HR Communication 2.0.: Spotting talent through brand ambassadorship

HR Communication 2.0.: spotting talent through brand ambassadorship25 August 2008

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Table of content

1. Online Channels: Characteristics2. Shifted Relationship: Conversation3. Activation: e-Recruitment4. Linked In: formal recruitment5. Facebook: brand ambassadors6. Remarks7. Summary

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1. Online Channels: Characteristics

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Time & Space

• ‘Online’ & ‘digital’ allow you to overcome barriers in time and space. You don’t have to be at a specific place at a specific time to be part of

something.◦ When you host a seminar, you offer a live video ‘webcast’ of the presentation. After the

event you publish the presentation online.

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Channel vs Medium

• The internet is a channel, not a medium. Use this channel to:

◦ Spread the communication message yourself◦ Enable others to spread your message

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Consumer vs User

• Social media: media use is no longer connected to media ownership People have access to media and share information

◦ Audience: as a reader, listener or viewer◦ Creator: as a publisher of articles, comments, photos, video, audio, podcasts, ...

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Consumer vs User

• Consumers are both users & experts Word-of-mouth is key in the decision making process

◦ People review products, jobs & brands.◦ Peers are influencers by sharing recommendations, both positive and negative

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Push vs Pull

• Push You force people to take notice of your communication message

◦ You pay for media space◦ You reach a large audience◦ You have a superficial contact with the mass audience◦ Advertising: tv commercials, radio commercials, print ads, billboard, banners, ...

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Push vs Pull

• Pull You connect with people to share your communication message

◦ You still spend money, but not always on media◦ Content is the new currency ◦ You reach a targeted or niche audience◦ Your communication has relevance for the receiver◦ You have a qualitative contact with limited audience◦ Utility: website, application, mobile service, widget, game, entertainment, ...

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2. Shifted Relationship: Conversation

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Before

• Shouting Advertisers shout at their audience People are not expected to interact in any way The communication message is force upon the audience

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Online: The shift

• The brand - audience relationship has changed Interaction: you don’t talk at people. You talk with people. Participation: your audience becomes part of your message Activation: you enable your audience to spread your message

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What matters today?

• The reputation of your brand Build trust

• Your brand story Start a conversation

• Your brand lovers Engage brand ambassadors

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Who determines your reputation

• Marketing & advertising Brand campaigns Corporate communication Recruitment campaigns

• People The people working for you today The people who used to worked for you in the past High profile & management with PR value

◦ Ex.: Bruno Segers, Marc Coucke, Andre Duval

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Online reputation

• Search What scores high in google

◦ News sites◦ User Generated Content: blogs, forums, ...◦ Social networks: LinkedIn, Facebook, ...◦ Social media: YouTube, Flickr, ...

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Control

• Full control is a disillusional idea You can not control what people say about you

◦ You can enable people to talk about you and feed the conversation◦ Negative criticism handled well has a positive turnover

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Authenticity vs fake

• Authenticity is key You communication message must be trustworthy Your brand image must be transparent and correlate with reality What you say about your brand must be in line with what people say about

you

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3. Activation: e-Recruitment

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Carrier vs Message

• The internet is a carrier, not the message. You need a message to start a conversation

◦ You find the message in your company or people◦ You create a message and act upon it◦ Your message is in line with your identity & behaviour

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Broadcasting vs Narrowcasting

• Don’t communicate with everyone. Only address the relevant ones. Relevance: find niche audiences for niche profiles

◦ Target profiles on sociale networks, commuities, shared interests, region, ...

Enter their world, speak their language, know their interests and motivations.◦ Example IT banner on blogs

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Broadcasting vs Narrowcasting

• Recruit with Google AdWords. Targeted landing pages with Google Website Optimizer

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Momentum & Continuum

• The brand momentum Campaign: creative concept, punchline, ... Limited in time (Q1, Q2, Q3 & Q4) Supported by media spending Focused on reach

• The brand continuum Continuous dialogue Consistent message Relationship building Focused on building mutual trust (reputation)

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Continuum: a good recruitment website

• Working Environment (a.o. company culture, testimonials)• Offer (a.o. possibilities for trainees and students)• Accessibility (o.a. search, navigation, language choice)• Application (o.a. apply online and procedure)• Contact possibilities (o.a. contact person, phone number,

events)• General impression (o.a. house style, images)• Originality (unique elements)• Recruitment 2.0 (o.a. chat, RSS-feeds)

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New media, old habits?

• Communication doesn’t change. Channels are added. Traditional media

◦ Print, phone, tv, radio, direct mail, ...

New ‘traditional’ media◦ Website, mobile, ...

Experimental new media◦ Chat, messenger, VOIP (Skype), Twitter, GPS, ...

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On-site vs off-site

• Don’t think everyone will visit your website Have a good corporate website A campaign or recruitment site is an option, not a necessity Be present and approachable on popular online boulevards

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Six degrees of separation

• Be approachable for job seekers and potential recruits Every potential recruit should be able to connect with someone in your

organization.

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Viral

• Viral = people spread a message to one another Viral is not the same as ‘free’ You have no guarantee on a viral success The interaction you provide can have a viral mechanism

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Crowd sourcing

• Power of the individual (and the mass) Xpertize.be: reward people for finding the right candidates

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4. Linked In: formal recruitment

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Characteristics

• LinkedIn is a social network Personal profile page & identity or resume Network of contacts Community of interest: professional Allow search and filter Frequent updates Interact: questions,

personal messages, ...

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Update company profile

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Connect

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Recommendations: pay it forward

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Manage a group

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Search & filter

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Advertise: post jobs

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Address your network

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Enable the community

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Enable your workers

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LinkedIn guidelines

• Be relevant Select relevant profiles for your message Always be personal in your direct communication Use Q&A for relevant questions

• Don’t spam Don’t contact everybody for anything Don’t connect with profiles you’ve never had contact with

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LinkedIn: pros and cons

• Pro: Large population & dominant player Public profile is visible for everyone Professional network People keep their profile up to date Posting and forwarding of jobs possible Good search and filter options

• Contra: Limited daily activity Posting jobs costs money Fatigue: too many requests too all & spam

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5. Facebook: brand ambassadors

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Characteristics

• Facebook is a social network Overview of daily activity Friends network Focused on entertainment & keeping in touch Easy to find people Third party ‘apps’ All kinds of invites and interaction

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Share experiences

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Connect

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Start a group

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Event invitation

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Build a Facebook application

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Integrate

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Facebook guidelines

• It’s a friends network Informal or personal tone of voice Communication by ambassadors, not by a company or brand Be careful with ‘advertising’

• Respect privacy Don’t push Pull. Attract. Tease. Play.

• Gatekeeper Your brand ambassadors guide people from a personal to a

professional environment

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Facebook: pros and cons

• Pro: High daily activity Background Belgian users: education, job & age API: allows third party applications Audience open for fun, entertainment, games, ...

• Contra: Personal network, not professional No search & filtering in professional data Most profiles are protected High risk for perception of invasion of privacy

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6. Remarks

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Don’t believe the hype

• The hype circle. What goes up, must go down. Second life: the media attention and PR value given to these recruitment

campaigns were effective. Not recruiting in Second Life itself. It’s fun the first time. “Been there, done that” is next.

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Social media fatigue

• You enter the personal sphere, don’t push it. Recruitment and marketing efforts on social media platforms can become

pushy Always be authentic and honest Don’t force people into sharing personal data

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7. Summary

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Overview

• Get your story right.As a job seeker: what’s in it for me ?

• Involve your people

• Make it easy to access and follow you

• Recruit in niche groups, interest groups, …

• Use new concepts and platforms like LinkedIn

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Contact details

• Wim Walraevens [email protected]

• Pieter Baert [email protected]

• Stay tuned www.duvalguillaume.com/news