Blogs, SEO, PPC, social media — chances are, these have been your go-to digital marketing tools for staffing branding and recruitment.
Maybe you write blogs to help candidates navigate the job search. Maybe you’ve optimized your website to rank for prime job search keywords. Maybe you’ve even created hyper-specific search and social ads to target certain industries. And you’ve likely shared a slew of content across social media platforms to build brand recognition with qualified talent. And you deserve a pat on the back for that!
But the staffing industry is changing fast. With job orders declining and employers becoming even less responsive, driving staffing sales will require new levels of agility, creativity and determination.
Selling Staffing Services in 2023
In an uncertain economy, many industries cut back on marketing and ramp up sales — and staffing is no exception. The urge to skyrocket cold calls, drop-bys and other sales activities is understandable. But here’s the thing: increasing those traditional sales isn’t going to help you sell staffing services. It’s going to make it harder.
Nobody wants to be aggressively sold to in tough times. And when all your competitors are doubling down on their sales, it’s more challenging than ever to hold your audience’s attention.
Does that mean you can’t boost your staffing sales in 2023? Absolutely not. It does mean that you need to find innovative uses for existing strategies — and your digital marketing toolbox is a great place to start.
Blogging. Create content your account managers can talk about with clients and prospects. Ask your sales team what questions and concerns they hear the most on their calls, and then write posts that directly address those questions and concerns.
You can also transform existing blogs into sales tools. Printed articles can be collateral for drop-offs or in-person meetings, while links to the digital versions make great value-adds in your follow-up emails.
No matter what you write or how you share it, remember to place calls to action (CTAs) throughout your content. Free consultations, offers for content downloads or invitations to search your talent database are all low-stakes CTAs that entice your audience to engage with you further.
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SEO. Think about the questions and challenges employers are facing in today’s market — again, your sales team can be a huge help here. Then, write long-form content to address those questions and challenges while also grabbing Google’s attention.
But you don’t have to write thousands of new words to harness SEO as a staffing sales tool. Go through your current website and content. Are there opportunities to add CTAs to high-performing pages? Could you transform long-form pages into landing pages by adding response forms? Can you update content to include client names that job seekers are likely to search for?
PPC advertising. Make sure your paid advertisements are working for you. A strategic PPC ad should do two things: 1) address a relevant and timely problem and 2) offer something of immediate value.
Once your ads meet those criteria, test them in different formats. Write search ads to answer questions your clients would ask, target your competitors and even target your ideal prospects. Personalize your LinkedIn and Facebook ads based on location, industry, job titles and interests. And use retargeting ads to invite past visitors back to your website.
Email marketing. When it comes to email, you only have seconds to capture your reader’s attention — if they open your email at all. Train your team to write short, to-the-point emails that address a specific need for your audience. Make sure every email includes a clear CTA that drives people to relevant landing pages. And ask your sales team to keep building your email nurturing list to keep your company top-of-mind.
Want an advanced email marketing tactic for staffing sales? Create a high-value email publication that addresses both general talent management issues and your niche market or industry.
Selling staffing in 2023 brings new challenges — but it’s not impossible. For more marketing ideas to drive sales for your staffing firm, download Top 18 Marketing Strategies and Tactics for 2023, a free eBook from Haley Marketing.