4 Tips for a Successful Employer Branding Campaign to Attract and Retain Top Talents

In the competition between companies for the best talent, one particular method of recruiting candidates has proven to be incredibly effective, namely a successful employer branding campaign.

With clever campaigns, companies draw attention to vacant positions and thus try to attract qualified new talent for their own company.

As small and medium-sized companies face fierce competition in the job market, advertising their brand becomes crucial in attracting top talent. To help them succeed, we'll examine some of the most effective recruitment campaigns and showcase their benefits.

Employer branding, or employer identity, is all the measures that a company can use to strengthen its own profile and differentiate itself from the competition.

In this context, the two areas of Marketing and Human Resources work closely together in order to present the company as attractively as possible on the market and to win over many new applicants.

With more and more job opportunities available to applicants, companies need to develop a clever talent acquisition strategy, to reach their target audience.

However, an employer branding campaign is not solely about finding and hiring new talent; it is also about retaining workers in the company long term.

Employee retention and employee recruitment are thus the two most important goals pursued by an employer branding campaign. This way, your company can save time- and cost-intensive recruiting processes and onboarding, as employees will stay with you longer.

When creating an employer branding campaign, you should pay particular attention to authenticity. If dishonest promises are made to new candidates, word gets around quickly and the number of applications drops. Furthermore, the risk of workers leaving, who may look for a new job, also increases if announcements are not kept. Especially with qualified personnel, this danger is very high and many quit already after the probationary period, if the working environment does not meet their demands.

So, how can your company strengthen its brand and become more attractive to top talent? We have compiled the various employer branding phases:

1. Conceptualization

The first phase is, of course, brainstorming and developing a suitable concept. To gather ideas, you can interview your own employees using questionnaires or organize focus group workshops. This will give you a direct insight into the needs of the target group and enable you to develop tailored recruiting messages.

It is essential to establish the right channels, to reach the desired candidates.

2. Base Building

With creative designs and catchy slogans, you will ensure a better reach and get noticed. In addition, you can also formulate press releases, create newsletters and use social media.

3. Implementation

Try to implement different, yet coordinated HR campaigns so that they reinforce each other.

Once the employer branding campaign is completed, the effectiveness of the measures should be recorded and evaluated. This is the only way to check which campaigns really bring the desired success and which ones will also be worthwhile in the future. Through Recruiting KPIs, any weaknesses also become visible and can be remedied.

A strong employer branding draws far more attention to your company in the first step on the job market. You can thus counteract the shortage of skilled workers and recruit and hire trainees, interns and full-time employees more efficiently.

The campaign by HR marketing agency Raven51, for example, generated 141% more website visits and 729% more clicks on the 'Apply' button.

An important prerequisite for a strong employer brand is a modern corporate culture, which improves the working atmosphere and ensures better cohesion.

Such a culture includes, in particular, fair promotion opportunities, flexible working hours, employee benefits, and the opportunity to work from home.

This simultaneously leads to an improvement in employee motivation and increases productivity.

To make sure your campaign really resonates with candidates, here are a few helpful tips to make it a success.

1. Campaign Theme Design:

Keep your company's strengths in mind and highlight what your company can offer young applicants. However, stay authentic and don't make empty promises. Convey the company's values such as sustainability, tolerance or diversity.

2. Find Your Target Audience:

An accurate target audience should be created for vacant positions. For this purpose, you can consult employees from the relevant department. They know best which type of person fits into the corporate culture and which qualifications recruiters should look for.

3. Recruiting Channels:

Once the target audience has been created, it must be reached through the right channels. Try to find out which platforms your target audience prefers to spend time on.

4. Ensure a Pleasant Candidate Journey:

The candidate journey is reflected in employer branding. If candidates have a bad experience with your company's application process, they will share it with their peers. Make sure you have an efficient hiring process and consult with candidates.

The Employer Branding Award in DACH region is awarded every year for the best HR campaigns. To get inspired for your company, you can take a look at the winners. Among the best employer branding examples in 2021/22 are:

Coca-Cola HBC Switzerland AG: With its #WomenofCCHBC campaign, Coca-Cola successfully highlighted gender equality within the company. As part of the campaign, videos were posted of female employees talking about their jobs. This campaign was supported by official statistics showing that men and women are paid equally within the company….

Vienna Municipal Insurance Company: Applicants can use an innovative “Check the Apprenticeship” game on the website of Vienna Insurance to test their professional competence and determine their suitability for the job. During the game, helpful information about the company and everyday working life is provided.

City of Salzburg: Under the motto 'Not always visible, but indispensable', the city of Salzburg tried to draw attention to the achievements of its employees and thus launched the hashtag #indispensable, which generated a lot of attention on social media.

An employer branding campaign helps your company stand out from the competition and attract more attention. This can attract more applicants and fill vacancies faster.

In addition, good employer branding also ensures greater satisfaction among existing employees and reduces the number of resignations. With a clever campaign, your company can achieve higher applicant numbers.

If you too are looking for new talent in Digital Marketing and IT, we at TieTalent can help.

With our recruiting methods, your company will save precious time and resources. Register here.