Too often in employee recruitment efforts, Employer Branding and Recruitment Marketing get confused. The fact is that they are two different tools that can be used to attract the best-qualified employees. They can be used in tandem by recruiters for HR professionals, but are not interchangeable. It is vital that every HR recruiting employee know the difference.
Employer Branding
The term employer branding means creating a portfolio for a company that emphasizes its good points and strengths. A company’s employer brand is the reputation the company possesses with their customers as well as across their industry and in the media. With potential employees, the objective of employer branding is to present the company in the most favorable light as a place of employment.
Employer branding is geared towards filling a company’s employment needs and making sure the image they present to a prospective employee meets the prospect’s expectations. The image created is molded towards what the company wants in an employee and emphasizes how great it is to work at that company. This combination makes it easier to market a company and recruit qualified applicants.
Recruitment Marketing
The term “recruitment marketing†refers to the strategies and tactics an HR recruiting firm will use to promote a company and its employer brand. It utilizes various forms of advertising, including social media, career sites, job boards, job fairs and traditional advertising to ensure the company hiring is presented in the best possible light. The goal is to get the right company message in front of the right candidates at the right time to attract applicants that are a great fit for the company in need of help.
Why the Difference Matters
Employer branding and recruitment marketing go hand in hand and need each other to succeed. The former is the “sales pitch†while the latter is used to attract qualified candidates. While both need each other to be successful, employer branding is part of recruitment marketing, but recruitment marketing is separate from the brand a company builds for itself.
Both concepts work together to create the best employment marketing strategy possible. Business owners and recruiters for HR professionals must understand the difference, however, or they risk presenting an incomplete picture to a prospect. To make sure your company does not do that, check out how to merge the two approaches seamlessly today! Contact The Christopher Group to learn more!