Messaging - What HR Wants to Hear from Vendors

The following is an excerpt from my latest ebook entitled the Essential Marketing Guide for HR Tech Vendors and Startups.

Recruiters and HR people are arguably the busiest people at any company today. They are managing multiple reqs or putting out fire after fire while trying to please management.

I think the four messages that resonate most with them in general are;

• Save me time

• Save me money

• Make my job easier

• Get me quality applicants

Be sure your messaging has elements of some or all of these. Integration with other technologies like an applicant tracking systems is also a key feature request from HR. If your product doesn’t play nice, that’s a hurdle you need to be aware of. Expect questions about possible integrations when demo’ing your tool.

NOTE: Josh Bersin, the HR Tech analyst calls it “integrated talent management”.

When it comes to HR software there is a big push from employers to have  integrated suites that do everything. We are seeing a big push from vendors who offer well rounded set of features.

Take Snagajob for instance, the job board company just bought PeopleMatter a HR system for managing hourly workers. For years, CareerBuilder was just a job board. But even they have broadened their offerings. Now they serve employers needs from soup to nuts.

Because of this if your product does not integrate well into these new and powerful HR systems your product may struggle to gain acceptance until you do.

Tout your numbers if you have them. I was speaking to an exec at an entry level job site recently who asked what he should lead with as far as wording on his marketing and landing pages. “What are your numbers?”, I asked. “2.5 million profiles of college students and recent grads”, he replied. “Lead with that”, I said. Those are the kinds of things recruiters like to hear.

New Ebook! The Essential HR Tech Marketing Guide

I've just put the finishing touches on my first ebook for HR Tech vendors and startups. In it I teach and inform you on how to market your product to HR professionals and recruiters. With more than 40 pages on content that cover everything from messaging to social media it's a must have for any startup or veteran marketer.

Buy it here.

Here's whats in it...

1. Introduction
2. Messaging - What HR Wants to Hear from Vendors
3. When to Approach - Best times of day/week to make your pitch
4. Tools, Tactics & Channels
5. Content Marketing - what to create and how to do it
6. Social Media - how to leverage these channels for free traffic and brand awareness
7. Guest posting - my list of favorites sites to get published in
8. Conferences - the blisg list of events to attend throughout the year
9. Prospecting - tips for email/phone
10. Webinars - best practices
11. Advertising - where to advertise your message including my list of industry related sites
12. Your Website - tips to maximize your own site
13. Influencers - my list of the best industry pros to engage if you want help marketing your product

PODCAST: How WorkHere is Changing the Mobile Job Search Landscape

The goal of the RecTech Podcast is to highlight innovative and interesting recruitment technology vendors along with trends shaping the world of online recruitment.

Mike Seidle is the Cofounder and COO of WorkHere a new mobile job search company based in Indiana. Mike is Past Director of Development at DirectEmployers and a former board member on the HR Open Standards Consortium.

Topics and questions from today's show include;

• What is WorkHere and Why did you build it

• Your app works in the browser and on mobile. What do users use more?

• What is the difference in how people look for work between professionals and workers?

• What makes WorkHere different than a traditional job board?

• Describe the user experience for a seeker and employer?

• What's the value proposition for recruiters and employers?

• What have you learned so far about the building apps...any takeaways? How many iterations?

• Funded? Whats Go to market strategy - rest of country?

• Costs?

RecTech Headlines for August

Here's your summer fix for all thats new in recruiting technology land.

Upsider is a new sales rep matching tool for employers and candidates. Link via ERE.

FOR SALE:  Profitable Midwest based local job board is up for sale. View details.

HourlyNerd, the Boston-based online freelancer marketplace startup that recently landed $22 million in venture funding from investors including Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, announced that it has rebranded to “Catalant.” The name is a combination of the words “catalyst,” “brilliant,” and “talent,” according to a release. Link.

Workday acquires Platfora to help it improv its analytics. Link.

Drafted launched the second version of its app earlier this year, letting people browse through job listings, see if they have any mutual connections to a job they want and request an intro to the hiring manager through any mutual connections. Sources say they are planning to open it up to more companies outside of Massachusetts this fall.

The startup has raised $2.5 million so far from several investors, including General Catalyst Partners, Accel Partners, Paul English’s Blade startup accelerator and Boston Syndicates. It has six employees. Link.

Mya, an AI platform from FirstJob, aims to make sure no applicant goes into the void—and no recruiter has to wade through a sea of resumes. Interesting to see how these guys have pivoted and are trying to take advantage of the “chatbot gold rush” Link.

Snagajob says they are looking for more stuff to acquire. If your tool targets hourly employees you might want to give them a call. Link.

Company in Denmark creates a Job title extractor. Check it out https://goodwin.relinklabs.com

Indeed launches JobSpotter app for retail businesses. Designed for people to take pics of we’re hiring signs in store windows. Link.

AfterCollege buys Cross-Post and is making it part of Recruitology, a service that launched for employers earlier in the year. Here is a link to the press release:http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/07/prweb13533921.htm

Bumble Bizz app: the popular swipe-based dating app understands this, so is launching a feature to help users temporarily set aside dreams of love so they can match with someone who may help them advance their career. Link.

CornerJob only closed its $10 million Series A in February. But the Barcelona-based jobs marketplace, one of several which focuses on low-skill, high-turnover recruitment via a smartphone messaging app, is now announcing a $25 million Series B funding round — meaning it’s already raised a total of $35M in less than a year. Link.