Hiring remains the top challenge for defense tech companies. Deloitte recently identified the talent shortage as one of the top issues in the defense industry:
A&D [aerospace & defense] companies are addressing workforce challenges amid rising demand and changing workforce expectations. The A&D industry is facing a new talent landscape that is mainly driven by increasing salary levels, increased employee mobility, a reevaluation of employee relationships with the workplace, and an intensely competitive job market.
One way that companies are responding to the hiring challenge is brand marketing. It’s the key to reaching candidates missed by traditional job postings.
A Brief Introduction to Brand Marketing in Recruitment
HubSpot says: “Contrary to popular belief, companies don’t sell products—they sell branding. They sell experiences, feelings, and ideologies. Businesses with amazing brands like Coca-Cola know exactly what experience they want customers to have when they make (or consider) a purchase.”
This holds true for recruitment too. When you go after the most in-demand candidates, you’re not selling the job opening itself. You’re actually selling your company.
This strategy can influence candidate decisions, create a brand identity, and attract the country’s best employees.
This is why so many defense firms are turning to brand marketing to lure specialized workers. It’s also how the savviest defense firms are stealing the best workers from their competitors.
In summary, brand marketing can help your business:
- Influence Consumer Decisions
- Create an Identity for Your Business
- Ensure Customers Remember Your Firm
- Boost the ROI of Lead-focused marketing campaigns
- Help Attract and Retain the Best Employees
Getting Started with Brand Marketing: A 4-Step Guide
According to Adobe: “To break it down a bit, brand marketing is like giving your business a personality and making sure it’s the kind with which everyone wants to be friends. It’s all about crafting a unique and relatable identity for your company that resonates with your target audience, creating a lasting impression and emotional connection in people’s minds.”
In the next sections, we’ll walk you through creating your first brand marketing campaign.
Identify Your Target Audience
The first step to creating a brand marketing strategy is understanding your target audience.
“Branding is the process of creating the brand identity of a company. This process also delivers materials that support the brand, like a logo, tagline, visual design, or tone of voice,” according to HubSpot. “Branding is an iterative process and requires getting in touch with the heart of your consumers and your business.”
The American Marketing Association agrees: “Brand marketing aims to connect emotionally with consumers, build loyalty, and ultimately drive sales and market share through activities like advertising, public relations, and content marketing.”
The key to connecting emotionally with candidates is to understand their pain points and emotional triggers. Try to find answers to the following questions during this stage:
- Is your ideal candidate most likely a GenX, a Millennial, a GenZ?
- What is their professional experience?
- What benefits and values do they look for in an employer?
- What is their target salary and benefits package?
- How can you highlight their values in your marketing?
Set Goals & Identify Crucial KPIs
Before launching your strategy, you must identify your S.M.A.R.T. Goals (link to AMG article). You should also create Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that help you measure success.
Harvard Business School Online writes: “KPIs are crucial to your digital marketing plan because they reflect your strategy’s effectiveness. By setting clear, quantifiable KPIs, you can evaluate progress toward specific marketing objectives.”
Some of the most popular KPIs for brand marketing are:
- Website Traffic
- Social Media Impressions
- Time Spent on Website
- Pages Viewed Per Visit – for this audience, specifically the company information, culture, benefits, community impact, and (of course), the job listings.
- Social Media Interactions
- Recruitment Success Rates
Identify Marketing Channels & Content Format
Now that you’ve created a brand identity, you need to speak to these passive job seekers – the ones that are so desirable. This means meeting them where they already are.
Some of the most popular media channels for job applicants are:
- X (formerly Twitter)
- YouTube – company culture, community impact
- Display Media
- Website Content – sponsored content articles on other websites can be leveraged across many of these other channels.
- Traditional Media – not targeted, but if you have a big need, this can create awareness
Create Content and Regularly Engage with Consumers
The key to brand marketing success is regularly creating content and engaging with customers where they live. For recruiting, this often means positing a combination of:
- Social Media Posts
- Short and Long-Form Videos
- Website Articles and Guides
- Display Advertisements and Geo-fencing – target the companies that already have your ideal candidates
By producing a variety of customer-focused content you create lasting brand recognition that can boost hiring success for years. No matter which content you focus on, the key is consistency:
You’re in it for the long game with brand marketing. It works best when your goal is to create repeat (buyers) …This is because a clear brand creates recognition and ignites a distinct feeling about it that will stay with your audience forever.
AMG Defense Tech Specializes in Recruitment Brand Marketing
AMG Defense Tech is a specialized agency focusing exclusively on the high-tech and defense sector. We help our clients create compelling brand narratives through storytelling and eye-catching visual branding.
Our expert team can help you:
- Identify your Target Audience – with our monthly reach of 52 million users across our owned networks, and 60+ other data sources, we can target your exact audience no matter where they are in the U.S.
- Set Goals and Monitor KPIs
- Create a Brand Identity
- Develop Messaging Strategies
- Find the Most Relevant Marketing Channels
- Execute Your Brand Marketing Strategy
- Measure creative and impact and consistently optimize in increase ROI
- Reach New Candidates and Help Drive Hiring Goals
Learn how AMG Defense Tech can transform your company into an industry-recognized brand and attract the best candidates for your needs.
