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(This is a direct transcription; please excuse any typing mistakes.)
This blog post and podcast were stimulated by a conversation I had with Vanessa who is a recruitment business owner that is in the delightful position of updating her website, and she wants to write new copy for the various pages.
We had a conversation over email about some of the things she needs to be thinking about and it got me thinking that many people are currently updating their website.
What happens when someone lands on your website? Hopefully, they are going to be engaged with you, and they are going to read what you have written that convinces them to take it one stage further. That is why it is important to have some fundamental principles on how you write website copy for your recruitment website.
There are 7 key principles that I want to cover today:
1. Know Your Audience
This is really important. This came up a few days ago when I was running a training session for a client of ours who had some recruitment business owners present at an event she was running. We talked in depth about knowing your target audience. This audience is often called your avatar, your persona and these are the ideal people you want to attract to work with you as a recruitment company, and they could be candidates, and it could be clients.
2. Understand What Your Service Offers
You are probably thinking, “Well, of course, I know what my service offering is.” But you need to be able to understand that and to explain it to people. People are going to land on your website, and they haven’t got a lot of time. They will be flicking through different pages, so they need to know specifically what it is that you do and how you could help them.
In other words, you need to make sure your website copywriting is benefit rich. What does that mean for them? Let’s say you have a CV-to-interview ratio of 3:2 which are great figures, what does that actually mean?
It means for a client that depending on how many CVs/Resumes they see, they know that they will interview a very high percentage of them.
If you are a candidate, you’re going to help them with their CV. They also know that if you put them forward to a dream employer for them, there’s a fair chance that they are going to get an interview which you can help them with as well.
So it’s really understanding what your service offering is and what the benefit of that is for your clients and for your candidates. You need to communicate that. Don’t leave it to chance as many people do. Make sure you make it very specific.
3. Value Proposition
What makes you stand out? What specifically is it that you do for your clients and candidates which is slightly different from other recruitment companies?
I have a good friend that wants to move jobs, so if anyone is an arts recruiter (think national gallery management roles), then please get in contact with me because I have a friend in mind, and I am trying to find an arts recruiter online. It’s been quite an experience ‘trying’ to find a recruiter online. Working out from the websites I have seen exactly who the recruiting service is for is a challenge. #vagueandunclear.
That’s where having a great value proposition works. People land on your website; they know who you are and what you do.
If you are stuck, have a look at our home page here on our website. We are specific on exactly what we do. When you land on our website, you know that we provide marketing consulting and Superfast Circle; That’s what we do.
It’s clear and transparent; then, people can make a decision.
4. Benefit-Oriented Copy
What does that mean? That means writing about the benefits people will have by using your service, not just the features. Cast your mind back to your original recruiter training. You’ll remember all about features, advantages and benefits. We might even do a podcast on this as for people over the next few weeks. It’s thinking about the fact that you talk to people about the benefits of some of the different features of your service.
Let’s just use something random here – If you are buying a car, to give a great example, we have a 4X4 car because we have a dog, and the fact that it has a big boot is a feature. The advantage and benefit for me is it has a large boot, and I can get a dog crate into it. If in doubt, think about the phrase ‘which means that’. “Denise, this Q7 has a large boot……which means that……………you can easily fit a large dog crate inside”.
Consider the benefits; what do your candidates and clients want from your service?
5. Use Short Sentences
I am a copywriter who writes emails and does all sorts of things. I love writing; however, over time, I have learned that short sentences, phrases and words land better with people. Why is that? Because people have a short attention span these days. They are going to land on your web page, and they are going to have a very quick scan of what you have written. They are likely doing this now on a tablet or on a mobile phone.
Imagine this is a hot candidate you would love to bring into the fold, to be a candidate you can place. They might be looking at your website as they go home on the tube or during their lunch hour. They need to be able to read what you have to say quickly. One of the best ways to do that is through short sentences and short words, making it punchy.
6. Formatting
People forget this. Often you will see people so desperate to cram everything in that they have large blocks of texts that people read, which, as we mentioned, no longer goes down well as it’s much harder to read and pick out the salient points. So the thing to think about is having bold, strong headlines that pull people through the copy.
For instance, it could be, “Are you a CRM Manager that is looking for a new challenge?” That could be a bold headline that will help to pull people through the copy. If someone is looking for a new challenge, they will continue to read.
Make sure you have bullet points and subheadings.
7. Having a Call to Action
Lots of people forget to do this on their website. But at the end of the day, you need to have a call to action for people who have landed on that page. Now whether that is to download a free report that you have, pick up the phone, send an email or search on your job board to find out what vacancies are available, people need to be led.
This may sound surprising, but people do need to be led. Tell them what you want them to do. And put this at the end of your website copy.
I am a great believer that people can write their own website copy.
- Follow a structure
- Have a good value proposition,
- Understand your audience
- Think about the impact of formatting
- Talk to your audience; candidates, clients and talent
Thanks
Denise
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