Recruitment PR and Marketing Blog

Worried about AI encroaching on your territory? I understand. With all the buzz about artificial intelligence transforming hiring, you might be questioning your agency's future relevance. But here's the reality - with a savvy PR strategy, you won't merely weather the AI revolution, you'll flourish in it.

In what remains a highly competitive job market, creating a positive candidate experience can make all the difference between securing a new candidate, or losing them to a rival. But what elements contribute to this experience, and how can employers optimise their hiring processes?

You can't escape the AI chatter these days. It's being pitched as the miracle cure for every conceivable problem. In our work as PR and marketing experts in the recruitment, HR, and talent management arena, we've noticed more and more firms experimenting with Generative AI tools like ChatGPT for their content needs. But does this approach actually work? What's at stake? And what should agencies understand before they hand over their content creation to algorithms?

To blow some cash To give you a reason to lose weight and get into that little black dress To waste some time To increase your already busy workload To create stress for yourself To demoralise your team Or, perhaps some hard figures as to why you should enter a recruitment award? To increase sales (37%-77%) To improve your stock price (44%) To influence your buyers (80%) To improve confidence in your supplier status (49%) To outperform award “losers” (17% for sales and 36% for share value) Things to do before entering a recruitment award Agree the goal of winning Ask the awarding body what their marketing process is Speak to previous entrants Have a battle plan (and a resource) Agree your ROI model – what are you measuring? 10 things to do as a finalist, before the “big night” Tell your company Tell your clients Tell your competitors (ideal recruits?) Adjust email signatures Adjust mailers / eshots Adjust social media banners Get a quote from your leader Create content (blog / images / video) Have a marketing plan for the night of event Assume a hangover and get everything ready for the day after Things to do during the awards Try and stay (relatively) sober Live post on socials – use the hashtag Lots of pictures (that look good without beer goggles) Video of winning the award Video quote from the organiser of the award Get a “feelings” list from the team Engage with the organisers online Things to do after the awards Measure the ROI Survey your staff, clients, and candidates (to market your win) Create content Adjust all online channel branding Email signatures Video quote from your leader/winner Adjust job adverts Create a podcast Capitalise on your win Measuring and communicating the ROI What should you measure?

As a recruitment agency marketing manager, you already know the importance of search engine optimisation (SEO). After all, strong organic search visibility is critical for attracting top talent and connecting with potential clients. In fact, according to Search Engine Journal, 49% of marketers say organic search offers higher ROI than any other marketing channels.

Ask someone to think about PR and it’s likely their minds would bring up images of glamour, lots of drinking and, if you’re of a certain vintage at least, Absolutely Fabulous. Alas, times have changed. While it would be lovely to spend afternoons schmoozing with journalists in fancy bars, that’s sadly an outdated view of our industry. Most people have a broad understanding of what PR is, but few know how it really works, and why every in-house hiring department looking to boost its hiring should have a specialist agency in place.

One question we get asked a lot is ‘why PR?’ It’s a good question – for a typical buyer, usually a marketing or business leader – there are an abundance of ways that you could spend your, possibly fairly limited, marcomms budget, and there is a lot to do.

We recently looked at the importance of building a strong employer brand – which is particularly key now, before the job market rebounds in the coming months. But what does a good brand look like? We’ve outlined some examples with key takeaways from each.

Authenticity is a key trait for any hiring expert, and it’s becoming increasingly important as a cornerstone of wider external communications strategies. Here’s why it’s become critical for agencies to be more honest with their audiences, and how they can develop their authentic voice.

Despite falling vacancies, skills shortages remain a core issue for businesses. In-house recruitment teams are facing tough competition for the best talent. And as the UK economy and labour market begin to show signs of optimism, no doubt attracting the best people is going to become tougher.

It’s been a tough few years for recruiters in the UK. Following the post-pandemic boom period and since the beginning of last year, the fortunes of many have taken a downturn, with the market locked in stagnation. However, light looms on the horizon; with the election approaching, there have already been signs that hiring is on the up and, as the now infamous song goes, ‘things can only get better’.

The extent of skills shortages in the UK and indeed globally are well-documented. There’s no denying that companies are increasingly struggling to find the critical skills they need, despite falling vacancies. With green shoots on the horizon for the economy, businesses are understandably focusing on how they can both tackle current resourcing gaps and build talent pools that are sustainable for a fast-growth future. But it’s not going to be easy.

Elon Musk is never far from the news, and not always for the most positive reasons. This is why it was a surprise to see the Tesla and PayPal founder letting his only public relations employee at X depart earlier this month. But what impact could that have, and why is PR a must-have in the modern day?

We live in a significantly more interconnected world than at any other point in history and sectors like recruitment are becoming increasingly crowded. This makes communicating with your audience and standing out, key. It may have been possible to rely solely on word-of-mouth and your network in the past, but it’s certainly not now. So, with that in mind, how do you communicate effectively with your target audiences?

It’s hard to think that this year’s ‘will they /won’t they’ question has been dominated by the General Election. However, following months of speculation around when Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will call an election, the announcement was finally made, albeit on a wet and dreary May afternoon.

As a communications professional, you quickly learn that there are some major PR ‘own goals’ to avoid when launching any campaign. To put it mildly, if you mess up your key interactions with your audience – no matter who that is – it will likely have a detrimental impact on your reputation and your ability to convert or win over that potential customer further down the line.

In uncertain economic times, investing in your brand's PR and visibility should be a top priority, not an afterthought. Gaining a consistent media presence and standing out from the immensely crowded recruitment landscape are key competitive advantages as we head into the challenges of 2024.

In today's globalised and interconnected business landscape, the significance of a diverse workforce cannot be overstated. Beyond mere compliance or tokenism, embracing diversity in all its forms brings a multitude of benefits to organisations, from enhanced innovation and creativity to improved decision-making and market responsiveness. However, achieving true diversity and reaping its rewards requires more than just hiring individuals from different backgrounds. It necessitates creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to contribute their unique perspectives and talents. In this article, we will delve into key practices for fostering inclusion in a diverse workforce, with a focus on strategies like diversity hiring and addressing religious discrimination.

We all want to save money, and cutting back on marketing can seem like a good way to do it. But if you're considering reducing your marketing spend, take a moment to think first. Marketing is an investment in your company's future. Without the right marketing strategy, the results from other investments such as an ATS, LinkedIn, or sales training may not occur. What you need to do is measure the results of your efforts, so that you know what works and what doesn't work for your business. If you are thinking about cutting your marketing spend, here are some reasons why you should reconsider:

Have you heard about the latest email rules from Google and Yahoo?

As we head into the new year, hiring firms across the UK are adjusting to potential economic pressures, new priorities and a changing talent arena. To drive better results in what could be a challenging environment, many are readjusting their communications strategies for the coming months. This evolving environment is why we launched a poll recently across our social media channels that looked to identify what firms were prioritising when it came to marketing and PR in 2024.

Inhouse hiring teams have a lot on their plate with sourcing, interviewing, vetting and recruiting candidates and the myriad other tasks they deal with on a day-to-day basis, so it’s only natural that some things may get overlooked.

Even the biggest, most successful firms need a strong and well-developed employer brand. You could be a world class employer doing amazing things for your staff, but without this brand in place you will struggle to hire the skills you need and will miss out on talent to your rivals. However, it’s one thing building and developing this brand over time, you also need to consider whether it is still relevant in the drastically different employment world in which we’re now operating. So how do you keep your brand relevant and ensure it is up to speed with the demands and motivators of the modern workforce?

Employee Value Propositions (EVP) have traditionally focused on the workforce as, well, workers, and not much else. However, like so many other areas in the modern employment world, this has changed. But why is the traditional proposition on shaky ground and what must employers to do when adapting their EVP?

The employment market is evolving rapidly, you won’t need us to tell you that. However, businesses that want to win the war for talent need to evolve their employer brand in line with it, rather than risk being left behind. Here’s why it’s so critical to regularly assess where you are carry out an EVP audit.

While not quite as much has shifted post-COVID as many expected during the height of the pandemic, it’s obvious that some areas of life have changed dramatically, perhaps most notably, the employment market.

The importance of having a strong external consumer or customer brand enables your customer base to know that a product they invest in will have a certain level of quality and is obviously recognised as a fairly fundamental part of almost every business, but many firms aren’t aware that they also need a strong brand in order to recruit staff for themselves. But why is an Employee Value Proposition (EVP) so important in the modern world?

Get ready to challenge what you thought you knew about PR and equip yourself with the truth.

Podcasting has exploded in popularity over the past decade, with 42% of Americans aged 12 and older having listened to a podcast in the past month (Edison Research). It's a medium that provides a unique opportunity for businesses to demonstrate thought leadership, deliver value, and generate substantial profits. Yet, many staffing agencies and direct hire firms are late to the game.

If you're new to the world of PR and looking to raise your business profile in the B2B (business to business) space, you might be wondering just how effective B2B PR can be for your firm. The truth is, when done well and done properly, B2B PR strategies can deliver fantastic results and be hugely effective for any recruitment firm. However, the challenge lies in getting it right from the start. In this blog post, I'll explore some actionable tips to help you make B2B PR work effectively for your recruitment agency.

I asked: Can you summarise this report and pull out the key quotes relevant to the recruitment industry? https://business.linkedin.com/content/dam/me/business/en-us/amp/marketing-solutions/images/lms-state-of-b2b-marketing/pdf/the-b2b-benchmark-report-2023-final.pdf

Are you ready to take your recruitment marketing to the next level? Let's talk about how AI can help you out!

Are you a recruitment agency looking to build and promote your brand? Public relations and marketing are two important tactics that can help you achieve your goals. But what are the differences between the two, and how can you combine them to create an effective strategy?

Blogging has been around for over two decades now, and it's safe to say that it's not going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, according to WordPress, there are currently over 600 million blogs on the internet. That's a lot of blogs! And around 77% of internet users read blog content regularly (Social Media Today).

Content needs to be at the heart of every recruitment firm’s marketing strategy. When produced and utilised correctly it enables your business to generate brand awareness, build relationships with candidates and clients and bring your marketing costs down.

If you’ve found yourself at work thinking, “This meeting could’ve been an email,” you’re not alone. One of the big things the pandemic revealed was how much time some companies waste on pointless meetings, along with how this can have a knock-on effect—damaging productivity, preventing employees from focusing their energy on more important things, and giving your company a bad reputation among employees and potential recruits.

ChatGPT is all the rage right now, with many marketers excited (76% according to my LinkedIn poll) about the prospect of AI but a few feel threatened by it.

We’ve heard the phrase ‘content is king’ on repeat for many years now. And we've all listened and churned out blog post after blog post.

Over the past few years the one constant has been change. Recruitment marketers have had to learn how to plan (and often re-plan) in times of uncertainty. Here are five tips to ensure your 2024 recruitment marketing strategy is fit for purpose:

In today's job market, one of the biggest hurdles recruitment firms and internal recruiters both face is attracting talent.

When it comes to helping your company achieve its goals, great communication can be what makes the difference. So, here are some of the reasons why you should invest in recruitment agency PR.

It's hard to believe 2023 is behind us. And what a year it was. Full of twists and turns, and perhaps most critically when it comes to recruitment, a year of change.

Personal branding is something that recruiters are often asked about, but many don't know what it is or how to get started. Personal branding for recruiters is about becoming a known entity within your industry. And it’s about creating a consistent persona across all your different platforms, so your audience knows what to expect from you. One of the key ways you can improve your personal brand is by creating content that builds trust with people who are interested in what you have to say.

Whether you are working alone or as part of a team, a content calendar is a quick and efficient way to streamline your marketing process. In this article, I’ll cover how a content calendar can help your strategy – and keep you in check – during the next 12 months.

A successful content marketing plan can become your strongest ally in attracting clients and candidates and retaining your current audience’s attention. A successful strategy will need to be not only well focused on the needs of a target audience, but also avoid being too salesy or not informative enough.

To understand why SEO blog content is so valuable for recruitment agencies in attracting candidates, it is first vital to understand why blogging is needed for SEO.

For recruiters the biggest problem right now is most likely finding candidates right? You've got how many open roles? And zero (or it feels that way) candidates.

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.