What a Blog Can Do for Your Employer Brand

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A blog can be a great, low-cost way to promote your employer brand.  If your content is high quality, your blog posts will have the potential to go viral. That’s a much more effective way of getting your name out to potential candidates than high-cost ad campaigns.

Despite the many advantages of blogging, few companies put much effort into their blogs – if they have blogs at all. Here are some insights from the experts about why taking the time to sit down and blog is worth it:

1. Blogging Improves Your Career Site’s SEO

“The major blog platforms, including WordPress, Blogger, and TypePad, are free and can be linked directly to an existing domain name to consolidate your overall SEO impact,” writes Martin Zwilling, founder and CEO of Startup Professionals.

Be sure to link your blog to your career site  in order to increase your online visibility. You can further improve the visibility of specific jobs by including backlinks to those job advertisements  within your blog posts.

“In terms of search engine rankings, I like to think of blogging as fishing,” writes Jayson DeMers, founder and CEO of AudienceBloom. “The more hooks you have in the water, the more likely you are to catch a fish. In the same way, as you add more content to your site, more pages from your domain become indexed in search engines. This improves organic search visibility and increases website traffic.”

The more traffic you have going toward your blog, the more likely it is that great candidates will find you. Your blog should contain content related to your industry, thereby attracting professionals who are interested in your field. In that way, your blog will attract readers who are more likely to be interested in working for your company.

2. Blogging Boosts Your Visibility in Long-Tail Searches

Long-tail search queries are more specific than simple single keyword searches, and they’re more costly to take advantage of through pay-per-click advertising.

“A site without a blog will have a hard time ranking for long-tail search queries,” DeMers writes. “A typical business website can often successfully rank for business-specific keywords (e.g., ‘Joe’s Dry Cleaners’), but will have a more difficult time ranking for highly-specific phrases like ‘how to get red wine out of silk.’ Having more content is the best way to rank for long-tail queries; the more content you add, the more chances you have to rank for less common, but ultimately higher-converting keyword phrases.”

This is as true for career sites as it is for company sites. A well-maintained blog makes your job pages more likely to stand out for specific job searches like “software developer at a startup.”

blog3. Blogging Allows You to Develop Your Voice as an Employer

Having an appealing brand sets you apart from your competition.

“Your blog posts give you a unique opportunity to share your voice and personality, building up trust and increasing your brand’s likeability quotient,” according to DeMers.

In today’s competitive talent market, top candidates have their choice of well-compensated job offers. To win the best, you need to be an attractive employer.

4. Blogging Establishes Your Company as an Industry Leader

Great employees want to work for companies that are leaders in their fields.

“A blog is one of the best ways to establish yourself or your brand as an expert in your field, as it gives you a platform for sharing important industry-related information and insights,” DeMers writes. “As you build up authority in your niche, this breeds trust and familiarity, keeping you top-of-mind.”

When potential candidates are ready for a move, your company will be the first they think of.

5. Blogging Starts Conversations With Potential Candidates

Opening a conversation with potential candidates allows you to get feedback that can help you tailor your recruiting efforts and job descriptions for better results.

“Blogging gives businesses the opportunity to connect with customers and prospects through a two-way conversation,” DeMers writes. “It signals to visitors that you’re open to comments, feedback, and even criticisms.”

The benefits of blogging for recruiting are numerous, and the cost is low. Pick your platform, plan your blog schedule, and start writing your way to a team full of top talent.

Danai Kadzere is a content marketer at Happie, a candidate sourcing and engagement software.

By Danai Kadzere