At its core, effective company messaging is about differentiation. In a tight labor market, where unemployment is at a 50-year low, and there are more open jobs than there are job seekers, it’s more important than ever for businesses to find ways to stand out from the competition when it comes to attracting top talent. One way to do that is by ensuring that your company messaging is aligned with your employer brand.
What is an Employer Brand?
Your employer brand is how your company is perceived by current and potential employees. It encompasses everything from the values your company espouses to the benefits and perks you offer to the work environment you provide. In short, it’s how you sell your company to job seekers via digital recruitment.
Differentiating Your Employer Brand through Messaging
Effective employer branding requires a laser focus on differentiating your company in the marketplace. This can be accomplished by developing messaging that sets you apart from your competitors and speaks directly to the type of employees you want to attract.
Consider, for example, two different companies that are both looking to hire software engineers. Company A’s message might be, “We’re a great place to work because we offer competitive salaries and comprehensive benefits.” Company B’s message, on the other hand, might be, “We’re a great place to work because we’re constantly pushing boundaries and taking risks to innovate.” While both messages may be accurate, it’s clear that Company B’s message is much more likely to resonate with prospective employees who are looking for an opportunity to make a real impact.
The takeaway here is that prospective employees are not only looking for a job; they’re looking for a place where they can make a difference. Your company messaging should reflect that.
Making Your Message Memorable
Once you’ve developed messaging that differentiates your company and speaks directly to your ideal candidate, it’s important to ensure that message is communicated clearly and consistently. Be sure to do this across all of your channels—from your website and social media accounts to job postings and interview processes.
Define Your Target Audience
The first step in crafting an effective message is to define your target audience. What kind of people are you trying to attract? What are their skills, interests, and values? Once you understand the type of person you’re trying to reach, you can start to develop a message that resonates with them.
Tell Your Story
People want to work for companies with a strong story. What is it about your company that makes it unique? Why should someone want to work for you over any other business? Be sure to communicate your company’s story in a way that speaks to your target audience and helps them understand what it would be like to work for you.
Highlight Your Culture
Your company’s culture should be another key component of your message. With so many businesses competing for top talent, job seekers are looking for more than just a paycheck. They want to work for companies where they feel like they will fit in and be valued. When crafting your message, highlight the aspects of your culture that would appeal to your target audience and make them want to become part of your team.
Final Thoughts
In order to attract top talent in today’s competitive job market, businesses need to focus on differentiation. One way to do that is by ensuring that their company messaging is aligned with their employer brand. An employer brand encompasses everything from the values a company espouses to the benefits and perks they offer to the work environment they provide.
Differentiating your employer brand through messaging can be accomplished by developing messaging that sets you apart from competitors and speaks directly to the type of employees you want to attract—namely, those who are looking for an opportunity to make a real impact. Once you’ve developed a compelling message, it’s important to ensure that it’s communicated clearly and consistently across all of your channels to attract top talent today.
