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1. March 2019
8 Steps for Engaging
Candidates Online
Without Investing
Big Bucks

2. Everyone is muted
so no one can hear you
Submit questions;
Q&A session to follow
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in survey after session
We’ll share a recording
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Before
we get
started

3. Background
Ed Nathanson is the founder of Red Pill
Talent, supporting companies' growth
through consulting, talent team training,
and employer brand amplification.
With over 23 years of experience, Ed is an
industry leader, managing and consulting
in talent acquisition, HR and employer
brand strategy at large and small global
companies including Kronos, Emptoris
(IBM), Cisco, Bluebird Bio and Rapid7.
Meet your speaker
Ed Nathanson
Founder, Red Pill Talent
Areas of expertise
● Employer branding
● Strategic recruitment and planning
● Creative content strategies
● Knowledge of Star Wars trivia and
an unhealthy obsession with The Karate Kid

4. 1. Online brands: what they are
and why they matter
2. What’s at risk if a company
doesn’t have one
3. 8 steps for engaging candidates
online without investing big bucks
4. Q&A
5. Bonus resource
Today’s
topics

5. 75%
A strong brand
attracts strong candidates:
of candidates consider an
employer’s brand before
applying for a job
It’s the experience an employer
communicates to potential
candidates of what it’s like
to work at their company.
What’s
an online
brand?
Source: LinkedIn, “The Ultimate List of Employer Branding Statistics.”

6. It’s not about size,
it’s
about
effort.

7. 72% 55% 64%
Disappointed candidates
talk to other candidates:
72% of applicants who have a bad
application experience share those
feelings with a friend or colleague.
Potential candidates
listen to other candidates:
55% of job seekers who read a
negative review don’t apply for a
position at that company.
Disappointed candidates
stop buying your products:
64% of job seekers are less likely to buy
from a company that delivers poor
candidate experiences.
The impact of a
poor online brand
Source: CareerArc, “3 Employer Branding Strategy Must-Haves for 2017 & Beyond.”

8. 8 steps for engaging
candidates without
investing big bucks

9. ● Hires
● Inbound
● Inbound vs. quality
● Referrals (hired vs. inbound)
● Outbound recruiter
response rate %
● Time to fill
● Agency reliance
● Social followers
● Engagement rate
● Reviews and scores
on review sites
● Careers site traffic
● Conversion rate
Making everything measurable is
square one for developing an online brand.
Establish brand success metrics
Step 1

10. Connect
the dots
Find out
who your top-
performing
employees are
Interview those
employees
Talk to team leads and
use performance data
to determine who your top
employees are.
Find out more about
what sets them apart
from the pack.
Go through your interview
learnings to craft your personas.
Make them as detailed and
realistic as possible.
Step 2
Know your target
audience

11. Know your target
audience
● Why did you join our company?
● When you describe working at our company, what do you say?
● What social channels are you on? How frequently do you use
those channels?
● What’s important to you in a potential employer?
● Why did you want to leave your last job?
● What were your apprehensions before joining our company?
● What’s the difference between our company vs. others
you’ve worked for?
Questions to ask
your top performers
Step 2
(continued)

12. ● Know your company story –
articulate why you do what
do you
● A social online brand that
feels conversational,
not robotic
● Channels
● Frequency
● Content format
Step 3
Develop a content plan

13. More than 2 million pieces
of content are shared every day on
LinkedIn, generating tens of
millions of likes and shares
The power of the feed
2M
5x
60%
Weekly engaged members are
5x more likely to engage with
future content
60% YoY increase in updates
viewed on LinkedIn’s home feed
Step 3
Develop a content plan (continued)

14. ● Turn employees into
content marketers
● Understand why current employees
like working at your company
● Encourage liking and sharing
on company content
● Encourage employees to
refer their networks
YOUR COMPANY
Step 4
Draft an army of brand ambassadors

15. 71%
In the 2018 Edelman Trust
Barometer, 71% of respondents
said that employees were more
believable than CEOs
Encourage sharing
through contests
(continued)
● Hold a contest for, say,
the top social share of the
quarter that is based on one
of your company’s values
● Have your CEO announce
the winner at a company-
wide meeting
● Highlight top social sharers
on the monitors in your lobby
or common areas
(continued)
Step 4
Draft an army of brand ambassadors

16. Identify and sell your culture
● What makes working for you unique?
● Share what your employees love about
working at your company
● Storytelling: people remember stories
and forget stats
Be consistent
● Showcase your culture in your
hiring process
● Don’t just tell a culture story –
live the story
● Align your internal culture and
external brand
Step 5
Think more expansively
about PR

17. Pitch your
culture,
not just
your
products
Engage in speaking opportunities
at industry events
● Speaking opportunities are free PR
● Make culture part of the conversation,
no matter what the topic is
Position your company as a place
where culture is crucial
● Culture is an increasingly hot topic
● Focusing on culture is a differentiator
Celebrate your culture
● Enter contests like LinkedIn Top Companies
● You can’t win if you don’t play
Step 5
Think more expansively about PR (continued)

18. ● Showcase what your company stands for,
not just what you do
● Make it easy for candidates to apply
● Show, don’t tell
● Be authentic
● Optimize your website and careers page
for SEO
● Optimize your careers page for mobile
Step 6
Optimize your
careers page

19. Perks
● 401(k)
● Health insurance
● Vacation time
Things to
include on your
careers page
Add jobs alert feature
● Have candidates subscribe to
future job openings
● This is helpful if you’re
not currently hiring for
their role but could be in
the future
Add details about
your hiring process
● Making it clear up front
what your hiring process
is like can save
headaches later
Step 6
Optimize your careers page (continued)

20. Get familiar with free and
low-cost tools
Canva
A graphic design app
that allows you to create
banners, infographics,
social updates, and more.
iMovie
An easy way to make
videos that can be used
for everything from job
postings to new-hire
welcome messages (more
on that in a minute).
Imgflip
A meme and GIF
generator to energize
blog and social
media posts.
GifJif
An incredible resource
you can use to add faces
to 4,500 existing GIFs.
Desygner
A design tool for the non-
designer (social posts,
flyers, ads, and more).
Step 7

21. ● Video directions to office
● Gifts: flowers, swag, etc.
● Thank-you notes to candidates
● JibJabs
● Personalized and empathetic “no, thank you” notes
● GIF welcomes
● Welcome video to new hires
Step 8
Elevate your
candidate
experience

22. Establish brand
success metrics 1
Know your
target audience 2
Develop a
content plan 3
Draft an army of
brand ambassadors 4
Pitch your culture,
not just your products5
Optimize your
careers page6
Get familiar
with free and
low-cost tools
7
Elevate your
candidate experience8
Recap

23. Q&A

24. Birchtree Global is pleased to partner with
LinkedIn to support the educational achievement
of global human resources professionals.
Dr. Janet L. Walsh
CEO and President, Birchtree Global, LLC
Globalizing strategy, business, and employees since 1999.
www.birchtreeglobal.com

25. Thank you!
Questions?
Get in touch with a LinkedIn Talent Solutions specialist who can help you find, engage, and hire top talent.
US 1-855-655-5653 https://lnkd.in/getintouch
Ed Nathanson
Founder, Red Pill Talent
ed.nathanson@redpilltalent.com

26. Bonus resource

27. Ed Nathanson’s
8 steps to building
an online brand
Now it’s your turn! Use this printer-friendly
checklist with 8 steps for building your
online brand.