can save time, money and resources on finding the perfect candidate for your client.

I know, I know. You’re busy. You barely have time to write a blog post, let alone make and edit a video. In the world of recruitment marketing (all marketing actually now that I think about it), there is never enough time.

Burnout has been an aspect that is usually not paid much heed. Though it is one of the things that employers have had to deal with for the longest time. Employees who are overworked, unappreciated, dissatisfied, frustrated are usually at the brink of burnout. It is one of the significant factors affecting retention.

With the shift to working from home as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, social recruiting has become far more competitive as recruiters look to stand out on the LinkedIn feeds of potential clients and candidates.

STOP looking at PR as a vanity project – have objectives and measure outcomes STOP creating content and not marketing it STOP writing crap job adverts and blaming the advert and the talent who applies STOP sending out press releases about what you do… no-one cares STOP using billers to write blogs Tracey Barrett and Lisa Jones’ top recruitment PR and marketing tips Focus on the objectives of your content strategy Content is a tactic There’s a lot of crap content out there Keeping your brand a secret isn’t a great tactic Leverage, stretch and repurpose your press coverage to get maximum ROI Think of job ads as content – not a rehash of the job spec Build your recruitment marketing strategy around your target market Stop telling people what you do – no-one cares – tell them what you know Promote the success of your marketing activities internally and take credit for the sales you contribute to Think about how you can get content from recruiters without asking them to stop billing Use PR as a business development tool Shocking stats: recruitment agency polls 58% of recruitment firms hardy ever appear in the media outside of the recruitment press 42% of recruitment consultancies are generating valuable leads and talent with their content – if you’re not one of them, you’re missing out 75% of recruitment businesses say they have lots to say but they don’t know how to create or send a press release 71% of recruitment marketers say getting recruiters to give them content is like trying to pull teeth Looking to build PR into your business development strategy? For more tips on how to leverage your media coverage read more from the BlueSky PR Blog and check out our free, on-demand webinars.

With the latest research from APSCo finding that jobs for marketeers were up 130% in 2021 on 2020 and recruitment agencies themselves victims of the ‘great resignation’ - if you're struggling to hire a recruitment marketer then perhaps it's time for to consider outsourcing all or part of your marketing function?

Last week, the team here at BlueSky PR were lucky enough to attend Recruitment Agency Expo. We attended talks, networked and finally caught up with some of our clients… in person! Here are some of our takeaways:

There is no denying that the last two years have taken a huge toll on the recruitment sector. Some would argue that Covid-19 has been the catalyst for the majority of changes, creating huge shifts in the job market and exacerbating the skills shortages noted across sectors. However, we have also seen rapid developments in new technology that has also impacted recruitment.

A guide to creating an efficient and meaningful report Most recruitment firms will recognise that, to be successful, they need to be driven by data. As a marketer, you have access to an abundance of tools that help you measure your content marketing efforts and the value you bring to your business. With so many numbers and analytics in your grasp, it can be hard to identify which figures you need to bring to your Managing Director (MD).

Social media as a communication channel continues to grow, with a report by Datareportal in 2021 saying, “There are now 4.20 billion social media users around the world. This figure has grown by 490 million over the past 12 months.” This is astonishing as now the vast majority of the world is on social media, which increases your opportunities to find the perfect candidate for the role you are trying to fill.

It goes without saying that companies expect their PR agency to secure great coverage on their behalf. Whether that is through securing interview opportunities, comments in a wider article or a thought leadership piece, effective engagement with journalists is a must. Although journalists are often inundated with pitches, press releases, and calls, there are techniques you can follow to help get on their radar, while also establishing lasting relationships. This blog looks at the 5 steps you need to take to effectively engage with journalists and the 3 things to avoid.

I’m Sadie McGrath and I have recently joined BlueSky PR as their new PR and Communications Assistant.

Live streaming – marketing tool or a Covid necessity? Do you need to broadcast a message to clients or employees?

Recruitment businesses need three things in order to be successful:

The more time we spend sitting in front of our screens these days, the more we are bombarded by information which is why having an effective content marketing plan in place that catches your audience's attention is more important than ever.

Are you producing long-form content for your recruitment firm’s website? While the prospect of turning a blank page into one that offers substantial value and information for your target audience can seem pretty daunting, it is something that offers many benefits.

Remote working is here to stay. It's been over a year now that most organisations have gone fully remote (whether temporary or long term) or adopted a hybrid working model. Face-to-face interactions, water cooler chats and coffee breaks have now been replaced by virtual meeting rooms and zoom calls.

In the busy world of recruitment, agencies are often so fixated on the daily complexities of their jobs that they may miss out on the benefits of an effective communications strategy. Here’s just a few of the most effective communications tricks to double your recruitment agency’s client base:

One of the most frequently asked questions I receive from recruitment marketers and agency owners is ‘How can we increase the number of LinkedIn followers we have?’

As a recruitment agency owner you’re no doubt aware just how important social media has become in recent years. It enables your business to increase its brand awareness, enhance its reputation and generate leads – to name just a few of its many benefits.

Any recruitment agency owner that has had limited interaction with outsourced PR and marketing support (or, indeed, a particularly bad experience with a less than reputable agency) might not automatically think of ‘authentic’ as being a key part of public relations or marketing. But authenticity is crucial in any content you’re pushing out.

Are you looking to implement video content into your recruitment firm’s LinkedIn strategy?

As social media feeds continue to become increasingly saturated with a rise of 2.3 million UK users in the last year, it is more difficult than ever for recruitment agencies to cut through the noise and generate content that captures the attention of their target audiences.

Public Relations, or 'PR', for recruiters is all about the way you communicate with your target audience, promote yourself, and build a positive reputation.

You may have heard the term before, but aren’t exactly sure what it means, how it can benefit your business, or why it’s named after a tree. So what is evergreen content? Evergreen content is content that is relevant now and long after it is published (such as this very slightly updated post from a few years ago). It can show up in a variety of formats, such as ‘how-to’ articles, top ten lists, case studies, and much more. Topics that work well for this are those that are part of our everyday lives, or relevant for everyone within a certain industry or subculture. Be it careers, health, finance, family, or relationships, evergreen content will flourish regardless of what’s going on in the news. News articles, statistics and reports, and trending topics are typically not suitable for this.

Has your recruitment agency tried Instagram Reels? In this blog, we will:

While 2020 was without doubt a challenging year for us all, many will have entered the New Year with some sense of optimism. And while the announcement of another national lockdown has certainly put a dampener on some of the positive forward planning that staffing companies had begun, the simple fact is this: we’ve been here before and we know what can help businesses survive.

The New Year is always a great time for new beginnings and new objectives. And for recruitment agencies, it’s a great time to plan for the year ahead – and what a year it’s looking to be. What lies in store for the UK economy is certainly unknown. Indeed, the only certainty is uncertainty. For every business, now is the time to look at how to weather the storm and, in my view at least, having a robust marketing and PR strategy in place will prove hugely valuable in the coming months. In fact, this formed the topic for a recent webinar I hosted with my colleague Dan. So how can recruiters and marketing teams create a strategy that’s impactful, relevant and can withstand the potential changes that lie ahead? Start at the beginning It might sound like an obvious statement, but when setting out your plans for the coming months, it’s vital that you take a step back and consider the ‘why’ before the ‘how’. Defining exactly what you want to achieve from any activity and why, will put you in a far greater position to see demonstrable results that are aligned with your agency’s growth plans. And while of course the most ambitious firms might have a number of objectives, being minimalistic will often deliver greater results than taking an all-encompassing approach. By trying to cover all bases at once, you’ll be spreading resources rather thin and, as a result, will be unlikely to see the desired impact. Instead, setting three clear targets to begin with and investing time and energy in achieving this will deliver greater ROI.

TikTok witnessed incredible growth in during the pandemic, as people sign up to the app to join in with challenges, learn dance routines and be entertained in what was a challenging time for us all. So, should your recruitment firm get in on the trend and start using TikTok? Here's what you need to know about the platform.

We often receive queries from businesses asking how to run competitions on Facebook and what the rules are. In this blog post, I will outline the key Facebook competition rules – including one that many brands break – and share some top tips on planning a successful competition.

2020 has been testing for all of us, however we are starting to see shoots of optimism when it comes to the recruitment sector, which, as we all know, is often viewed as a barometer for the wider economy.

For those of you who have heard anyone from BlueSky PR present in person or on webinars, you’ll have no doubt heard us talking about thought leadership PR and content. If you haven’t, here’s a quick explanation: thought leadership PR comprises content and communication that demonstrates your knowledge, experience and skills, with little to no sales pitch. It leaves your target audience with a real understanding that you are 100% in tune with the sector you work in.

Why you need to revisit your client personas What content to use for client acquisition Getting your social media content right The need for paid social media campaigns

When it comes to partnering with a PR firm, there are a number considerations to factor into decisions. However, quite often one of the questions we come across is whether a recruitment business should go for a generalist firm or a specialist agency. While there are benefits to both, for staffing companies in particular, having a niche expert on board can often provide the greatest return on investment.

There are numerous viewpoints when it comes to whether to outsource marcomms to a specialist agency or keep it in house. But what about a combination of the two? Increasing numbers of companies are turning to a hybrid model where they keep some of the marcomms mix in house and outsource other areas to a specialist agency. And an effective relationship between the two parties can substantially maximise business results. So what are the top ways you can effectively work with an outsourced provider?

Are you looking to outsource your recruitment business’s social media? Here are seven of the most frequently asked questions we receive when speaking to recruiters enquiring about our range of social media services.

Social media has become far more important than ever for recruiters over the past few years. Research shows that 31% of UK social media users say that they have spent more time on social platforms because of the pandemic and changes in their work patterns such as remote and hybrid working.

When it comes to personal representation, talent development is as important as image development. Building a brand requires a great image. Building a great image requires having fantastic talent. Recruiting fantastic talent requires putting a great learning and development (L&D) strategy in place from the very beginning. Utilising a great L&D strategy is increasingly becoming the norm in organisations. According to the 2019 L&D Report compiled by findcourses.co.uk, a massive 72% of industry-leading organisations use L&D in their recruitment process. More than half believe that it gives them a competitive advantage, while 39% take L&D even further, using it is a decision-making tool when promoting talent. Why? The numbers speak for themselves. Organisations that use L&D in this way have a 22% lower staff turnover rate, with much higher levels of staff satisfaction with their roles. But how do you put a great L&D strategy together in the first place?

In this ‘always on’ digital age, social media has become incredibly important for recruitment agencies. However, one of the biggest challenges facing marketers is securing buy-in from senior management who sometimes fail to recognise the value that social media has to offer. This may be due to the leaders not being active on social, or simply because they are of the (wrong) opinion that it shouldn’t be a business priority.

When I’m speaking to new contacts in the recruitment and HR sphere I often find myself being asked during recruitment marketing discussions: “what is employer branding and why does it matter?” (this usually stems from a conversation where I’m explaining what we do here at BlueSky PR that makes us more than just a PR firm!) So, having faced the question again recently, I thought now would be a great time to jot down some useful information.