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Employer branding is at the heart of any great recruitment strategy.

A strong employer brand can be a powerful business tool, a public image that tells the story of a companies values, mission and culture to potential candidates and gives your company a competitive advantage in the recruitment game. So with employer branding becoming one of the key components in recruitment today how do you make sure that you develop a strong enough one to attract the best candidates?

1. Your Elevator Pitch

Your Elevator pitch is something that you may have already established, but how do you bring that across into your employer brand?

Think of your elevator pitch as something you want to tell the reader. Keep it short and word it simply, just like any good author you want to hook the reader and reel them in. Make it memorable and punchy, outline your companies values, what makes you different and what makes you a great company to work for.

2. Let Employees Tell Their Stories

Promote the stories of your top employees by doing so you are creating an engaging, human side to your company. Invite employees across various departments to tell their stories so potential candidates can envisage themselves working in these roles and to get an insight into “a day in the life of … ”

3. Knowledge From Employees

Your current employees provide a great insight into what employers want, so communicate with them. Ask them ” what would they tell a friend about working with your company”. Use this knowledge to help develop your companies corporate image, to make yourself more appealing to potential candidates and also to help you build an honest and positive brand.

4. Employer Branding Pages

Having an employer branding page gives you the platform you require to tell your companies story. It gives every candidate an authentic view into your companies culture and allows you to easily manage all of your content. Think of it as a one-stop shop for candidates, a place to find all of your current and upcoming roles, whilst getting a peek behind the scenes. Providing them with an exceptional candidate experience.

5. Get Visual

While word of mouth is useful, imagery is extremely valuable. It’s easy to share interesting events and photos of your employees to give a ‘behind-the-scenes’ view and show the real personality of your brand. Furthermore, photographs are a social engagement powerhouse and are easy to share across various social media platforms.

6. Show, Don’t Tell

Using video allows you to show your story and the story of your employees. We can all tell stories but showing truly allows you to reflect your companies culture. It is an honest way to show that you practice what you preach.

7. Fill the space

Creating an employer brand is a must but the key to creating a strong employer brand is the content associated with it. A mediocre employer brand just won’t cut it. You need to provide candidates with valuable content and with as much of it as possible. Take into account the knowledge your current employees have provided you with and fill in the gaps. Don’t give candidates a reason not to hit that apply button.

8. Embrace Social Media

Candidates are out there they are on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Google +. These are inexpensive platforms to help you promote your employers brand and an easy place to advertise your companies culture, so make use of them in order to reach new audiences.

9. Put Your Message In Place

Establishing your brand message is key in recruitment. Using a clear brand message across all of your recruitment platforms is important. By staying on message, your company will more effectively attract the sort of talent you desire.

10. Build A Culture

You cannot build an employer brand without building a culture. Finally, you need to nurture your companies culture. Without a strong culture, your employee brand is always going to be weak. Any company can provide a job, but how many can provide a culture that people crave? HR plays an important role in this, make employees love where they work and word will spread like wildfire.