My website and social media accounts are up-to-date with the most current trends – is there anything else I should update?
Of course there is! As a quick review, in my first post in this series, I explained some of the 2018 Marketing Trends for Websites, while my second and third posts in this series focused on social media marketing trends. Today, I want to focus on content and inbound marketing trends, as well as trends in reputation management. Take a look at some of the Smart Marketing Trends in these areas to make sure your marketing strategies are up-to-date!
Content & Inbound Marketing Trends
- Variety is king. People read the paper and watch the news. Candidates are the same. Some read blogs, some watch a video, and some prefer a quick graphic or tweet. Want your content to reach a wider audience? Offer your ideas in more formats!
- Think long form. While the nightly news may love soundbites and tweets, the best marketing response is coming from longform content. 1,000-plus word blog posts, podcasts, webinars and other long-form content are more effective for addressing tough questions, providing deeper insights, and driving qualified sales leads.
- Speaking of content…stop writing crappy job posts. Recruiting is marketing. And job posts are advertising. To win the talent war, you need to sell your jobs better than the competition sells theirs.Need help writing better posts?
Read our article: 11 Ways to Write Better Job Posts - Ungated content. Historically, the rule of content marketing was to put highly valuable content behind a “gate” or a form that people must complete. In the past year, some of the world’s biggest content marketers have gone to ungated content, free to download without providing any personal information. The idea is that gates reduce consumption, and ultimately, it’s the content consumption that drives qualified sales leads.
- Content overload is real, but content marketing is more essential than ever. These days everyone is a content marketer, which means getting your blog posts and social shares to stand out is harder than ever. If you want to demonstrate your expertise, prove your competence, and engage clients, prospects and candidates, you need a content strategy to produce and share information that truly resonates with your ideal clients and candidates.
- Video is essential. YouTube and Facebook have proven that video gets more engagement than any other form of content. In the staffing industry, we’re seeing more companies use video for job ads, skill marketing, employer branding (for individual branch offices, staffing companies, and their clients), and assignment orientation.
- Mobile content consumption. As noted earlier, more than half of the traffic coming to the 500+ staffing websites we monitor comes from mobile, which means you need content that is easily consumed on smartphones and other mobile devices.
Reputation Management Trends
- Customer voice wins. Job seekers want to work for companies they trust. Employers want to work with staffing companies that are reliable. So, how do you prove you’re trustworthy and reliable? With reviews! If you don’t have a strategy to PROACTIVELY ask clients and candidates for reviews on Google, Indeed, Glassdoor and Facebook, put one into place…now!
- Increase transparency. Want people to trust you more? Become more transparent. Use your website, YouTube and social media to provide a behind-the-scenes look at your people, process and culture.
Boost Your Marketing Intelligence in 2018
To most staffing and recruiting firms, marketing still means picking up the phone. And while the phone remains an essential sales tool, the most successful firms are implementing Smart Marketing.
They are integrating direct marketing into their sales processes to open doors, warm prospects, and increase the productivity of their sales people.
They are implementing content and inbound marketing to drive clients and candidates from search engines and social media back to their websites.
They have clearly identified their place in the staffing universe…and built a branding, messaging and marketing strategy to position themselves as the best in the world at servicing their niche.
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