HR Needs to Hire More Marketers

You know what most HR departments are missing? Marketers. HR needs to hire more marketers. I’m not talking about hiring more people for the marketing department. I’m talking about hiring people with a marketing background to work in HR.

In a recent survey (full disclosure: they are my employer), about 70% of HR professionals say they are using social networking sites to attract talent (that’s called social recruiting for those who slept in). According to that same survey, though, only a quarter (27%) have adopted content marketing as an approach to get the attention of candidates. And fewer still are using pay-per-click advertising.

“Only 27% of HR pros using content marketing to attract candidates” Click to Tweet

I’d say this is a problem for HR and an opportunity for under-employed marketers.

It’s a problem for HR because social recruiting, just like social media marketing, is really all about playing the long game. Developing relationships, engaging with your target audience and trying to entice them with your calls-to-action, without actually putting them of. That’s not HR’s forte. They’re more about writing job ads and searching LinkedIn for candidates. That’s not going to bring in the big fish. That’s going to get you the candidates who are already looking. The mediocre, the failing, the unmotivated and disloyal. Sure, there are some gems in there, too, but it’s not the majority.

The gems, the types of employees companies would love to attract, are already doing great where they are. They’re exceeding performance reviews, getting bonuses, promotions, great parking spots (is that still a thing?). You won’t get them with lame job ads and unsolicited InMails.

It’s an opportunity for marketers because what they need is exactly what we can provide. What we have been doing for years to help our companies attract prospects. HR needs good content marketers, community managers and SEMs.

The same strategies that have been working for marketing to prospects will also work to bring in passive candidates. So, here’s a common marketing approach:

Develop your buyer persona; find out their pain points; develop content that addresses those points and establishes your brand as a thought leader; engage them in social channels, adding value; target them with PPC ads and banners in the places they spend their time; take them through a sales funnel and close the deal.

Now, replace “buyer” with “candidate” or “employer” and add “employer” before “brand” and you have an HR marketing strategy; a social recruiting strategy.

Better Leaders Leads to More Social Recruiting

Want more proof? Okay.

That same survey also found that companies with stronger leaders (as rated by respondents) were more likely to use social recruiting (81% versus 62%).  They were more likely to use content marketing and target PPC advertising, too. They also said they were getting higher-quality candidates through social channels.

So, it works. All they need are marketers to help them pull it off.

I’m not sure if HR will actually start to hire more marketers. My bet is the smart ones will. I also think those that do will gain a huge advantage. They may even bring some validity to that cliché “people are our greatest advantage”.

What do you think? Should HR hire more marketers?

Image courtesy of Flickr cc and Adam Bowie

I Hate Running for Free

The other day I was out for a run and my iPhone died.  This was annoying for a couple of reasons. 

I always listen to either music or podcasts while I’m running. Psychologically, I’ve come to expect it, but that wasn’t the main problem. I also always run with a run tracking app. Lately it’s been Nike, but I’ve also used Run Keeper a lot. 

I like to track my pace and my mileage, and get the regular updates, and have a record of my progress each month. It gamifies the whole experience for me. But, suddenly it was gone. 

Suddenly, I was running for free!

I knew my route. I knew how far it would take me. But that absence of a record was deflating. It’s weird, I know. I mentioned it to some people in my run club and some had similar experiences, so at least I know I’m not the only weirdo. 

What about you? Do you run for free? Or have any other quirks about your runs?

What’s the Best Way to Run Longer Distances?

I remember when I first started running, five kilometres (3.1 miles) seemed like a marathon. I didn’t think I would ever crack that distance. Eventually, I did. Then 7, 10, 15, 21, 42 (once so far). The way I did it didn’t involve any fancy strategies, nor was is just pure drive. It was actually something much simpler and more fun.

There are lots of ways I’ve heard of to push yourself to run longer distances, but the method that worked best for me was good, old peer pressure.

You see, I belong to an informal run club. I say informal because we kind of came together through the efforts of one or two outgoing people, we’re not affiliated with anything, we just like to get together once a week, go for a short run and then have a couple of drinks. Truth be told, it’s more about the social aspect.

One thing we do, though, is run competitions. We team up in twos, or threes, or small teams. Sometimes boys versus girls. And we try to beat each other. Sometimes there are prizes, sometimes just pride. The competitions range from the run-of-the-mill, run as much as you can in a week, to the more interesting 24-hour-run-a-thons. Sometimes it gets so complicated, we need a manual to keep track of what we have to do when, but regardless of the structure of the competition, it gets us out running. More often. Farther. Faster. And we do it all because we don’t want to let our team mates down.

Peer pressure is a remarkable thing. Everybody is running. Everyone is emailing, texting, talking about how they are doing, how their team is doing, who is slacking off. It’s fun, it’s infectious and it gets us running.

I remember one competition a couple of years ago where each person on a team was assigned a weekly distance they had to complete, 20, 30, 40, or 50 kilometres. You could go over your distance, but if you didn’t make it that week none of your mileage counted. Talk about wasted effort! That competition pushed me to run more in a week than I ever had dreamed I would before, which got me running longer distances because I couldn’t get out every day.

This week we started the first competition we’ve done in a while, and I’m very excited. I’ve needed a kick in the ass to get me back in the game, and I’m pretty confident this will do it. If it doesn’t, I’m sure my partner will let me know!

On a side note, I have to slag Nike here. They used to have a brilliant competition component as part of their online community. We used it all the time. It made it so easy to track everyone’s runs. And looking at the other competitions going on around the world really gave us some great ideas. Sadly, they killed it a few years ago. I guess it didn’t sell enough shoes. I think they really blew that one.

Anyway, what do you think of the competition idea? Do you think it would get you running more? Do you ever have them with your own group? If so, let me know what types, I’m always looking for new ideas.

Image courtesy of Flicker CC and Mary Beth Griffo Rigby

Trying to run is hard

Trying to start running again is hard. Trying to start running, period, is hard. When I think about it, I’m amazed so many people succeed, but they do. I did. I will again.

The hardest thing is the mental limits you put on yourself. I remember when I first took up running many years ago – not counting the failed attempt as an overweight teenager, and the one as a wishful, chain-smoking twenty-something – I was convinced I could never do more than 5 kilometres. Five K. That was it. I had a route that was actually just under that an I was always at the end of my rope by the time I was approaching home.

My boss at the time found out I was running and invited me to join him and a few others for a lunchtime 5K. I refused. I could never keep up, I was certain. He said they ran a leisurely 30 minute 5K. Sounded pretty fast.

For over a year I was stuck at that 5K mark. It wasn’t until we moved and I joined a run club near the new house that peer pressure eventually lead me crack the 5 K mark. It was then that I realized that it was a psychological limit, not physical. I knew that all along, but now I admitted it. Within a few months of cracking that limit I ran my first race, an 11K mud run. In a year a half marathon, then 30K, eventually a year or so after that a marathon.

But now I’m back stuck again. It’s been months since I ran more than 5 or 6K. I step out the door planning to run 8 or 10, and almost immediately start making excuses why I can’t. It will take too long. I’ve got a lot to do. I should be spending time with the kids. I’m tired. Okay, just 5K this time … again. Maybe a bit faster.

The psychological limit is back.

Was back. Tonight I got tired of it and broke it. Not by much, I ran 7K. But the limit has been pushed and the journey begins. Trying to run.

What about you? Are you trying to run? Run farther?

Image courtesy of Flicker CC and Ryan Knapp

The 10 Rules to Raise Terrific Kids

I’m making my way through one of the best parenting books I’ve ever read – and I’ve read a lot. It’s so good, I wanted to share one of the lists the book provides because I think it makes a ton of sense and provides a glimpse at framework that can make a big difference.

Who owns your brand?

I have heard a lot of marketers over the years say that companies don’t own their brands; that it’s the public, the consumer that owns the brand.

Nonsense.

The #1 Secret to Writing Great Headlines

There is a lot of great advice from some very smart people out there about how to write effective headlines that will grab your readers and pull them in. You can take entire courses on this subject, such is its heft. That’s not this blog. I have just one tip for you. What I think is the single biggest secret to writing great headlines.

Apple dodges brand-killing bullet by not launching cheap iPhone

I’ve read (primarily in the mainstream business press) a lot of criticism of Apple’s recent iPhone 5C unveiling since the big presentation last week. Most of that criticism is directed at Apple’s failure to add a device to its lineup that can compete with cheaper smart phones, deemed a particularly important strategy for competing in China and other Asian markets.

I don’t really understand the surprise. Apple has spent many years and a lot of money building their brand, one of the strongest brands in the world. A brand that offers beautifully designed, simple to use devices that deliver an incredible user experience … at a premium price. You can add to that products that last, thus providing value for dollar. I had my last iMac for eight years; granted, it was pretty slow by the end, but find me a PC that old and lets compare.

Had Apple followed the expectations of the investment community and launched a cheap iPhone, they would have destroyed their own brand. Suddenly, the conversation would shift away from “do I want pay for an iPhone or settle for something not quite as cool/beautiful that I can get a deal on?” to “which device can I get for less?” The brand would have started down the road toward commoditization.

Look what happened to Krispy Kreme in Canada when they started offering packaged doughnuts in gas stations. Their brand was built around the experience of getting a fresh, hot doughnut as opposed to one that had been sitting on the counter for hours. Or Starbucks when they expanded too quickly and started replacing baristas with machines. They killed the experience and nearly their brand – thankfully, for this brand fan, they pulled up in time.

There are hundred of other stories of brands that abandoned their core value to chase a market. Most end the same way: short-term gain that leads to the ultimate demise of a previously strong brand. Apple, wisely, dodged that future last week and held firm to their strategy. For a great explanation of what they did do in launching the iPhone 5C, have a read of this Daring Fireball blog post by John Gruber.

I think the biggest risk right now to Apple’s brand (other than our inability to re-animate Steve Jobs) is that they are publicly traded and the pressure that puts on delivering short-term results at the expense of building long-term value. I am not an expert on what it takes to succeed in places like China and India. I don’t know what Apple will need to do to build market share there, but I’m glad they were smart enough not to compromise their brand to do it (this time).

But I don’t think anyone should be surprised or disappointed by what they saw last week.

Why B2B companies need to give away a little free milk

Too many B2B companies companies fear that the very thing that sets them apart from their competitors is too valuable to share publicly, for fear of having it stolen. In the modern era of content marketing, this kind of thinking is costing you business.

I was recently discussing the merits of content marketing with a senior executive at financial services company. More accurately, I was trying to convince this executive that the company had a tremendous opportunity to engage its customer and prospects online using the expertise the organization had amassed in dealing with the operations of thousands of businesses over the years.

Why not, I suggested, use that expertise, that institutional knowledge, to create content that would help businesses succeed? Show them how what you’ve seen from working with the best and the worst can help them save bottom line costs.

By putting that kind of content out there, I added, and helping companies you might not even be doing business with, you will be building a brand through utility. You will be gaining trust. That trust will translate into business. Maybe not next week or next month, but it will.

This executive’s argument to me was that this was giving away too much. Why buy the cow when you can get the milk fir free, to turn a tired phrase. The fear was that, by making their knowledge public, competitors could steal it, businesses could use it and then not buy the core product from them. Whereas, if they held the information close, and only let it out to customers as part of the business contract, they could control that information better.

On the surface, that argument makes sense. Who wants to equip your competitors to do a better job? Why give away this kind of value with no guaranteed return? Sure, fear can shut down that discussion pretty quickly. But that argument is flawed in a couple of major ways.

First of all, when your product is a commodity – which this one was – you need to wrap it in a unique selling proposition (USP) to differentiate it. If you hide that USP from the world for fear that someone will steal it, it doesn’t have any more value than if they did.

The second reason this argument fails for me is because human behaviour is largely predictable. Predictability dictates that there will be a return on investment for this type of good content. Here’s why I think that:

The kind of people who trust in the value of good counsel understand there is even more value to be had by working with someone who demonstrates this expertise, beyond what may be given on the surface. The content you put out there, if it adds real value, can convince prospects that they stand to gain even more by entering into a relationship with you – even if the product is a commodity they can buy anywhere.

Now, there will be those who do not want the relationship. These are the do-it-yourselfers who just want the whitepaper so they can try to make it work themselves. They want tips, guides and ideas they can implement on their own. They may not immediately – or ever – see the value in partnering with a company with that expertise.

That’s okay, though, because what they will do – if your content is really good – is share your material. They’ll let others know how useful it was, because it makes them look smart to share smart ideas. This increases the likelihood of your content finding its way into the hands of more and more of the first type of person. The one who values and appreciates expertise enough to pay for the relationship.

It takes work to create that kind of content; and it takes time to take effect. But if you’ve got the raw material, why wouldn’t you? I, personally, don’t see the downside. What do you think? Is it worth giving away the milk for free?

Are you ignoring half your email list?

A recent study by Yesmail Interactive showed that nearly half (48.64%) of people receiving marketing emails are opening them on mobile devices. Of those recipients, only 11% were clicking a link. Whereas 22.5% of those reading those same emails on a desktop are clicking.

When you look at the industries I’m familiar with, the numbers are even worse.

• B2B: 40% are reading marketing emails on their mobile device and 7% are clicking a link.
• Financial Services: 51% opening and 2% clicking. Banks and insurers, let that sink in…

What this all points to is that, if you are not optimizing your email for mobile, you are doing email wrong.

With the growing penetration of smartphones and tablets this is a warning signal for businesses. Too many companies are primarily focused on the desktop experience. Probably because its the easiest environment to test for, and some misguided assumption that their audience is the exception.

To reach this audience, you have got to consider the mobile experience in your email campaigns. That means both design and content.

Here are a few simple tips for creating successful email campaigns for smaller screens:

• From trumps subject – on mobile devices the from line is more prominent than your subject line.Spend time sweating this to make sure your audience will recognize you
• Subject lines – keep them brief and ensure the keywords that will grab your audience are near the beginning
• Phone #s – If your audience is opening your email on a phone, they should have easy access to call you with a single click. Include your phone number prominently in every email
• Small screens = simple design – Have you ever tried to read a website created for desktop viewing on a smartphone? It’s not pretty. Don’t make this mistake on your emails. Keep design simple and make the links stand out
• Don’t forget the destination – getting your audience to click a link on their mobile device is part of the battle, but if they hit a landing page not optimized for mobile you will ultimately lose that battle. Make sure your landing pages are also optimized for mobile viewing

There is a lot more you can do, but it all starts with recognition that your audience is mobile and your email should be as well.