Case Study: Leveraging Paid & Organic Employer Branding Tactics to Attract New Talent

A semiconductor manufacturer based out of Germany aimed to attract and retain U.S. talent to compete against other big tech companies. Although the company is well-known abroad, they aren’t as recognizable in the U.S., highlighting a need for a robust employer branding strategy.

The Problem

The client was an international organization with hundreds of locations in Europe – but in the U.S. their brand recognition wasn’t as strong. To bolster their presence in America and allow them to compete for the same talent as other big tech companies (Google, Intel, Micron Technology), they needed a cohesive employer branding campaign that showed candidates what it means to be an employee.?

The Plan

Our team used a combination of organic and paid strategies to help the client establish its brand presence in the U.S. This included blog posts supported by interviews with engineers, social media posts, and paid advertisements on Google Search, Google Display, and Indeed.

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Organic Employer Branding Strategies

To show candidates what life is like as an employee, we used a combination of organic blogging and social media posts to drive traffic to the blog posts.

Blogging

Our team started by creating a series of blogs that answered common employment questions, providing information on the client's wellness initiatives, the types of projects candidates can expect to work on, and “day in the life” pieces for varying positions (engineering, business, project management).?

The blogs were supported by interviews with the client's team members who shared their employment experiences, allowing readers to step into the shoes of the client's employees.?

Social Media Posts

To route candidates to the employer branding blog posts, we crafted graphics and copy for posts on the client's Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn profiles. All of our posts linked back to the blog.

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Paid Employer Branding Strategies

Along with organic blogging and social media efforts, our team boosted the client's reach with advertisements on Google Search, Google Display, and Indeed.?

Google Search & Display Advertising

Potential candidates were already searching for jobs in Google - we wanted to ensure that they were aware of what the client had to offer.?We created a series of ad campaigns to drive traffic to the website and retarget them after they visited.?We also utilized the Google Display Network – a collection of over two million websites, videos, and apps where Google ads can appear – to improve brand recognition by posting display ads on sites they were already visiting.??

Indeed Advertising

We advertised on Indeed, one of the largest job listing sites in the world, to help drive applications for open positions. This helped get more qualified candidates into the interviewing process.

LinkedIn Advertising

Targeting candidates on LinkedIn helped grow brand awareness and increase applications. Utilizing the advanced targeting features, in addition to creating specific videos to use in the ads, we were able to get the messaging in front of two large, very targeted audiences.

First, our team targeted new college graduates by the schools they attended, the location of the school, and the types of degrees they had. The second audience was current engineers, such as product engineers at Google or Microsoft. To target these candidates, we filtered by their location, the companies they worked for, and their current positions.?

We also targeted the metropolitan areas of Austin, TX and Lexington, KY to build awareness about the client's new facilities and job opportunities in those areas.

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The Results

Prior to partnering with KWSM, the client's U.S. Careers Page averaged about 350 visits per month, and they received an average of 4 job applications per month.?

After six months of execution, KWSM boosted these metrics to 4,000 visits and 125 applications per month through the client's website, and 2,000 additional applications per month from Indeed.

Some additional highlights from the campaign:

• Average monthly conversions (submitted applications) grew by 2,200%
• Overall Impressions of collateral (organic content, paid ads) hit nearly 11 million
• Average monthly page views of the U.S. Careers Page increased by 271%
• Performance of Google search ads and display ads has exceeded the industry benchmark by 3x

By combining organic blogging, social media, and paid advertising efforts on Google and Indeed, we successfully boosted the client's brand recognition in the U.S. to attract a larger pool of qualified candidates. The success of this campaign demonstrates the power of a well-executed employer branding strategy and the impact it can have on a company’s ability to attract top talent – and our team is thrilled to have partnered with the client to bolster their recruitment efforts.

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Consult Our Team of Employer Branding Strategists

Attract and retain the top talent in your industry with a reputation-enhancing employer branding campaign. Our team will tell your company’s story the right way, distribute it with paid tactics backed by strategy, and ultimately boost your pool of qualified candidates.

Contact KWSM today to shape your employer branding strategy.