Effective Employer Branding: 6 Ideas for Local Hiring Success

 I went to a soft launch party for a local fashion designer’s clothing line last week. It was held at a local studio, with local attendees and his pieces are being distributed locally as well.

I guess by now you can see that what I took away from the night was local, local, local. And that makes a lot of since, especially when it comes to your company’s employer brand and hiring success.

If you capture your local consumers, talent, etc. then your company will be able to expand into the national and international arenas. But it’s extremely important to make a name for yourself first locally for better promotion and building of your company’s brand.

But how exactly can your company do this?  Here are six ideas:

1. Customized T-shirts You’d be surprised what a customized t-shirt can do for your brand. The designer said that after he created a few pieces, he began to wear his t-shirts each day. Immediately thereafter he noticed more and more people would ask about his shirts. What did XYZ mean? Who designed it? Where could they go to purchase a similar shirt? You can imagine what this promotion did for his clothing line business. And the same can be true for your company. Why not invest in a few t-shirts that include your company’s name and logo and have some employees wear them for promotion? This will increase awareness about your business and can drive interested job seekers to your company’s career page.

2. Fliers and posters Another way to locally build your brand and increase your hiring success is to create and distribute fliers and posters. Sure, most everything is online nowadays, but people still go to physicalplaces. In today’s economy, a “we’re hiring” flyer in a local store is sure to catch a job seeker’s attention just as much as the job posting on Indeed.com or any other job board would.

 3. Local coffee shops If you want to get your name out there locally, go to local businesses! Coffee shops are a great example. You can post fliers on community bulletin boards that advertise your business (making sure they include information about how to learn more about your company). You can also leave your business cards at these types of establishments for interested parties to retrieve. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone into a local coffee shop and noticed an array of local business cards—and have even picked up a few.

4. Ad in local newspaper This might seem “old school” but you never know who it may reach. Placing an ad in the local newspaper, magazine and on these companies’ websites can also promote your business and bring job seekers to your business. Many areas even have neighborhood papers where you can advertise your brand.

5. Company car We’ve all seen those wacky looking cars plastered in their company’s logo. Think about if your employees drive this kind of car around town, especially in heavily congested areas or during rush hour. Drivers will have no choice but to look at the vehicle and this will certainly promote your brand around town, if not pique people’s interest to discover more.

6. Endorser(s) One marketing and promotion tactic that the local clothing designer used was to have a “well known” person in the local community promote his shirt. A pastor’s wife at a prominent church in the city was not only included in his promotional video during the launch party, but she also wore his shirt around town on various occasions. Seeing her wearing his clothing line led others to find out more about his business.

If there is someone who is a prominent figure in the community, see if you can get him or her to “endorse” your business by either wearing a company t-shirt or speaking at one of your local events. Similar to the celebrity endorsement concept, people will be more apt to invest in a business and its services if they see a well-known, respected figure does the same.

A big thank you to this month’s Leadership Sponsors – iCIMS and TheLadders. Please visit their sites to understand how these market leaders can help advance your positioning as a top employer.