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How to Brand and Market Your Association Career Center

 

Your brand is what sets you apart from other associations, but are you leveraging all your marketing resources to drive career center traffic?

Everything we know about every product we use is because of branding. The same goes for your organization. Does your association job board have its own brand? Do your members connect the dots from your association to your career center? Branding is a process, and the goal is to gain recognition from your members to your career center.

Recent research shows that members primarily join associations for career growth opportunities. And as industry leaders, you are responsible for meeting these expectations while increasing revenue for your organization. YM Careers partners with association customers to develop the best branding approach for their market and industry. ​

2022 Association Trends Study - why members join

2022 Community Brands Association Trends Study

Here are five reasons why branding is important for your career center:

1. Branding unites your audience

Branding links your career centers’ name, logo, online presence and appeals to your members. Branding should ensure marketing content is the same look and feel across all association channels. This brings a united and clear message to your members, job seekers and employers.

2. Branding is an asset

A brand is an asset. It gives your career center an identity beyond its service. It gives job seekers something to relate to and connect with. Build your identity by establishing a brand-defining logo and tagline and use these to shape the voice, tone, and aesthetic.

3. Branding generates growth

Branding can create sales and revenue for your career center. Growing your career center is based on how the branding marketing strategies work out. Marketing features that maximize jobseeker engagement and increase employer ROI will help generate more non- dues revenue.

continuous growth

4. Branding increases trust

As members get to know your career center, they will begin to trust you. To build trust, you must give your members a reason to test you out. The branding must be concise and consistent as members begin to engage and interact with you over time. A dedicated customer success team will enhance their experience with your career center and positive online communication on social networks will keep them coming back for more.

5. Branding creates loyalty

A good brand will create loyalty. Loyal members will continue to support you in good and bad times. They will share with colleagues their experience with your association and career center. Their influence will introduce new members to your association. Communicating to new members about your career center is essential, especially since most new association members are looking to map their career journey.

 

The primary focus of any marketing team should be to build brand awareness, drive engagement, increase traffic, and generate revenue through marketing and lead generation efforts. Your marketing goals should ensure your organization is successful by performing strategic marketing to drive job seekers and employers’ paid jobs to your job board.

Your online career center offers a huge member benefit. It connects your members with their next great new hire or career opportunity. It also can be a source of revenue for your organization through paid job ads, sponsorships, and other fee-based products. With the right technology and some proven techniques, you can maximize the member engagement and revenue your career center generates.

These proven approaches will help you grow your career center through traditional, digital and social media channels alike:

Traditional Marketing

Through traditional marketing, you can convey your unique value proposition and strengthen your brand. Here are some ideas to consider:

  • Create an infographic. Readers love visual content, and infographics are a prime example of beloved, linkable visual assets.
  • Create an “offline” job posting. Allow employers to purchase an ad in your print publication, right through the career center. Sell this on your Products and Pricing page, or as an upsell to every employer who purchased an online posting.
  • Create a combination posting. Increase your sales price by including jobs on the career center and in your print publication. Classified ad pricing can be based on character, word or line volume

social media graphics

Digital Marketing

Email marketing has defied its critics in continuing to provide an array of benefits to marketers, from building trust to providing some of the greatest ROIs of any digital channel. With email marketing you can also utilize a lot of the aspects we have gone over in this webinar such as creating mobile friendly emails, adding dynamic content, and providing data driven results.

  • Set up automated campaigns. For job seekers, members, and employers this is a great way to continue to nurture contacts and market the career center.
  • Send monthly marketing emails. Distribute an email to your registered employers and job seekers each month with an update on recent organization updates, resources, and tips
  • Create a job alert. Employers are often willing to pay extra for this distribution of their job to additional potential candidates.

Social Media Marketing

Organizations can reach both recruiters and candidates by promoting their career center online and building your career center brand among the 3.2 billion people on social media globally is the best way to grow your online presence.

  • Know your platform. Once you master and consistently use one platform, add in another one. For example, if most of your audience is using Facebook, create a plan and schedule for that platform first. Focus on engagement, then add LinkedIn or Twitter to your mix.
  • Update your status. Update your Facebook and/or LinkedIn status at least once a week with a link to the career center. Remember to include career center data such as the number of jobs you currently house, the number of resumes, the number of registered job seekers or number of employers registered.
  • Set up automatic feeds. Set up an RSS feed for new job postings to automatically integrate your
Take the next step

Branding can reach so many of your members in so many outlets. It reaches them offline, online, mobile and niche markets. Branding is your career centers’ name, logo, color palette, voice, and imagery.  It’s that intangible feeling your members have when they interact with your brand. Get to the heart and soul of your members and a successful brand will follow.

Get a branded job board and dedicated marketing team from YM Careers.

Request a personalized demo today.

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