What’s in your marketing toolkit for this year? Not sure where to spend your marketing dollars to drive your business forward and realize the best return on your marketing investment? Have no fear – this deck will help! We discuss the four marketing must-haves for IT and engineering staffing firms this year:
1 - Messaging that resonates with your target audience
2 - Creating two-way conversations via social media to enhance the candidate experience
3 - Creating an engaging online user experience regardless of the platform/device used
4 - Creating content that converts.
Top 4 Marketing Must-Haves for IT and Engineering Staffing Firms in 2014
1. Top 4 Marketing Must-Haves
for IT and Engineering
Staffing Firms in 2014
Presented by:
Michelle Krier, VP Marketing & Digital Services
Leah McKelvey, Senior Director of Marketing & Partnerships
www.clearedgemarketing.com
3. Q&A on Twitter
•
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•
Send us a tweet with the following in front of the message: @clearedgemktg
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We will reply during the webinar or after
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Also follow us on…
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4. Today’s Agenda
•
•
State of the Industry
4 Marketing Must-Haves
Messages that Resonate
Engaging Online Experiences
Content That Converts
Creating 2-way Conversations
•
Q&A
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7. Tell Us…
What’s the average attention span of an adult?
A. 4 seconds
B. 8 seconds
C. 12 seconds
D. 16 seconds
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8. 8 Seconds: Average Attention Span in 2013
Source: US National Library of Medicine
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9. Timeframe is Short to Connect
3 Months or Less
2 Weeks or Less
à Amount of time it took 84% of Talent
to find their most recent position
Amount of time it took 32% of Talent
à to find their most recent position
SOURCE:
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11. Understanding Your Key Differentiators
Your homework: Put your elevator pitch to the test
•Relevancy: Ask 2 candidates and clients why they chose to work with you to see if those messages are
represented on your website
•Simplicity & Consistency: Randomly ask 3 people internally for your elevator pitch
•Differentiation: Review 3 top competitors’ websites and see how your existing message compares
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12. Candidates Share: Pros of Working with Staffing Firms
Top Benefits of Working for an IT/Engineering
Staffing Firm
Assistance finding employment
Consistent income
Access to otherwise unreachable
positions
SOURCE:
0%
20%
Top Ranked
12
40%
60%
2nd & 3rd Ranked
13. Candidates Share: Cons of Working with Staffing Firms
Top Drawbacks of Working for an IT/Engineering
Staffing Firm
Lack of positions that fit my skills
Difficulty in finding proper fit for the
position
Pay compared to working with a
company directly
SOURCE:
0%
20%
Top Ranked
13
40%
60%
2nd & 3rd Ranked
16. Know Why You’re Different – Then Execute
…with a strong reputation for
delivering exceptional technology
professionals while maintaining the
highest ethical standards.
Our deep insights into human
capital management enable us
to help our clients achieve their
business goals – while
optimizing their IT workforce
strategies.
…revolutionizing
the industry with our
personal touch.
We know our
clients intimately,
provide the right
placements and
establish long term
relationships.
…excels at bringing together
the brightest technical
professionals and the top
companies.
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18. Tell Us…
How engaging is your online experience for candidates?
A. Very engaging – we’ve conducted U/X studies to ensure the
best possible experience
B. So-so – we’ve tried to make it easy for candidates to apply
C. Not at all – it takes 5 clicks just to get to the apply screen
D. No idea – marketing controls the website and I’ve never
checked it
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19. The Stats
• 43% of job seekers have used their mobile
device to engage in job-seeking activity
• 27% of job seekers expect to be able to apply
for a job from their mobile device
Source: 2014 Job Seeker Nation Report by Jobvite
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20. The Stats
• 1 BILLION job searches are
done per MONTH on a mobile
device
• Mobile-friendly recruitment
has a conversion rate 5 – 10X
better than traditional PC
recruitment
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21. An Engaging Website Is a MUST
Your homework:
• Try applying – how long does it take, how many clicks? Now try it on your mobile device!
• Look at your site on your mobile device and on a tablet – is it easy to navigate/use?
• Analyze your Google Analytics to see how much traffic is coming from mobile devices and what pages
are most frequently visited
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28. Tell Us…
Do you create original content tailored to candidates and/or
clients?
A. No, we only share content developed by others
B. We produce a handful of original blog posts or articles a
year.
C. There is at least one article or blog published a month
D. We’re a content-producing machine!
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29. WHAT IS CONTENT MARKETING?
“
Your customers don’t care about you, your products, your services…they
care about themselves, their wants and their needs. Content marketing is
about creating interesting information your customers are passionate
about so they actually pay attention to you.
”
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31. Why Do You Need Original Content?
•
Typically, IT and Engineering staffing firms are using content marketing to drive traffic to their website
and promote the following goals:
Source: Content Marketing Institute
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32. First Content Strategy, Then Content Development
Your Homework:
Take the first steps to developing a content
strategy
•Start to develop personas for your two main
audiences: candidates and clients
•Make of a list of topics that each of these
personas care about or impacts them
•Develop three unique content ideas based on
what you know about the personas
Source of Example Persona: HubSpot
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33. Best Practices in Persona Building
Who are you
and why
should I
care?
Demographic information,
including:
•Job title, role, and
responsibilities
•Department
•Company size
•Industry
•Location
•Budget
Source: Kevin Cain, Convince & Convert
Behavioral information,
including:
•Motivating factors
•Expectations
•Concerns and pain points
•Role in the purchasing process
•Understanding of your products
and services
•Needs met to ensure a purchase
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34. Are You Creating Content that Hiring Managers Care About?
Top 5 Things That Keep Hiring Managers Up At Night
46%
Retaining top-performing talent
43%
Finding highly-qualified talent
Staying within budget
33%
Meeting your department deadlines
with the talent you have available
32%
28%
Attracting highly-qualified talent
SOURCE:
0%
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40%
80%
35. Are You Creating Content that Candidates Care About?
Top Concerns of IT and Engineering Professionals
Staying professionally relevant and
employable
30%
24%
Lack of clear career direction/path
22%
Meeting deadlines
SOURCE:
0%
35
25%
50%
36. Develop Content That Highlights Your Industry Expertise
Important Factors that Lead to a Successful Placement
40%
35%
30%
27%
20%
6%
0%
Proper skills for the position
Staffing firm is knowledgeable of our company's
industry
SOURCE:
Clients Say:
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Staffing Firms Say:
37. Types of Content
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Surveys (can give you the data to drive
several different types of content)
Blog posts
Articles (contributing to industry
publications)
eBooks
Webinars
Speaking opportunities
Customer roundtables
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41. Tell Us…
How engaged is your social community?
A. Highly engaged (we frequently receive questions and
comments)
B. Somewhat engaged (some of our posts get comments)
C. Not at all engaged (we post but no one comments)
D. What’s a social community?
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43. Creating Two-Way Conversations Via Social Media
•
Your homework: create 1 post per week that will encourage engagement. Ideas:
Ask questions. “What’s most important to you when considering a job offer: salary or location?”
Fill in the blank. “When I have a job interview coming up, I ____. ” or “My dream job is ____.”
Caption this (photo/video):
Tip: think carefully about what type of image you choose and what emotions you will trigger with your post. You want a
positive association between the photo and your brand.
Encourage likes. “’Like’ if you’d be open to a new job opportunity this year.”
Tip: Use a photo with this one!
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52. Need Help? Contact Us Any Time!
Michelle Krier
VP Marketing & Digital
Services
Leah McKelvey
Senior Director of Marketing
& Partnerships
Tel: 414.617.3103
Tel: 330.559.5259
Email: mkrier@clearedgemarketing.com
Twitter: @michellekrier
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/michellekrier
Email: lmckelvey@clearedgemarketing.com
Twitter: @LMcKelvey
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/leahmckelvey
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Notas do Editor
Let’s first level-set on the ballpark we’re playing in…
Alexandria, VA, February 14, 2014 – The number of IT jobs grew 0.40 percent sequentially
last month to 4,587,500, according to TechServe Alliance, the national trade association of
the IT & Engineering Staffing and Solutions industry. On a year-over-year basis, IT
employment has grown by 2.83% since January 2013 adding 126,200 IT workers.
Engineering jobs grew once again in January, up 0.13 percent sequentially last month to
2,483,200. On a year-over-year basis, engineering employment has grown by 1.61% since
January 2013 adding 39,400 engineering workers. Both indices reflected the Bureau of
Labor Statistics’ annual rebenchmarking of employment data this month.
Apparently, the way to illustrate multi-tasking is through adding more arms if you want to try googling an image for multi-tasking.
http://www.statisticbrain.com/attention-span-statistics/
So not only do people have a limited attention span, but with the competition for IT candidates – and demand on the employers side – you don’t have many chances to get their attention.
From TechServe and Inavero’s recent 360-degree industry study.
With more than 80 percent of IT/engineering professionals accepting positions within 3 months and nearly a third within 2 weeks, talent has a very short ‘shelf-life.’
According to TechServe, this is the approximate number of IT staffing firms operating in the US – so there is stiff competition.
Source: National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine, The Associated Press
From 360 degree report from TechServe:
IT and engineering professionals cited assistance finding employment and a consistent income among the top benefits of working with an IT and engineering staffing firm.
People hate too much jargon – how can you keep your message as simple as possible.
There’s even a jargon madness tournament that Forbes has done in the past – in the final four, you can see that drinking the kool aid beat out “empower” to eventually beat leverage as the most hated jargon word in business.
Your message should be so simple that someone outside the industry could understand it.
Forbes Jargon Madness:
http://www.forbes.com/special-report/2012/annoying-business-jargons-12.html
People shouldn't’t be hearing different things if they talk to different people in the industry – or at your company. Once you have a simple message nailed down – you should test that everyone knows and is sharing that same message. With 2500 firms in the industry and not huge investments in marketing or branding, there is definitely an opportunity for you to breakthrough – but you first have to speaking the same language internally.
It’s hard to tell everyone apart – the main things that people focus on are relationships, making matches and industry expertise. Nothing really stands out when you look at them side by side.
I did a quick audit of some of 5 national IT staffing players and the first thing that you approach on their website. As a potential buyer
or candidate, you need to understand how you stack up. Of course, what you say is one thing and the real test is how you executive, but getting everyone on the same page is important to build your brand and educate the industry.
There’s a conference focused exclusively on mobile recruiting and technology – called MREC
Bottom line? Mobile is where you need to be to find and convert candidates and clients. (Add stats about growth of mobile use overall.)
More on Michelin guide origins:
In 1900 the tire manufacturers André Michelin and his brother Édouard published the first edition of a guide for French motorists. At the time there were fewer than 3,000 cars in France, and the Michelin guide was intended to boost the demand for cars, and thus for car tires. For the first edition of the Michelin Guide the brothers had nearly 35,000 copies printed. It was given away free of charge, and contained useful information for motorists, including maps, instructions for repairing and changing tires, and lists of car mechanics, hotels and petrol stations. In 1904 the brothers published a similar guide to Belgium.[2]
http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2012/02/best-content-marketing-infographics/
Most companies in this space are using content marketing to drive traffic back to their website – and some of the correlated goals are for brand awareness, customer acquisition, lead gen and customer retention.
Your goals might be different – you might create content solely to drive candidates, or solely to provide material for sales rep to provide industry expertise to clients.
Think about it like you’re in sales or recruiting – If you don’t know anything about them, it’s hard to motivate them
You need to understand who you’re creating content for, try to figure out what they care about and THEN start creating that content through unique ways that will get them to act.
http://academy.hubspot.com/examples/customer-examples/?Tag=Buyer+Persona
http://www.convinceandconvert.com/content-marketing-2/targeted-content-the-holy-grail-of-content-marketing/
Demographic information, including:
Job title, role, and responsibilities
Department
Company size
Industry
Location
Budget
Behavioral information, including:
Motivating factors
Expectations
Concerns and pain points
Role in the purchasing process
Understanding of your products and services
Needs met to ensure a purchase
This is another chart you might have seen before from the 360 degree study from Inavero and TechServe. This shows what hiring managers worry about. This is a clue to help you build an editorial calendar. You should be building content that your client might be searching for in Google – answers to questions that keep them up at night.
Have you produced content on retaining internal employees OR how contract work ties to staying on budget?
Similar to what was shared on the last slide – understanding what your clients care about is the key to developing a content strategy that will resonate with your main client and candidate audiences.
You’re not the first firm to share interview questions or how to build your resume? What about how to build your resume if you’re a java developer.
Again, from the 360-degree report.
While both staffing firms and hiring managers agree that having the proper skills for a position is critical to a successful placement, staffing firms underestimate the importance of industry expertise to clients.
Have you ever interviewed one of your clients about an industry issue and put that on a blog? Strengthen your relationship with clients by giving them more opportunities for exposure as well.
Again, let’s go back to last example and take a lesson from how TechServe use the 360 degree study as a piece of content – this is most likely not the first time you’re seeing this content.
TechServe does a great job to understand what their members want – and that is usually data. They decided to create a report that would answer many of the questions they’re typically getting. This strategy has turned into a substantial data set that turns into content through webinars, articles, speaking opportunities, slides you can use, etc.
What’s performing to help drive your strategy going forward – what are the keywords that are driving traffic to your site? Write content around those topics
People get overwhelmed and don’t know what they would write about – there is a lot to help you guide that and make that conversation – example, you can write a video blog, podcast
Social media is more than knowing how to use Instagram or Facebook.
Requires knowledge about the business, about PR, communications, etc. No class can replace on-the-job training.
Posts need to reflect your brand
Need to be looking at metrics that impact your business – it’s not just about the # of likes your FB page has or the # of Twitter followers you have.
In order for social media marketing activity to generate real results for your business, a solid understanding of your business is required.
Activity on social media tends to yield the best results when it works in concert with other business functions such as marketing, advertising, sales, human resources, operations, customer service, and more. Simply put, for interns or junior employees to be able to draw connections between all of these functions and correlate them to appropriate efforts on social media will be all but impossible for them to pull off with any level of effectiveness.
Will your intern know which social media platforms are best for conveying your business’s marketing message? Will an intern understand your company’s goals and commitments enough to properly pass that message on to your customers?
Social media can quickly turn into crisis communications – are you ready to trust your intern with that?