Today’s jobseekers do their research before clicking apply. They review organisationsorganizations’ careerscareer site content, social media channels, and online reviews, much like consumers before purchasing a product or service. Polished corporate messaging or obviously AI-generated content raises red flags and causes jobseekers to look elsewhere.
What does this mean for talent teams? Bad content could be costing you applicants. To win over great talent, you need the right content, delivered at the right time. Think ‘day in the life’ testimonials, hiring manager videos, authentic photos, employee stories, live chat events and more.
So what’s stopping talent teams from creating authentic content? “Do more with less” has become the recruitment mantra. Talent acquisition teams today have to wear many hats. HR professionals probably didn’t start their careers expecting to be marketers or content creators. But with a competitive talent market, teams need to think like marketers to source and secure the best new hires.
“[Marketing and copywriting aren’t] traditionally a key part of recruitment/HR education but have become a critical capability – from job ad writing to marketing collateral and creating engaging blog posts for company websites”.
Andrea Kirby, Shortlist, TAs struggling to “do it all” amid mounting expectations
To bridge this skill gap, some companies have turned to outsourcing. Other companies have invested in upskilling their staff. And some are turning to Gen AI to do the job. But creating relevant, high-value content that drives applications? That can’t just be taught in an afternoon or left entirely in the hands of AI.
It’s now crucial for TA teams to create relevant, engaging content—at scale. So how are leading talent teams navigating this challenge? Let’s find out.
Building an employer brand strategy? Keep it authentic
To see the impact of employee-generated content on employer branding, we can look to PageUp customer, Sportsbet. As part of a careerscareer site overhaul, Sportsbet used employee-generated content to create an authentic employer branding campaign at scale.
Sportsbet former Head of Talent, Simone Strachan, found that using authentic content on the careerscareer site—rather than highly-produced videos—had greater impact, and showed a clearer picture of life at the company.
“I recorded a video for the careerscareer site and I had my daughter with me – I was almost going to re-record it and then I thought no, this is me showing up at work, working remotely. It’s authentic.”
Simone Strachan, former Head of Talent, Sportsbet
Don’t spend too much time on making things look “polished”. A carefully curated employer brand won’t cut through today, with 51% of jobseekers sceptical of corporate communications. On the other hand, using something purely produced by AI, without adding your unique employer voice can do more harm than good. 52% of people feel less engaged reading copy suspected to be AI-written. Employer branding should be real: capture real moments with real employees from your company.
Use employee stories in your employer branding and marketing
When Sportsbet revamped their careerscareer site they needed a huge amount of targeted content. How did they create this content at scale? Through an employee ambassador program. Instead of having the talent acquisition team endlessly write articles that may not resonate, they can tap into a network of 140+ employees who contribute authentic content specific to their experiences and roles.
“There’s multiple roles ambassadors can play, based on their personalities and comfort levels: it’s about finding a way for everyone to contribute in an authentic and meaningful way.”
Simone Strachan, former Head of Talent, Sportsbet
IGO is another great example of an ambassador program. To provide a platform for their employee voices, IGO implemented PageUp Employee Connections, enabling jobseekers to connect directly with employees and ask questions about working at IGO. The talent acquisition team wanted to ensure that employees didn’t see it as more work, presenting it to them as a valued employee and opportunity to build their personal brand, as well as offering a flexible schedule around when they were ambassadors to suit them best.
“We didn’t want it to feel like it was another thing people had to do outside of their normal jobs. We approached it in a way that it was a reward for them to be an ambassador for our brand. It’s a great way for employees to build their reputation externally as well.”
Kate Mosel, Manager Talent and Capability, IGO
These ambassador stories provide a direct window into daily life and the company culture. LinkedIn found that companies with strong employee advocacy are 58% more likely to attract talent. So, not only does leveraging your employees’ experiences and stories make it easier to produce content at scale, it’s also more likely to resonate with potential candidates, answer applicant questions, and convince jobseekers to apply.
Engage hard-to-reach candidates with targeted employer brand content
Every hiring team has their hard-to-fill roles. For Sportsbet, sharing targeted employee-generated content helped build a pipeline of interested candidates.
The key is to think like a candidate. What questions might they have? What information are they seeking? It could be as simple as creating a dedicated landing page for each target talent segment or having your employee ambassadors answer questions specific to their field. Get creative and ensure you’ve filled those information gaps on your careerscareer site.
“We created dedicated sub landing pages on our careerscareer site for those talent segments… we spoke really candidly about the experience from the candidate perspective.”
Simone Strachan, former Head of Talent, Sportsbet
IGO implemented a similar initiative, developing targeted landing pages on their careerscareer site for their different functions, locations, and demographics. By targeting their content to specific talent segments, they were able to increase engagement, drive conversions, and take candidates on a tailored candidate journey.
“We put ourselves in the candidates shoes and tried to think about what they would want to know if they were coming to our website. We split it into locations and by functions so they can go to the page that’s most relevant to them. The thing I love about our website is that it’s really interactive. It has relevant jobs on each particular area when you’re on the page and it also has a sign up for alerts for these particular roles as well. It’s really making sure we are capturing those engaged people when they come to our site and then when roles are coming up we can communicate with them straight away.”
Kate Mosel, Manager Talent and Capability, IGO
Reap the benefits of employer branding, today
Above all else, authenticity is key. Jobseekers are more discerning than ever, so to cut through the corporate noise, the best companies are harnessing the power, enthusiasm and advocacy of their current employees. Using employee generated content, you’ll be able to curate relevant, useful and captivating content— at scale, with ease.
Need the tools to promote your employer brand? Chat with our team about our Recruitment Marketing solutions today.
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