No money? No problem.
In an ideal world, you’d have infinite budget from eager stakeholders to launch a world-class employer branding project - but it doesn’t always happen.
Luckily, zero budget does not have to equal zero influence. An effective employer brand leader looks for the small ways to have a big impact.
Here are some handy tips to boost your Employer Brand that don’t cost a dime.
1. Perfect your storytelling
Sit down with one of your leaders or a colleague who’s worked at the company for years. Ask them about their best day at work, and their toughest moment. Keep digging until you find one story that encompasses a core aspect of your employer brand and write it down. Use every format you can think of, a blog post, LinkedIn post, even an audio recording. Work smarter, not harder by repurposing valuable content and sharing it across all channels.
2. Use video content
Video content is king for driving engagement. According to a HubSpot report, 53% of consumers would like to see more video content from their favourite brands. Don’t be put off by the idea of low production videos; they still work. People love to see unfiltered, authentic content because it has a sense of credibility. If you’re unsure where to start, make use of TikTok’s engaging (and free) video-editing features but post the results on LinkedIn. Ask employees to participate in 60 second interviews where they can give testimonials about the company and don’t be afraid to step the other side of the camera yourself.
3. Nail your onboarding
A warm welcome costs nothing, which means there are plenty of ways to finesse your onboarding process without a budget. Assign new starters a buddy to help them settle in and learn the ropes, schedule regular check-ins where you encourage the employee to ask questions and air concerns and let them know how they can get involved with any company clubs or activities. The greater the sense of community and belonging they feel, the better.
4. Refresh your headlines
Don’t settle for tired, overdone phrases like ‘Join us’ or ‘We’re Hiring!’ Your headlines are prime real estate on your job posts, so why not make them work harder for you? Write 10 (or as many as you can come up with) eye-catching headlines that are in harmony with your brand messaging and share them with recruiters and hiring managers.
Pro tip: Using a compelling statement, fact or question can help to hook candidates’ attention.
5. Know your social media hacks
There are plenty of social media hacks out there that can help you expand your reach. For example, as soon as an important social media post goes out on LinkedIn, ask all recruiters, hiring managers and relevant team members to engage with it. Like, comments and shares all prime the algorithm to expand your reach. Likewise, if an employee shares a story online, show the post some love and encourage recruiters to do the same.
How do I increase my budget?
While freebies can be incredibly impactful, if you’re serious about improving your employer brand, you’d probably like more resources to work with at some stage. Here’s how you get them.
Show your work
Firstly, you need to prove the effectiveness of the employer brand work you’ve already undertaken by showing results and return on investment.
Metrics that matter
When putting in a request, be clear about what you hope to achieve and how, and share your progress, keeping a close eye on the important metrics such as regrettable loss and unwanted applicants.
Provide evidence
If you want to grow your influence internally, it’s essential that you prove the impact you're having by showing results and return on investment.
Set up a monthly scorecard and share it with your manager so that they can easily forward it on to their leadership. Bosses like to show clear progress, so the easier you make it to absorb and understand, the more likely they are to forward your monthly report.
Be transparent
Don't hide what isn't working. Far from being a negative it can be a chance to request more budget to fix it.
If adding budget will help you solve something quicker or make a bigger dent, ask for it, justify it, measure its performance and clearly demonstrate the impact.
Over time, you’ll build up rapport and trust with management. Your credibility will increase, you’ll get management buy-in and your asks will get easier.