Marketing can be a powerful tool not only for attracting customers to your shop or dealership but also for attracting technician candidates.
Recruitment marketing works by amplifying your content to reach potential candidates at-scale. This is especially important in a market where the majority of technicians are already employed and not looking at job boards or paying any attention to, “We’re hiring,” posts on social media.
Thankfully, your marketing team possesses a skill set that you can leverage to think outside the box when recruiting technicians. The same tactics they use to attract customers—content, social media, SEO, advertising, and web design—can help bring in more technician applicants.
Let’s look at the ways marketing can help you hire more technicians.
7+ Ways Marketing Can Boost Your Technician Recruitment
Optimize job ads for SEO.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving your content to rank higher on search engine results. This is relevant not only on major search engines like Google, but also on job boards like Indeed. Marketing will be able to optimize your job posting so that it gets in front of the right candidates.
Marketing will help with:
- Identifying relevant keywords
- Keyword placement (i.e., job title, first paragraph, URL, meta title, meta description, etc.)
- Formatting
- Incorporating photos or videos
- Backlinking
Add a Technician Careers page to your website.
In a WrenchWay Shop Talk poll, we found that 92% of technicians said they look at everything they can find online about a shop before applying for a job. Typically, this starts on a shop’s website. Having a Careers page that speaks directly to technicians is a great way to attract more candidates. Make sure to link out to your Careers page from the home page and/or main navigation so that it’s easy for candidates to find.
Marketing should be able to create a page that includes everything technicians want to know before they apply, such as:
- Compensation ranges for all levels
- Detailed benefits information
- FAQs around work environment, career development, and hiring process
- Photos and videos
- Open positions
- An easy way to apply
- Contact information in case they have questions
At WrenchWay, the shops and dealerships we work with often link out to their Top Shop page from their website. This eliminates the need to work with marketing or a web developer to create a Careers page. Top Shop pages are available as a part of WrenchWay’s Top Shop memberships.
Brainstorm content ideas for social media.
Coming up with relevant content technicians will pay attention to is no easy task. Lean on marketing to help you think outside the box. Remember, most of these technicians aren’t in the market for a new job, so you’ll want to avoid the, “Come work for us!” posts.
Work with your marketing team to compile a list of ways to demonstrate you’re a great place to work. Some ideas include:
- Employee testimonial videos
- Day in the life videos
- Photos of cool projects and new equipment
- Photos of team events, lunches, and get togethers
- Unique perks that go beyond the traditional benefits package
Kick your social media up a notch.
Discuss with your marketing ways you can reach more technicians on social media. Creating relevant quality content is the most important step. However, there are tactics to getting your content in front of more than just your followers.
Your marketing team can help you:
- Research popular relevant hashtags on each social media platform
- Post across multiple platforms, including industry forums like Shop Talk
- Find technician-related Facebook and LinkedIn groups
- Use geo-targeting for ads on Facebook and Instagram
- Start a TikTok account (If you haven’t checked it out already, there are a lot of technicians on TikTok!)
Create a flyer to hang in your shop.
Even though technician candidates probably aren’t coming into your shop often, promoting your shop as an employer to your loyal customers is still valuable. Your customers just aren’t used to thinking of you as an employer, so it’s beneficial to hang signage in your waiting area. They could have friends or relatives who work in the industry.
The key is to make it very easy for them to share information about your shop to their friends and family. An easy way to do this is by including a QR code to your Top Shop page or Careers page on the poster. That way they can scan it with their phone and easily text the link to potential candidates.
Encourage employer reviews and testimonials.
Technicians want to hear from other technicians about what it’s like to work at your shop. Your marketing team can help you get set up on employer review websites like Glassdoor and Indeed, and help encourage employees to submit reviews. You could even offer a small incentive like a gift card to any employee that submits a review.
Another option is to ask some of your employees to do a video testimonial sharing what they love about working at your shop. Your marketing team can help film, edit, and publish the video. This makes for great content on your social media pages and Careers page.
Assess your application process.
Marketing knows all about creating a good user experience online. Leverage that expertise by having your marketing team walk through your application process and look for ways it can be improved.
Some things to assess could be:
- How long does the application process take?
- Are the instructions clear?
- Is it mobile-friendly?
- Do you require applicants to fill out information that can be found in their resume?
- Are there clear next steps?
Integrating Marketing Strategies for Effective Technician Recruitment
Leveraging marketing strategies can significantly enhance your ability to attract and hire skilled technicians. Modern-day recruiting is becoming a lot more like marketing. Incorporating strategies around SEO, content marketing, and social media to your technician recruitment can greatly increase the number of applicants. Remember, while the ultimate goal is to get someone to apply, you first need to get their attention, so focus on the first step and build interest from there.
