How to Build a Successful Employer Brand on a Budget

According to research from LinkedIn, 83% of hiring managers reveal that having a good employer brand is essential in recruiting top talent.

When business owners think of employer branding, their first thoughts are usually expensive offsites or costly ad campaigns. While a big budget may help with your employer branding efforts, the primary factor that will impact its effectiveness the most is the authentic way in which your employer brand is shared with audiences.

If you are trying to establish a fantastic employer brand on a small budget, here is how to maximize your available resources to accomplish just that.

Employees

Turn your employees into brand ambassadors. For small businesses, their employees are the best assets. Leveraging them to spread word about your company lends your business credibility.

Employee reviews and testimonials are inexpensive and often times free. It is easy to compile and share insider reviews on your company culture and then give outsiders a real insight in to what your company culture is like. What your employees say about you is often the most accurate reflection of your company. Glassdoor is a terrific example of a site that offers employees the opportunity to share with others insights into your corporate culture.

Obviously, the important thing is to make sure that you indeed do have a pleasant place to work, so that the reviews are positive.

Creating a Mission Statement 

Before you can start to establish an employer brand, you need to be crystal clear on your business identity, mission statement, and company culture.

This means you must lay out what distinguishes you from competitors, your unique features and what challenges you seek to overtake.

When people have a clear idea about what your company stands for and what the positives and negatives of the work experiences are, they are more likely to stay with your firm.

In order to create a compelling Mission Statement, give some thought to your end goal. What is it that you most want to achieve with your company, aside from turning a profit? In this day and age, we see more and more candidates wanting to work for companies that make a positive impact. Clarify what it is your company stands for, and then create a persuasive, concise statement.

 Leverage Social Media

Making the most of your social media presence is essential to building an employer brand on a budget. Spread your message on social media websites that are free. The only investment from your side needs to be consistency, creativity and time.

Encourage your employees to paint your company in a positive light through reviews on Glassdoor, behind-the-scene stories on Instagram and sharing interesting projects and content on Facebook and Twitter, etc. WE have also seen some extremely compelling videos put out by companies, that highlight a day in the life of employees in specific positions. This can be an extremely effective marketing tool.

Posts from your employees about your company carry terrific weight, and the result with either be positive or negative, depending on the message. This makes it all the more imperative to work hard to build a positive work environment. Direct reports from front line employees will act as the most compelling factor in bringing in new hires and forging your identity as a wonderful place to work.

Praise Your Employees and Potential New Hires Will Notice  

Research shows that the most strongest incentive for employees to go the extra mile at work is public praise. By announcing awards, Presidents Club, and other achievements on social media, not only are you rewarding excellent behavior of your current employees, but potential new hires are also seeing these posts, and taking note.  Who doesn’t want to work for a company that sings their praises from the rooftops?

By striving to create a genuinely good place to work, and then having your employees share that information via social media, any company regardless of size and marketing budget can build a brand that candidates want to work for.

Since 1999, ISC has identified and delivered A-list talent to companies that have critical fill openings. As a leading executive search firm, our expert headhunters are always at hand to recruit the best candidates for your most important, high-level roles. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help.

Ann Zaslow-Rethaber is President of International Search Consultants and can be reached directly at 888-866-7276 or via email at [email protected]

Angela George has been a highly successful executive recruiter since 2006. Angela can be reached by phone at 866-839-3503 or by email at [email protected]