5 Guiding Principles for Marketing Your Job Offer - Internal Marketing 2023: Part Two
Your Human Resource Superpower For Attracting & Retaining Talent
Internal marketing, when applied properly, is more than just a tool. It becomes a superpower. To harness this power, you have to see candidates and employees as people who are on a journey and need a guide. You are that guide.
These people have tried to complete their journey alone. Maybe they’ve even had another guide that just wasn’t very good. Either way, they’ve taken some losses. As a guide, you must understand and empathize with these losses and commit to helping them win. Then you show them the path forward and send them on their way.
Choosing to view your job in this manner might seem like taking on a big responsibility. However, you are already handling this responsibility. Shifting your mindset gives you the power to do it better than ever. It will make your job even more rewarding as you clearly see the impact you make in the lives of those you guide.
These five guiding principles will help you shift your mindset and equip you with a practical approach to recruiting the right talent.
#1 Understand Your Audience
You must take the time to understand their situation, what they really want, their problems, and how they feel about it.
One common tool in marketing that helps with this is a “Customer Avatar”, a representation of your target audience as a single, fictional person. This includes demographic information as well as mindset, motivation, and values.
#2 Focus On The Candidate
Talk about the company very little and only as a way to demonstrate empathy for the candidates’ problems and position it as a solution.
Instead of the company’s values, mission statement, and history, you should communicate the ideal candidates’ values and invite them into a mission of their own that aligns with and supports the company's overall mission.
#3 Communicate A Clear, Compelling Offer
A clear and compelling offer is one that identifies the ideal candidate, names their problem and pain, and promises a better future.
If the job you’re offering is a great job, then that’s likely true because it doesn’t have the same headaches experienced in similar roles at other companies. Highlight the aspects of the role that will help the candidate flourish.
#4 Reduce Fear, Remove Doubt
A new job, like a new purchase, is not without doubt & fear. Doubt can prevent someone from even applying. What happens next after that application goes out? Every step can be nerve-racking and at the end is a big commitment. Remove fear and remove doubt to the best of your ability.
Remove doubt by including a plan that illuminates a path forward. Rough example: 1. Submit application. 2. We’ll contact you in two business days to let you know either way. 3. We’ll set up an interview to see if we’re a good fit for each other.
Reduce fear with employee testimonials. A potential candidate is afraid they might regret accepting the position. What if they don’t like it there? What if it’s actually a horrible place to work and they’ve just been hoodwinked? Use employee testimonials to reduce and alleviate fear.
#5 Call Them To Action
No matter how poor or great the job posting, the likelihood a candidate will apply goes up dramatically if you challenge them to do so.
It’s not enough that there’s a button that says “Submit an Application” or that step one in your plan is “1. Submit application”.
Tell them to apply now!
Applying The Five Guiding Principles
You can begin applying these principles in all aspects of your internal marketing efforts, but I want you to really crush it on your job posts. So often, these listings are people’s first interactions with you and your company. They set the tone for everything that follows. Done right, that will lead to a successful hiring for all involved.
What You Need To Do Now
Action drives results. That said, while you might want to get started applying these principles right away, I recommend you read the next part of this three-part series. It helps make these guiding principles more applicable.
Read part three of this series: The Anatomy of A Great Job Posting
Free Live Training Event
Crucial Message has partnered with Christine Morse of Avid Marketing Alliance in an effort to help businesses transform their workplace culture into one that is world-class and everyone is talking about. We believe that employees should be happy at work, highly motivated and productive, and fully engaged in moving their company forward. This happens when they are individually aligned with the overall company mission and empowered in their role. Internal Marketing is the key to this transformation.
Christine will be hosting a live training event on Thursday, May 18th at 3:30 - 4:30 PM. You can sign up for that event here:
Rapidly Improve Company Culture With Internal Marketing Systems
Don’t miss out on this opportunity!
Improve Company Culture,
Reduce Toxic Environments,
Retain Talent,
Attract New Employees,
And Even Gain Sales For Your Organization.
Click here and register today!
About Christine and Avid Marketing Alliance
Christine has over 20 years of experience in marketing, team leadership, client relations, and sales with companies such as Herman Miller, Amway International, Spectrum Health, and Disability Advocates of Kent County.
Christine excels at providing strategic counsel in marketing, training her clients' team on how to execute the marketing plan, and/or walking alongside them as their marketing department.
She also donates her time and energy to many local non-profit organizations which contribute to the sustainability of this community. Some of these organizations include AWE (Alliance for Women Entrepreneur), Guiding Light Mission, Women and Girls Lead (WGVU), USGBC (US Green Building Counsel), WMSBF (W MI Sustainable Business Forum), Veteran Job Services, and several others.