GET MORE CLIENTS & CANDIDATES THROUGH EFFECTIVE …...become the recruiting firm of choice using the latest digital marketing methods. If you want to grow your firm, and you’re not

GET MORE CLIENTS & CANDIDATES THROUGH

EFFECTIVE DIGITAL MARKETINGA Step by Step Guide to Growing Visibility,

Credibility, and Generating Leads

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PG 1

Get Found . Be Visible, Rank Ahead of Your Competitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PG 2

Ensure You Get the Call . . . . . . . . . . PG 5

Closing the Loop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PG 10

CONTENTS

Introduction5 years ago I was speaking at NAPS and I asked the audience a question,

“who’s investing in digital marketing?”

Five years later at the same conference, the question has changed to

“how much are you spending on digital marketing?”

If you aren’t spending your budget on digital marketing,

or you’re not sure where to start, this eBook is for you.

Have you ever googled your services? Do you show up first or do your

competitors? Our industry changes lightning fast. Buyers are harder

to reach via phone, now more than ever it’s incredibly important to

stay ahead and keep up with the changes in the digital landscape.

So you want more client leads? So does everyone.

Use this eBook as a step by step guide to building a company brand to

become the recruiting firm of choice using the latest digital

marketing methods. If you want to grow your firm, and you’re not

already taking advantage of digital marketing, it isn’t too late to start.

GET MORE CLIENTS & CANDIDATES THROUGH EFFECTIVE DIGITAL MARKETINGA Step by Step Guide to Growing Visibility, Credibility, and Generating Leads 1

GET MORE CLIENTS & CANDIDATES THROUGH EFFECTIVE DIGITAL MARKETINGA Step by Step Guide to Growing Visibility, Credibility, and Generating Leads 2

Get Found . Be Visible . Rank Ahead of

Your Competitors

Get Found . Be Visible . Rank Ahead of Your Competitors

Let’s start with a hypothetical situation. Acme Talent is a firm that specializes in placing senior-level ex-ecutives for companies in Minneapolis, MN. They are the top recruiter in their market with a history of success. You’re the hiring manager for a private equity firm in New York who needs to hire a CFO for a new office in Minnesota. Where do you look first to find a search firm that can help you?

Most times, hiring managers will reach out to their professional network first, and if they don’t find a candidate there, they will turn to the internet to search for a partner. How can Acme Talent make sure that when you start your search, their name shows up at the top of your search results? They need to harness the power of digital marketing, mainly Search Engine Optimization and Pay Per Click advertising, to get their brand in front of buyers.

This situation is more common than you think, put your firm in Acme’s place. Even if you’re a leader in your market if potential clients can’t find you when they search the internet, how will they ever know that you can find them the ideal candidates?

This checklist is a great starting point to take stock of your online visibility and identify areas for improvement.

If you answered no to most of those questions, it may be hard for clients to find your company. If you can’t be found, how can you expect to land new business?

In 2013, Versique was largely unknown in our territory. To most business leaders, it was just a made-up word. Today, we rank at the top of relevant search engine results, our website has over 10k visitors per month, we have over 30k followers on LinkedIn. How did we go from an unknown company to the most visible brand in our sector? A potent combination of online visibility to capture buyers’ attention, brand credibility through thought leadership content, and lead generation powered by inbound marketing and automation.

3GET MORE CLIENTS & CANDIDATES THROUGH EFFECTIVE DIGITAL MARKETINGA Step by Step Guide to Growing Visibility, Credibility, and Generating Leads

Are you monitoring your search engine rankings for relevant keywords?

When you search for “executive recruiter in [Your territory]” does your company show up on the first page on Google?

Do you know what keywords your competitors rank highly for?

Does your website description accurately describe your specialties?

Do you show up as the first result when you Google your company name?

YES NOONLINE VISIBILITY


Paid Results - 25% of users click on these results first

If you’re not at the top of the heap in relevant search engine results, your ideal clients and candidates won’t find you. But it’s not too late to fix that. You’ve built a reputation as a reliable partner when your clients need positions filled, and with the right marketing mix, you can get your site in front of more people to leverage your reputation and close more deals.

Without the right mix of SEO, PPC, and Local Search Optimization, even the best recruiter will have trouble attracting clients simply because their clients can’t find them. For example, one of our recruiters, Matt Anderson, joined our organization as one of the top healthcare recruiters in the country and a member of the Pinnacle Society. He had a history of placing top tier candidates for his clients. The only problem was, new clients couldn’t find him. A board member of one of Matt’s clients went looking for him specifically, and because he wasn’t visible online, that board member moved on to another executive recruiter. Even though Matt had a record of success he missed out on that deal simply because he lacked online visibility.

This is why you can’t rely on credibility and reputation alone. High credibility + Low Visibility = Lost business. If a hiring manager searched for a healthcare recruiter and didn’t find them but found one of their competitors, they would contact the competitor even if they aren’t the best choice. Our goal at Parqa is to make it easy for your ideal clients and candidates to find you online and convince them to pick up the phone, making it easy for your team to do what they do best; closing deals.

Successful digital marketing is all about building a pathway for clients to follow when they are searching for a talent solution. Visibility is the first step in that pathway, and anticipating the words and phrases clients use when they search for a partner is critical to ranking ahead of your competitors. Don’t let your reputation go to waste simply because your website is hard to find.

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Organic Results - 75% of users click on these results.

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This is why you can’t rely on credibility and reputation alone. High credibility + Low Visibility = Lost business. If a hiring manager searched for a healthcare recruiter and didn’t find them but found one of their competitors, they would contact the competitor even if they aren’t the best

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Organic Results - 75% of users click on these results.

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This is why you can’t rely on credibility and reputation alone. High credibility + Low Visibility = Lost business. If a hiring manager searched for a healthcare recruiter and didn’t find them but found one of their competitors, they would contact the competitor even if they aren’t the best

Ensure You Get the Call; Not Your Competitors



Ensure You Get the Call; Not Your Competitors

Just like I mentioned before, in the beginning, we were only concerned with ranking at the top of search engines. When I’d speak with a potential client I’d always ask them how they found us. Generally, they’d say we were on the top of the list on Google’s results so they picked up the phone and called us.

Today, things have changed. Ranking is still very important, but now that your competitors are also ranking high in search engines, you need a bit more. When clients call me today, I ask them why they decided to call us. What is their answer? Because they read through our site and our resources and saw that we were experts in their industry and the best partner for their talent search. Buyers today have more info than ever at their fingertips and they are doing more research before they make a call. Convince them why they should be calling you.

The content you publish on your website and on LinkedIn needs to explain to your clients why your company is the best possible choice for them. You’re not only highlighting your company, but also the experts that make up your team. Give your website visitors the resources they need to solve their prob-lems and prove that your team has the right people to get the job done and they will pick up the phone.

Here are a few questions to ask about your brand credibility:

Have you classified your ideal customer?

When someone visits your website, can they figure out what you do in five seconds or less?

Are you publishing relevant and useful content at least weekly?

Are you incorporating the right keywords into the content you publish?

Is it easy for site visitors to find the information they need on your site?

Does your site feature profiles of your team members and their experience?

Does each page of your site feature a call to action (CTA) motivating visitors to get in contact?

Are you highlight past positions your team has filled?

Are you featuring testimonials from clients and candidates?

Do you have a social media strategy that is consistent with the content on your website?

YES NOWEBSITE


If the answer to most of those questions was no, it’s time to beef up your website and social presence to build brand credibility.

Let’s go back to the story of Acme Talent and the Private Equity firm. If Acme’s digital marketing did the job and got their website in front of you as the hiring manager, the next step is convincing you to pick up the phone. When was the last time you made a purchase simply by picking the first name that came up? You do your research to make sure you’re making the right choice based on the content you’ve read.

If Acme talent’s site doesn’t have resources and relevant content to establish their credibility, you’re going to move on to the next firm on the list, and call their competitors. The truth is, the story of Acme Talent isn’t hypothetical at all. It’s actually a real situation we faced.

We were approached by the private equity firm to find them a CFO. They searched the web and found the head of our Finance and Accounting practice area, Joe Reardon. On our site, they were able to read about Joe’s experience and his past successes. And guess what, they didn’t pick up the phone and call. Instead, they dug deeper into our site, reading blogs and articles we had posted. They finally found our salary guide, filled with tips to attract the best finance and accounting talent to your company. Take a look at what users see when they look up Joe Reardon.

That is when they picked up the phone. They found tons of useful content on our site that convinced them that not only are we experienced in their industry, but also that Joe was the right person to find their next CFO. Buyers today read 3-5 pieces of content before they ever pick up the phone. The content on your site is directly linked to your credibility.

YES NO

Are you actively sharing content on social media sites like LinkedIn?

Do you have a social media strategy that is consistent with the content on your website?

Does your LinkedIn company page explain what you do and the industries you serve?

Does your company profile feature up to date branding and logos?

Is your company contact info prominently displayed?

Are you tracking social media metrics month over month

SOCIAL MEDIA


Building Your Brand With Content

Take a look at your website’s analytics. How many unique visitors came to your site last month? Which pages did they look at? Did they find useful information on your site? These are the important questions to ask because if they aren’t finding the answers to their questions, they will leave your site and head to your competitors.

So what do you need to feature on your site to attract and convince buyers to call? Every page has the opportunity to showcase your credibility. Recurring blogs with current industry trends, lists of the jobs you’re currently working on as well as past positions you’ve filled, salary guides, bios for the experts in your organization. All of these pieces add up to convince clients to pick up the phone and partner with you.

The fact is, if a client needs a position filled, many firms can get the job done for them. Your site needs to focus on the reasons why working with your firm is different from your competitors. One of the main differentiators for any firm is the experts who make up your team. Giving site visitors a face and a name helps build a connection and convinces them that they can get in contact with an expert to solve their hiring challenges. Through the content on your site you should validate your clients’ challenges and build an authentic and personal connection before they ever pick up the phone.

Not everything you publish about your team needs to be geared toward a sale. It may sound strange, but focusing on thought leadership can ensure that your team stays top of mind in your niche. By telling your team’s stories and establishing their history and expertise, you are not only proving that you have the right people to serve your clients, but it also creates a much more human connection, even on the internet. When an expert shares the challenges they encountered on their way to being a leader, the vulnerability they show helps to validate any challenges that your clients have. On top of that, it shows that they can get to the finish line even when the process throws a curveball their way.

This matrix shows the relationship between visibility and credibility. The goal of every brand is to live in the top right quadrant. It shows you’re an expert in your field and you show up when clients search for you.



• Bottom Left - Low Credibility+LowVisibility - People cannot find you, and you don’t have a track record of success. This is generally before any sort of digital marketing, but it isn’t too late to start.

• Top Left - Low Credibility+High Visibility - People can find you but they aren’t sure if you’re the right partner (Joe Reardon story). Content marketing can help move toward upper right

• Bottom Right - High Credibility+Low Visibility - You’re successful and have served your clients well, but new clients cannot find you (Matt Anderson story). Website, social media, and SEO/PPC are the key.

• Top Right - High Credibility+High Visibility - This is where you want to end up, every piece of digital marketing you do is geared toward moving you toward this quadrant.

The story of our healthcare recruiter is what happens when your brand lives in the bottom right quadrant. Your credibility is established but clients can’t find you to learn that. A site that ranks high but lacks relevant content is an example of the top left quadrant. Clients can find you easily, but you don’t have the content to answer the question, “Why should I call you?” And the bottom left? That is an example of where we started, back in 2013, an unknown name who is new to the market. Building a successful content marketing plan and ranking high in search engine results is the key to moving into the top left quadrant. Where does your brand fall?

Credibility and visibility allow your team to perform at their best. They don’t have to spend their time convincing clients that you are the best choice, they get to focus on what they do best; connecting your clients with their ideal candidates.

bios for the experts in your organization. All of these pieces add up to convince clients to pick up the phone and partner with you.

The fact is, if a client needs a position filled, many firms can get the job done for them. Your site needs to focus on the reasons why working with your firm is different from your competitors. One of the main differentiators for any firm is the experts who make up your team. Giving site visitors a face and a name helps build a connection and convinces them that they can get in contact with an expert to solve their hiring challenges. Through the content on your site you should validate your clients’ challenges and build an authentic and personal connection before they ever pick up the phone.

Not everything you publish about your team needs to be geared toward a sale. It may sound strange, but focusing on thought leadership can ensure that your team stays top of mind in your niche. By telling your team’s stories and establishing their history and expertise, you are not only proving that you have the right people to serve your clients, but it also creates a much more human connection, even on the internet. When an expert shares the challenges they encountered on their way to being a leader, the vulnerability they show helps to validate any challenges that your clients have. On top of that, it shows that they can get to the finish line even when the process throws a curveball their way.


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Closing the Loop


Closing the Loop

By now you’ve made sure your firm is easy to find and appears on top of the relevant search results, and that potential clients find useful relevant information on your site that convinces them to pick up the phone. Now it’s time to close the loop and seal the deal.

The best salespeople know that although sales is a numbers game, it’s important to keep track of your process and tweak your approach based on past success and failures. Tracking important metrics surrounding your sale process helps to optimize your marketing and sales efforts and ensure you’re reaching your ideal customers.

Here is a list of metrics you should be tracking in your sales process:

The metrics you collect should inform the way you nurture incoming leads and the information you present them based on where they are in their buyer’s journey. By breaking the process down, you can identify the parts of your process that are working well, any bottlenecks in your sales process, and shortcomings that require attention.

The effort you put into your online visibility and brand credibility should work together to streamline communications between potential clients and your firm. Calls to action on each page of your site with links to contact your team speed up the process of opening communications. When a site visitor is reading content and finally decides to pick up the phone or send an email, they shouldn’t have to go searching for contact information.

Similarly, your site should be easy to navigate for every user. When someone comes to your website, it should load quickly and allow them to find what they need without wasting their time. Make it as easy as possible for leads to become clients and your sales team will close more deals.

Arguably the most critical point in the sales process is the first call from a potential client. Building systems and processes to enable your team to follow up quickly can be the difference between a record client signing with your firm, or moving on to your competitors. Let’s say I reach out to two different firms, one of whom is the leader in their field and takes their time to return my call, and the other is a perfectly average recruiter but they call back immediately. I’m likely to work with the average recruiter simply because they made communications easy and streamlined.


YES NOSALES METRICS

Website Visitors

# of Content pieces

Linkedin Followers

Linkedin impressions

Click Through Rate

# of inbound leads

Final Thoughts

Hopefully at this point you’ve got a feel for where your credibility and visibility lie and how your digital marketing efforts support them. One of the most common things I hear from staffing and recruiting firm owners is that they want to grow their brand, or start digital marketing but they’re not willing to commit resources to doing so. In my opinion, investing in digital marketing is one of the best choices you can make because the stronger your firm’s brand is, the more you can help your team promote themselves as well.

Even if you haven’t built a formal digital marketing program, it’s never too late to start. The main challenge is that digital marketing takes time, and time is something that you may not have in large amounts. Thankfully, finding the right partner to drive successful digital marketing initiatives isn’t nearly as difficult. If you’re uncertain where to start, or what can be improved about your existing initiatives, I’d love to chat. In the meantime, ParqaMarekting.com has a wealth of resources to help you grow your company.


952-234-9113

ParqaMarketing .com

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GET MORE CLIENTS & CANDIDATES THROUGH EFFECTIVE …...become the recruiting firm of choice using the latest digital marketing methods. If you want to grow your firm, and you’re not