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Creating a Recruitment Marketing Strategy to Build Your Workforce

Leave a Comment / Recruitment Marketing / By

Today, talent acquisition managers need to do far more than post a job online to fill positions with the right candidates. At a time when 90% of professionals are open to new job opportunities, recruitment marketing is an effective way for companies to tap into a market of new professionals, as well as retain the employees they have. A Brand Story That Engages Your Audience Candidate expectations have changed and hiring teams have been working to adapt, cutting through the digital noise to reach and engage with great talent. The new generation of employees is technologically savvy, and typically performs extensive research to find the right company that holistically fills all their goals – financial and personal. Additionally, keeping your existing workforce is absolutely critical. A strategic marketing campaign can showcase your company’s culture and purpose, engaging with your employees on an emotional level, while highlighting opportunities for them to achieve financial goals. A well-crafted recruitment marketing strategy and campaign reassures your workforce that they are putting their energy into the right role, and that their employer is aligned with their personal vision. 5 Benefits of Recruitment Marketing According to research conducted Aptitude Research Partners, 70% of companies are planning to invest in recruitment marketing technology within the year. Now more than ever, companies are realizing they must develop and effectively communicate their brand positions to foster a culture of engagement, equality and opportunity that fuels the mind and soul. Today’s talent wants to become a part of your company story. Here are five key benefits that recruitment marketing campaigns can provide for your organization. 1. Strengthens Brand Alignment – Candidates do not apply to a company, they apply to a culture. They are looking to engage and grow in an environment that has values, opportunities, and in which their work has purpose. Across all disciplines, recruitment marketing can share your company’s story with potential candidates and existing employees. It reaffirms the value your products and services bring to others and aligns teams in a greater good that affects the world. All companies have a purpose, sometimes it just takes a well-crafted communications strategy to bring that story to life and empower a brand. 2. Hiring Efficiency – An on-going talent marketing campaign constantly engages with a talent pool. It promotes your brand positions and has assets (digital and physical) that provide a better candidate experience. Showing people that your brand is aligned with their values, and has the opportunities they are interested in, is critical for a labor pool which is open to change. In today’s fiercely competitive labor market – with many companies pursuing the same workforce pool – getting your brand positions out there is key. When you are ready to hire, your marketing campaign has already laid the groundwork, preparing a pipeline of interested potential candidates who are primed to join your company when they see that job post come online. 3. Reduces Hiring Costs – Beyond traditional job boards and paid recruitment services, a strategic marketing campaign can manage your budget. With strategic digital placements and careful planning, a marketing campaign can pinpoint your target audience and provide measurable results – increasing your reach in key target skills, industries and geographies for a controlled cost. Digital campaigns also can be continually improved, optimize your campaign messaging, media buys and spend. Much like account-based lead-gen marketing campaigns that acquire sales prospects, smart recruitment marketing goes after your ideal candidates and motivates them to connect. 4. Improves Team Diversity – It’s no secret that diverse teams are proven to be more effective. Recruitment marketing allows you to develop and target personas that build needed skill sets and diversify your team. Strategically-deployed digital campaigns remove some of the human factors that can lead to teams that all look alike, with messaging and positions that demonstrate that your brand values diversity and inclusion. Additionally, they can help combat existing perceptions, reshaping your brand and preparing it for tomorrow. 5. Builds Employee Engagement & Reduces Turnover – Teams thrive and succeed when an organization is aligned in purpose and every single employee feels important in the company story. Consider that the cost to replace an employee can be as much as 1.5x their annual salary. Recruitment marketing minimizes culture disconnect, which often contributes to turnover. Reminding employees how their work affects the world, and how the company values its team, can have long-lasting effects that vastly improve the employee experience and the bottom line. Effective recruitment and engagement strategies leverage the power of marketing to help communicate key brand positions. Empowering your workforce as you show the value their work brings to the world and connecting with their hearts and minds is critical. Investing in employee engagement, promoting your company’s opportunities, and championing your culture and purpose-driven work can have significant impact. High-value top talent will not settle until they find the right fit, so be sure you are using every tool at your disposal to connect with them. A Trusted Partner in Recruitment Marketing For two decades we’ve helped B2B companies grow their sales and workforce. Learn more about our recruitment marketing expertise or contact us for a non-obligation consultation regarding your workforce communications. Stifel Marcin – The B2B Marketing Agency Unlike many advertising and marketing agencies, B2B isn’t just something that we do, it’s all we do. We’ll work to help your brand achieve its goals through the strategic combination of creativity, communication and technology. Our focused client intake processes give us the ability to thoroughly understand your business, products and objectives, working to identify the competitive advantages and opportunities that will grow awareness, leads and sales. We develop innovative marketing plans with strategic, data-driven processes, presenting complex ideas and compelling messages that position your business ahead of the competition. As your cooperative partner, our integrated B2B marketing agency is dedicated to your success. If you have questions about your recruitment marketing strategy, we want to talk. Reach out today and a member of our team will be in touch shortly.

Digital Branding Agency Tips: Protecting Your Brand in the Wild Web World (WWW)

Leave a Comment / Corporate Branding, SEM / By

Digital marketing offers new opportunities to expand your customer base and grow your sales in new markets. With Big Data, properly constructed digital marketing campaigns leverage interest and profile information to target a highly-specific group of customers. But that exposure requires diligence. If you (or your digital marketing agency partner) aren’t controlling where your ads are served and what is being said – your brand may be at risk. While some might argue that conversion and engagement performance is the most important aspect of digital marketing management, there is a strong case to be made that brand safety is equally important. Marketers spend years building a brand. Sweat equity goes into a company’s messaging, associations and positions – which can be erased in an instant. Where are the Risks in Digital Marketing? Just as digital marketing opportunities exist virtually everywhere there is a screen – so are risks. When your ad is served alongside, or within, controversial content, there is a distinct possibility that a negative perception of your brand can occur. From violent content to politics to opinion-based articles, marketers need to carefully vet their ad placement strategies and protect the brands in their care. In the past, you may have heard of this on YouTube®, where brand-related videos ran before/after controversial content. The brand association created significant negative reaction and commentary. While YouTube has made improvements, this platform is just the tip of the iceberg. CTV – connected television – for example, is often a low-cost way to serve video content (ie. commercial ads). But controls and settings on this platform present issues. Consider the amount of televised content that is truly PG-rated, and also focused on adults. Then strip out anything with controversial information, and your options become even more limited. CTV does offer opportunities, but in this visual platform, it is critical that your marketing partner is hands-on and focused on the details when planning any CTV campaign. When your ad is served with controversial content, a negative perception of your brand can occur. Similarly, with Native and Google Network ads, display advertising can run alongside controversial content without careful planning. From a brand-focused banner ad to positions that seem out-of-place within pop-culture news, a careful eye and a critical focus on the details is necessary. While many marketers are focused on social platforms – which create opportunities for almost limitless commentary, it also needs oversight – the digital strategy deployed on social media is a critical step in protecting your brand. Keep in mind, controversies aren’t simply related to content that isn’t PG-rated. Think about political topics, geo-political issues, and more. If you are working for a multinational company (or perhaps want to sell to one), you need to be careful your ads aren’t running in an article that might be pro-independence or anti-independence, as you run the risk that the reader may think your company is supporting – or even sponsoring – that article’s position. Digital Brand Management That Protects Your Brand Our digital branding agency team is highly involved in digital brand management and the monitoring of our clients’ digital campaigns. Every day we review where ads can be served, where impressions are coming from, and any potential negative associations. We have compiled some steps you can use to protect your brand on digital marketing platforms. Steps to Ensure Brand Safety in Your Digital Marketing Campaigns 1. Define Expectations & Brand Standards– As the very first step in any digital marketing campaign, clearly defined standards should be developed. Spell-out what is ok and what is not ok so the digital team has a reference to build from. This is part of the brand standard guides our digital branding agency creates for our clients. Defining the social aspects (like if it’s ok to show someone with a glass of wine on your Facebook feed) as well as the corporate requirements (you are not registered to perform a service in one state, so no ads should run in that state) should be clearly laid out. 2. Think About Ad Content- It sounds simple, but, being thoughtful of what your advertising is saying is a critical step. Today consumers are vocal and engaged, and brands are regularly called-out for statements and positions that some find offensive. In marketing, we are used to these concerns, but with the fast-paced nature and easy public dialogue that digital platforms support, it’s up to us marketers to be as vigilant as ever. Every aspect of work should be reviewed. Can it be read differently? Interpreted to mean something else? Can it even be read wrong in digital platforms where less than 20% of words are typically read, and therefore create a problem? 3. Select the Correct Marketing Partner- A skilled marketer should know what to look for and what to consider before deploying any ad content. Check and recheck, and then get another opinion. On social, don’t leave the post content up to someone who isn’t strategically savvy, and mindful of corporate concerns. Controlling your content is the easiest way to protect your brand. 4. Control the Settings- Digital marketing platforms offer a wide variety of targeting options. Carefully locking in where ads are served, and what content they could appear near, is critical. This is more complex than it sounds, and a good digital marketing team needs to be strategic here – and make connections. For example, if there is a geo-political concern as described above, the team should be reviewing all the ad options in that region and be careful of the platforms they are running ads in. 5. Think About Potential Problems- If there is a potential that your digital reach might put your ads in front of someone who, while their profiling is exactly aligned with your target, would react poorly to your ad content – then it’s time to readjust. As strange as that sounds (with our ability to specifically target groups) it can happen. For example, what if your company provides components for products that use an aerosol delivery system. We could target a specific B2B profile, who – outside of our defined profile – is also passionate about environmental

Recruitment Marketing Videos: Effectively Attract and Retain Talent

Leave a Comment / Lead Gen Tactics, Recruitment Marketing, Social & Video / By

While Zoom and other video conferencing apps have become a part of everyday life, valuable lessons continue to be realized regarding recruitment marketing videos and the impact on finding and retaining quality employee talent. With a large pool of job seekers, including new Gen Z talent, and employees feeling the strain of pandemic life, video marketing is proven to be an effective tool in a company’s marketing (and human resources) arsenal. Stats You Need to Know: • According to Careerbuilder, “users who embraced the power of recruitment marketing videos achieved a 34 percent uptick in application rates.”• Properly optimized and disseminated, video can drive organic search by nearly 160 percent, helping you to reach qualified candidates.• Sharing video on social platforms can exceed text/image sharing by nearly 120 percent, providing powerful opportunity to reach additional talent. Increase Your Recruitment Funnel and Improve the Application Process Standing out in a competitive hiring marketplace is a critical first step to leverage video content. A recent survey found that nearly 31 percent of HR professionals find it challenging to tell interesting stories about “boring topics,” including writing compelling job descriptions and postings. Recruitment marketing videos can help change the narrative quickly from “boring” to “intriguing” if a candidate is able to hear directly from a manager, team lead and/or recruiter – or if they can see what your workplace environment is like. Grab a candidate’s attention using engaging video content that makes them think “I want to know more about that organization.” Remember that a smart digital marketing recruitment campaign will already be targeting those who match your ideal candidate criteria. So, when your ad does serve to that audience, make sure you get their attention. Savvy job seekers will also be searching your website and social media channels to learn more about your company and culture. Use video to showcase employee testimonials and information important to today’s candidates like corporate commitment to diversity, benefits, and company values. Pro tip: make sure your recruitment marketing videos are optimized for mobile devices. Consider further enhancing the candidate experience by using video communication during the application process. A pre-recorded video to thank a job seeker for reaching out, or a video to communicate about next steps in the hiring process after an interview, especially to a final candidate, can go a long way to make your company stand out positively. Enhance the New Employee On-Boarding Experience Once an employee joins your company, the recruitment process has not ended! Video from HR, company leaders and division/department team members can help employees quickly learn more about their new professional environment. Remember, some employees may be working remotely, so opportunities to “chat around the watercooler” decrease. Cue the stat above about “boring topics.” While a new employee can easily become overwhelmed by long employee handbook content, new HR policies and more, video can help distill the information into more entertaining and easily digestible bites, helping new hires acclimate more quickly. And those videos that you added to your website about company culture, benefits and more (see above) do double-duty here! Videos can help remind your workforce exactly why they work there, and how. Champion Company Culture and Stewardship With a hybrid of remote and in-person work likely here to stay, video is a great way to stay connected to employees across the organization. Use videos to: • Keep employees informed about latest company updates (weekly or monthly).• Highlight employee milestones like anniversaries and awards.• Showcase the good work of employee volunteerism and activism.• Involve your employees by asking for video testimonials for use on your web site and/or social mediachannels. They will be likely to share the content to their own network, expanding your company’sreach to new, potential talent. We are Ready to Power Up Your Recruitment Marketing If you need some help developing a plan of action for how to begin or improve your recruitment marketing practices, we are here for you. Call (860) 659-0777 or contact us HERE. Stifel Marcin – The B2B Marketing Agency Unlike many advertising and marketing agencies, B2B isn’t just something that we do, it’s all we do. We’ll work to help your brand achieve its goals through the strategic combination of creativity, communication and technology. Our focused client intake processes give us the ability to thoroughly understand your business, products and objectives, working to identify the competitive advantages and opportunities that will grow awareness, leads and sales. We develop innovative marketing plans with strategic, data-driven processes, presenting complex ideas and compelling messages that position your business ahead of the competition. As your cooperative partner, our integrated B2B marketing agency is dedicated to your success. If you’re looking for a trusted agency partner to help elevate your recruitment marketing videos or overall strategy, we want to talk. Reach out today.

The Importance of Long Tail SEO

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As a marketer interested in increasing your ranking on search engine result pages (SERP), you may have heard the terms “short tail SEO” and “long tail SEO” (search engine optimization). With 70 percent of queries on search engines containing long tail keywords, lets explore why they should be a critical part of your SEO strategy. Short Tail vs Long Tail Keywords for SEO Many start with smaller phrases known as short tail keywords. These are usually one or two words that are relevant to your business in a general sense. For example, someone searching for bakery services may begin a search with a short tail keyword like “local bakery.” Another user searching for a bakery could be looking for something much more specific and enter a query like “bakery near me with gluten free cupcakes.” The type of keywords a customer uses in an online search usually depends on which stage of the buyer journey they are in. Early in the process, potential buyers tend to use general terms as they begin to research a product, service or problem. As they go further through their journey and gather more information and understanding, they begin using more specific keywords and longer, more descriptive terms, most of which we consider long tail keywords. Advantages of Long Tail SEO Both users and businesses benefit from using keywords specifically for long tail SEO. Searchers get more defined results that likely provide them (or gets them closer to) the information they need. Your organization gets important data to help you understand your website visitors’ needs, challenges and how you can help move them more fully through the purchasing funnel. Other long tail keyword benefits include: Less competition – Since long tail keywords are more specific, there tend to be fewer competitors using the exact same keyword. The chances of your site being seen by relevant audiences on search engines increases, especially with Google’s ability to personalize search results. Less keyword competition means they cost less to bid on, so you’ll optimize costs.  Higher conversion rate– The people searching these types of keywords usually know what they are looking for and typically are further down the buyer path with an intent to buy rather than just doing initial research. Higher ranking of short tail keywords– Most long tail keywords already contain short tail keywords, helping both phrases to rank higher in search engine results. Google looks at search intent when choosing which results to display. Keywords are a main part of how Google determines this. The strategic use of long tail keywords for SEO can keep your site from falling in rankings. Voice search– With voice search gaining popularity due to devices such as Amazon’s Alexa® and Google Home®, long tail keywords more closely match the conversational tone used. Talk to a Data-Driven SEO Marketing Agency that Drives Leads If you want to further optimize your website with long tail SEO, or begin the SEO strategy process (an SEO audit is a great place to start), the digital marketing experts at Stifel Marcin are ready to help. Contact us and let’s talk. Stifel Marcin – The B2B Marketing Agency Unlike many advertising and marketing agencies, B2B isn’t just something that we do, it’s all we do. We’ll work to help your brand achieve its goals through the strategic combination of creativity, communication and technology. Our focused client intake processes give us the ability to thoroughly understand your business, products and objectives, working to identify the competitive advantages and opportunities that will grow awareness, leads and sales. We develop innovative marketing plans with strategic, data-driven processes, presenting complex ideas and compelling messages that position your business ahead of the competition. As your cooperative partner, our integrated B2B marketing agency is dedicated to your success. Learn more about how our SEO services can Power Up your marketing.

Social Media for Manufacturers: Four Tips to Increase Your Sales Pipeline and Brand Loyalty

Leave a Comment / Lead Gen Tactics, Social & Video / By

While many B2B product and service organizations have embraced social media as part of their marketing plan to build brand awareness, organizations often struggle to move beyond organic awareness building (talking just to their current followers) to forming a social media strategy that builds a targeted audience, generates leads and sales. Consider: 1. Provide Value When developing a social strategy, start with your audience. What demographics do you want to reach? What are their potential interests? A 2020 B2B Buyers Survey reports that “sixty-one percent of B2B buyers now involve more people in their purchase process than in years past.” With more potential eyes on your social media content, building a variety of customer personas is a valuable exercise. When developing content, many B2B companies go straight to selling mode, posting frequently about their products and services without much thought to WHY the reader should care. Often potential buyers and/or general searchers are looking to find information on a problem they need solved. Promotional posts serve a purpose, but don’t forget to offer your audience your unique views on HOW your product or service can solve their problem. When in doubt, ask yourself “is this content providing the reader value?” Looking for value-add content ideas? Turn to your blog posts, industry news, posts from thought-leaders, and web site articles.Consider the 80-20 rule: 80 percent of your content should inform/educate/entertain versus 20 percent being more sales/promotional focused. 2. Diversify Your Content GIFS, video and infographics…and more! When it comes to B2B marketing, many will argue that the subject matter can be dry. With two decades of B2B marketing experiences, we know that thinking is totally wrong, but it’s still important to come up with creative ways to present what is often technical, detailed information. Think of ways to visually make the content more appealing. Utilize video featuring subject matter experts or voice-over, use infographics to present data, and don’t be afraid to experiment with GIFS to “stop the scroll.” A potential buyer might be coming to your LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter page and scrolling through recent posts, so diversified visuals help tell your story and make for a more interesting user experience. 3. Engage, Engage, and Then Engage Again To seek out new potential leads and to begin the process of long-term relationship building, engage beyond “likes” and shares on your own profiles. Community management is critical (80 percent of customers expect a business to respond to their social media posts within 24 hours). Go where your buyers are and engage in conversation. Join groups and follow hashtags on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn and converse with those posting about like-minded topics. 4. Utilize Organic and Paid When developing your social strategy, consider paid posts as well (via boosting an organic post or developing an ad). While organic posts will reach a percentage of your followers, paid social media marketing allows for audience targeting (think location, demographic, interests). Additionally, A/B testing of paid ads – to see what content and images resonate with your target audience – can be useful before launching campaigns on a larger scale. Power Up Your Social Media As a marketing agency focused solely on B2B markets, we understand how to maximize B2B social media opportunities for clients. We can tell your story, reach a new audience, help support workforce growth and use Big Data to speak to those customers you have never been able to reach. Contact us today and let Stifel Marcin power up your social media. Stifel Marcin – The B2B Marketing Agency Unlike many advertising and marketing agencies, B2B isn’t just something that we do, it’s all we do. We’ll work to help your brand achieve its goals through the strategic combination of creativity, communication and technology. Our focused client intake processes give us the ability to thoroughly understand your business, products and objectives, working to identify the competitive advantages and opportunities that will grow awareness, leads and sales. We develop innovative marketing plans with strategic, data-driven processes, presenting complex ideas and compelling messages that position your business ahead of the competition. As your cooperative partner, our integrated B2B marketing agency is dedicated to your success. Our experienced team can help increase the effectiveness and value of your social media marketing. Fill out our contact form above and let’s talk.

Craft a B2B Holiday Email Marketing Strategy That Helps Your Business Shine

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The holidays are upon us and that means that our email inboxes, both personal and professional, are fuller than ever. While many see holiday email messaging as B2C centric, a smartly planned and executed B2B holiday email marketing strategy can engage clients, present your brand’s personality and might even help drive leads and sales. Leveraging a B2B holiday email marketing strategy isn’t about a quick sale but can set your business apart to potential leads who are planning their investments in the new year. Create a Holly, Jolly Email Plan In a time when readers have become increasingly bombarded by digital noise, how can you stand out in the crowd? Here are four items to consider: 1. Segment and Then Check Your List – Twice Organize and segment your contact lists. This is especially important during the holidays. One group of new contacts may receive a special holiday welcome email with a noted incentive or discount, while another group, perhaps those in different job functions, may be motivated by a different message – perhaps changed hours of operation, changes to standard shipping schedules, etc. Make informed content decisions based on your current knowledge and data insights.  2. Personalize Your Message Recent studies show that the average email open rate for the manufacturing industry is just under 15 percent, while the average open rate for technology-related organizations is 12.4 percent. How to improve? Tactics to try include individualizing your subject line, sending a message of gratitude or providing a holiday-themed video message from a thought-leader within your organization.  3. Offer Your Reader Value Think about your reader first. By clicking your email, what is in it for them? Do not press “send” until you are confident in the answer to that question. Focus on content that always provides value (for instance, a whitepaper developed solely for a segmented group, or an educational video that helps solve a client challenge) to help keep your future emails from being discounted.  4. ‘Tis the Season to Be Creative B2B content has a reputation for being dry and traditional. The season provides a wonderful opportunity for organizations to be creative in their B2B holiday email marketing. Dust off your brand standards guide to help stay true to your brand, but turn up the sparkle, humor and/or personalized messaging when appropriate. Utilize a similar look and feel across email, website and social media to keep your marketing channels in synch.  Delivering B2B Email Strategies that Drive Results Our team of marketing experts can help you leverage and maximize your B2B holiday email marketing, driving results and generating leads. Learn more about our agency email services or contact us via our on-page form or by phone or email. We look forward to connecting with you. Stifel Marcin – The B2B Marketing Agency Unlike many advertising and marketing agencies, B2B isn’t just something that we do, it’s all we do. We’ll work to help your brand achieve its goals through the strategic combination of creativity, communication and technology. Our focused client intake processes give us the ability to thoroughly understand your business, products and objectives, working to identify the competitive advantages and opportunities that will grow awareness, leads and sales. We develop innovative marketing plans with strategic, data-driven processes, presenting complex ideas and compelling messages that position your business ahead of the competition. As your cooperative partner, our integrated B2B marketing agency is dedicated to your success. If you have questions about our email marketing services for increased ROI, contact us today.

The Advantages of HTTPS

Leave a Comment / Websites / By

Some URLs start with HTTP:// while others start with HTTPS://. What’s the difference and why add the extra “s”? The extra “s” stands for secure, and it is used by websites that require “sensitive information.” Traditionally, people considered sensitive information the type of data that might be related to financial transactions, but in today’s digitally focused world, thinking has extended the idea of what personally identifiable information (PII) really is. Information like your name, phone number, address, IP address, usernames and driver’s license number are all considered PPI. Security. Security. Security. For several years, Google has taken steps to make the web a safer place for everyone and reward websites that are using the secure protocol of SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) with better rankings. Its browser, Chrome (the world’s most popular internet browser), flags websites with forms as non-secure if the https is not configured. The Google flag signals your visitors that your site is potentially unsafe, thereby deterring people from conducting business with you. Search engines like Google take security very seriously, and so should you. Most industrial manufacturing websites receive more than half of their traffic from a search. If you haven’t made a move towards a secure site, you may start to experience a drop in your daily and monthly traffic stats, meaning fewer leads, fewer quotes (RFQs) and lower sales. Advantages of HTTPS include improved web site ranking, data validation, protection from phishing and other data breaches and much more. If you still think that your website does not need HTTPS or that it costs too much money for you to implement – think again. Affordable Protection You Can’t Afford to Be Without. While HTTPS is not free, it is certainly not going to break the bank. To get a certificate, you must purchase it from a reputable sourcing vendor, called a certificate authority. A project called SSLmate provides one-year SSL certificates as cheaply as $15.95/year per domain. They offer other pricing structures for securing multiple domain names or sub-domains. Another recognized project that offers free certificates is Let’s Encrypt. SSLmate and Let’s Encrypt require that you have some general expertise in web programming and server management to install the certificates. If you do not have the time or ability to use these cheaper SSL implementation services, there are other routes you can take. These options are a little more expensive, ranging from a few hundred dollars to a couple thousand from reputable certificates authorities like Comodo, GoDaddy, GeoTrust, Thawte, DigiCert, Entrust and Network Solutions, among others. Offerings from these certificate providers are very similar, and the cost will depend on your needs. Upon purchase, and depending on the type of certificate selected, the SSL certificate may be issued instantly, or it could take up to 2-3 business days to receive. Reliability is Key No matter what route you choose to pursue, be sure that you select a reliable SSL certificate provider. When it comes to reliability, the price isn’t always an indicator of trust, and some of the more inexpensive certificates are considered to be just as good as others. Differentiators to look for often include customer service, easiness of installation, and speed in the issuance of the SSL certificate. Key Takeaways The advantages of HTTPS are numerous and the investment in a reliable SSL will pay dividends. Customers want to know that they’re conducting business with an organization that protects their identities and PPI. HTTPS not only secures data but gives your web site an SEO rankings advantage and makes your site feel more trustworthy. If you are looking to explore the advantages of HTTPS and make your site secure –retaining that traffic and lead generation you’ve worked so hard to build – give us a call at 860.659.0777 or fill out the quick contact form. Our team of industrial SEO experts can help you maximize the return on your website. Contact us today. Stifel Marcin – The B2B Marketing Agency Unlike many advertising and marketing agencies, B2B isn’t just something that we do, it’s all we do. We’ll work to help your brand achieve its goals through the strategic combination of creativity, communication and technology. Our focused client intake processes give us the ability to thoroughly understand your business, products and objectives, working to identify the competitive advantages and opportunities that will grow awareness, leads and sales. We develop innovative marketing plans with strategic, data-driven processes, presenting complex ideas and compelling messages that position your business ahead of the competition. As your cooperative partner, our integrated B2B marketing agency is dedicated to your success. If you have questions about HTTPS and website security, we can help. Reach out and let’s talk.

Elevating Your B2B Recruitment Marketing in a Great Resignation World

Leave a Comment / Recruitment Marketing / By

In 2021, a record number of Americans left their jobs – many noting that the pandemic prompted a self-evaluation of employment choices and a search for higher wages, increased flexibility/remote work, work-life balance, purpose-driven work, among other reasons. What does “the great resignation” mean for employers? It’s an opportunity to both refine your B2B recruitment marketing strategy and find talent from a wide pool of candidates. But with an increase in job searchers comes more competition for talent. With job searchers being more selective than ever before, in what’s being dubbed a “candidates’ market,” now is the time to make sure your organization is poised for recruitment success. Below are some ways to elevate your B2B recruitment marketing. A Good First Impression is Everything When a candidate is researching employment opportunities, they will likely head straight for your company website. It may just be their first introduction to your organization. And as the old saying goes, “you only have one shot to make a good first impression.” Your company’s value proposition should be clear and visible throughout, conveying the value and impact of your work beyond the office walls, and your site navigation should be crafted with an easy-to-follow user experience in mind (you want potential candidates focused on learning about your products/services and culture, not trying to figure out where to find information). Highlight Company Culture and Values Today’s candidates want to find a professional space that not only aligns with their professional values, but often their personal vision as well. Connecting with their hearts and minds has never been more important. If you need help developing your brand story and delivering it across channels with impact and care, your agency partner can help you. Other tactics to consider: Optimize the Candidate Experience  Candidates are looking for a seamless and transparent application process. Make sure job listings are up to date, with role descriptions that are clear and easy to understand (keep inside “jargon” to a minimum). Tip: make sure your website is optimized for mobile devices (58 percent of Glassdoor users say they look for jobs on their phones). Consider Remarketing Serving digital ads to users who visited hiring-related pages of your website will help keep your brand top-of-mind. A potential candidate may have started their career search before they were sure they needed a change, or perhaps they were not prepared to finish the application process. Serving ads to those who showed interest but didn’t convert (i.e., submit an application) will keep your story present and encourage those potential candidates to re-enter your recruitment funnel. Power Up Your B2B Recruitment Marketing Is your brand’s story living up to its full potential for workforce attraction? With a candidate pool ready and eager to find their next professional opportunities, now is the time to develop a B2B recruitment marketing strategy that drives results. Our team is ready to help your team succeed in your recruitment marketing and workforce engagement. Contact us and we’ll be in touch shortly. Stifel Marcin – The B2B Marketing Agency Unlike many advertising and marketing agencies, B2B isn’t just something that we do, it’s all we do. We’ll work to help your brand achieve its goals through the strategic combination of creativity, communication and technology. Our focused client intake processes give us the ability to thoroughly understand your business, products and objectives, working to identify the competitive advantages and opportunities that will grow awareness, leads and sales. We develop innovative marketing plans with strategic, data-driven processes, presenting complex ideas and compelling messages that position your business ahead of the competition. As your cooperative partner, our integrated B2B marketing agency is dedicated to your success. If you want to learn more about how recruitment marketing can help your company, we’re here for you. Fill out the contact form above and let’s talk.

Smart B2B Email Marketing Strategy: 5 Tips to Nurture Customer Retention and Increase Leads and Sales

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A recent statistic from Visible notes that “59 percent of B2B marketers say their top revenue channel is email.” Companies who have active email marketing campaigns, built using a smart B2B email marketing strategy, help to nurture existing leads and maintain customer connections. If your organization has let its email frequencies fade, or if you haven’t run active initiatives at all, now is the time to brush off your lists. For those who are looking for ways to improve your B2B email marketing strategy, here are five considerations that can help you create a successful campaign: 1. Find the Right Messaging Mix Email marketing for B2B companies should not be a “hard sell” pitch. While emails can deliver timely news and information customers may want to act on, the real value is in building brand awareness and keeping your contacts engaged. Finding the right mix of content that educates the reader, presents technical innovations, and offers tips and news helps to show your brand respects the reader’s time. Remember that even segmented email lists typically reach a mix of readers – prospects, existing customers, expert pros, new hires, etc. Delivering value to the entire group is key. Email campaigns certainly can highlight news and offerings from your company– but at the core you need to think “why would someone want to read this” before hitting send. 2. Be Clear, Engage the Reader & Incorporate Clear Calls-to-Action Statistics show a drop off in email readership after 20 lines, or about 200 words, so it is critical that your content is succinct and clear. Hard to read phrasing, content that seems irrelevant, and emails that lack a design “hook” that drives the reader throughout the full layout simply will not perform with today’s digitally-savvy customers. After you’ve found the right messaging mix, deliver well-crafted content that engages your reader – that makes them want to keep reading. Finally, be sure you incorporate clear call-to-action links or buttons to move that reader to the next step in your marketing funnel – often via a link to your website. Tracking software in both your email application and your website analytics will help you monitor engagement and trends to optimize future campaigns. 3. Get Your Entire Team Involved A successful B2B email marketing strategy requires the support of a cross-functional team. Engineering, sales, HR, customer service, management, marketing and more should collaborate to develop effective content. Understanding customer concerns, the meaning behind technical information and how each department in your company views current business considerations helps to create diverse content that customers will value. After you’ve hit send on that campaign, keep your team in the loop. Consider adding employee emails to your distribution lists, so team members can forward news to their contacts, and team members who weren’t involved in the content development process are informed on corporate communications. Additionally, most email campaign providers provide a URL link to an email once it has been launched. Consider posting this link on your social media channels to help grow your readership. 4. Categorize Contacts & Messaging Contact lists can be organized and segmented, which can allow you to send different email content to different audiences. This can be especially beneficial for companies that serve a diverse variety of industries or customer personas, each likely to have unique concerns, questions and motivators. Similarly, with automated response-based emails, which can be sent based on where a customer is in your sales funnel, categorizing the content and messaging may be valuable – connecting with prospects in one department differently than prospects in another. By segmenting your contact lists, you can improve your overall relevancy, keeping contacts engaged, and also obtain a more detailed perspective of results and insights. 5. Managing Frequency & Timing In a time when readers have become increasingly bombarded with digital noise, you want to make your voice heard with the right impact. It’s important to evaluate not only the frequency of your sends, but the value your emails provide to your current customer and/or leads. Finding the “right” email frequency for your business requires testing and optimization. What works for one company won’t necessarily work best for another. A recent study from CoSchedule recommends that for B2B organization, 1-5 emails per month is ideal, but of course this is a guide that should be adjusted accordingly when evaluating your metrics, like open and click through rates. Additionally, be mindful of day and time an email is sent. Typically, sending mid-week after lunch or mid-morning, especially on a Tuesday or Wednesday, yields better results. For companies that serve customers in multiple time zones, one can find the “sweet spot” in that mix, or again leverage list categories to segment contact locations, reaching each group at the optimal time. We Deliver Communications that Drive B2B Results Don’t let your business fall behind on your client retention marketing efforts. Our experienced team of B2B marketing experts can help you develop a cohesive B2B email marketing strategy to maximize email as part of your digital mix. Learn more about our email marketing services or contact us today. Stifel Marcin – The B2B Marketing Agency Unlike many advertising and marketing agencies, B2B isn’t just something that we do, it’s all we do. We’ll work to help your brand achieve its goals through the strategic combination of creativity, communication and technology. Our focused client intake processes give us the ability to thoroughly understand your business, products and objectives, working to identify the competitive advantages and opportunities that will grow awareness, leads and sales. We develop innovative marketing plans with strategic, data-driven processes, presenting complex ideas and compelling messages that position your business ahead of the competition. As your cooperative partner, our integrated B2B marketing agency is dedicated to your success. Our B2B email marketing strategy services can take your campaign to the next level. Let’s get started.

What the Evolution of Facebook Means for Marketers

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The not-so-well-kept secret is out, as CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook (the corporation, not the social media platform) has been renamed “Meta.” Meta will serve as the overarching parent brand for its two operating streams, including its “Family of Apps” (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger) and its “Reality Labs,” which will house and evolve virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies. As detailed by Facebook Connect 2021: “The metaverse will feel like a hybrid of today’s online social experiences, sometimes expanded into three dimensions or projected into the physical world. It will let you share immersive experiences with other people even when you can’t be together – and do things together you couldn’t do in the physical world.” Are You Ready for the Metaverse? While there are many opinions regarding the overall re-brand and re-structure of Facebook, there is no arguing that Facebook is setting its sights on a vision for an enhanced digital communications and technology space, known as the “metaverse.” While Facebook notes that “the metaverse is a ways off, but parts of it are already here,” it poses the question to marketers: how are we preparing for a metaverse environment? With the onset of COVID and increase in remote operations, many brands have had to digitize – ramping up their video, creating new interactive communications, designing virtual presentations and increasing the usage and sophistication of social media platforms to reach audiences. While this may feel new for some companies that had a more traditional marketing approach, really, these tactics have been available for some time. Many leading brands had already created these materials for their marketing teams years ago. For some time, we’ve been helping clients build internal websites, develop HR portals, create strategic social media campaigns, and design videos and presentations. Many B2B companies have already integrated virtual training and simulated situations into normal business operations, like those that use Google Glass on the shop floor or conduct global training via virtual platforms. Marketers need to have that tech-first mindset as well during strategy planning. The coming “metaverse” means, as marketers, we must do what we always do: put ourselves in the mind of our target audience. How can we streamline our communications? How can we improve the digital sales funnel? What can we do to compel audiences and engage them? What messaging and brand positions will resonate with today’s customers? Unlike ever before, today’s audiences expect amazing digital experiences, and immersive, engaging communications. Customer patience for a poor digital experience gets lower every day. Customer expectations for exciting communications that engage them – no matter where they are physically – continues to grow. What Marketing Assets Will Be Essential for Metaverse Thinking? We partner with B2B brands to develop custom marketing strategies, and each and every brand has unique challenges and goals, which marketing should reflect. That being said, there are some assets that should be top-of-mind as we develop new prioritizations and plans. A few items your brand might need for the metaverse: Modernize Your B2B Marketing Companies want to know they are partnering with agencies and marketing professionals who are adaptable, leaders in creative ideation and on trend with the latest marketing options, including VR and AI (artificial intelligence). As marketers, we must continue to rise to the challenge to produce the best possible outcomes for both our clients and their customers. It’s critical to remember that while technology continues to evolve, people-centric strategies to solve for their unique challenges never goes out of style. Thinking about how you can evolve your long-term marketing strategies in a new metaverse world? We’d like to talk. Contact us (or fill out the form on this page) and we’ll be in touch to schedule an in-person or virtual meeting to help you power up your marketing today and tomorrow. Stifel Marcin – The B2B Marketing Agency Unlike many advertising and marketing agencies, B2B isn’t just something that we do, it’s all we do. We’ll work to help your brand achieve its goals through the strategic combination of creativity, communication and technology. Our focused client intake processes give us the ability to thoroughly understand your business, products and objectives, working to identify the competitive advantages and opportunities that will grow awareness, leads and sales. We develop innovative marketing plans with strategic, data-driven processes, presenting complex ideas and compelling messages that position your business ahead of the competition. As your cooperative partner, our integrated B2B marketing agency is dedicated to your success. If you want to learn more about how recruitment marketing can help your company, we’re here for you. Our marketing experts keep up-to-date on the issues and changes impacting social media today. Learn about our proven social media solutions.

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