There’s no doubt that recruitment agencies are sitting on a wealth of important information, even if not all of them realise the full value of it. While recruiters will certainly be drawing on their own knowledge and the data in their CRM to help them source, shortlist, interview and place candidates, agencies will also benefit from sharing their understanding of the hiring landscape more widely. At BlueSky PR, we know that a great way for a business to position itself as an industry expert is by highlighting its unique insights into candidate and client behaviour. Here are our top tips for making the most of the information that you have.

When pub chain JD Wetherspoon recently announced its decision to shut down all of its social media channels – including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram – with immediate effect, it raised eyebrows, not least from those who understand how a presence on those platforms can add value to a business, if they are used strategically. Chairman Tim Martin said, in a now deleted tweet, “We are going against conventional wisdom that these platforms are a vital component of a successful business,” adding that the managers of its 900 pub branches agreed with him. He later told a journalist that, "On a commercial basis, it saves people in the company time and that will enable them to get on with their own jobs." Devise a social media strategy There are a few puzzling things about this decision. Firstly, Wetherspoons had more than 44,000 Twitter followers and more than 100,000 followers on Facebook. Clearly, there was an interest from customers in having social media engagement with the brand. However, interactions on these platforms were very moderate, with many posts receiving only a handful of likes. For a big company with so many followers, such a low level of engagement should have raised a red flag indicating that it hadn’t mastered the art of delivering relevant content to its followers which truly engaged them. The demand was there, but the social media strategy clearly wasn’t. Businesses need to have a clear idea of who they are targeting, what they want to say and how best to convey that message. If The Museum of English Rural Life can achieve nearly 107,000 likes (and counting) with its perfectly judged tweet about a ram, then Wetherspoons really needed to be thinking more creatively and aiming for far higher levels of engagement, adjusting the strategy if it wasn’t appearing to work.

Most businesses will find themselves dealing with a difficult public relations event at some point and some may experience a full-blown crisis, such as data theft, cyber-crime or internal malpractice coming to light. In our digital age, news goes viral almost instantaneously, meaning that the implementation of a swift and effective crisis management strategy is essential. The wrong approach can irreversibly damage your brand and its relationship with clients and business partners. One example of a PR disaster is Oxfam. PR Week says that, “As far as communications crises go, the latest Oxfam scandal has it all: public and media outcry, criticism from corporate partners, and serious questions from parliament and regulators.” Senior figures at the charity paid local prostitutes while on business in Haiti in 2011, which was reported on by The Times. The organisation has been heavily criticised because although it investigated the events at the time, it didn’t disclose them to a number of stakeholders and regulators. More examples of PR disasters

This year’s Edelman Trust Barometer - which measures trust across a number of institutions, sectors and geographies – reveals that social media companies have lost the trust of the public. In fact only a quarter of the UK population now say that they trust social media as a source of news and information. However there has been a huge increase in trust in traditional media (61%), reaching levels not seen since 2012, as well as a rebound in trust in experts and leaders. So what does this all mean for recruitment marketers? Media coverage matters Well first and foremost, no one is saying that social media isn’t important – it is obviously a fantastic way to broadcast your message – however what is more crucial than ever given Edelman’s research is that the content and messages you are broadcasting have credibility. And how do you get that credibility? One way is through appearing in the press that your target audiences read, trust, and turn to for information. PR is just a cost Despite this, however, many recruitment marketers that are only too eager to get their company featured in the press are prevented from doing so effectively. And it boils down to the same argument we hear time and time again. PR is deemed a cost rather an investment, a vanity project, and something that doesn’t help the business development strategy and deliver leads. The result is that too many agencies shy away from traditional media relations, instead opting for advertorials or nothing at all. So at a time when Edelman’s research clearly demonstrates that media really does matter, how can marketers get press coverage and, crucially, demonstrate its ROI? Getting press coverage…and effectively leveraging it

When many think of PR, they instantly think ‘press release’. Well, yes they certainly do form part of the public relations mix, but there is so much more and companies need to be looking to get much more out of a press release and make the most of their PR activities. Is it newsworthy? First and foremost, if you are going to put the time and energy into writing a press release, it really must have a news angle. You might consider the fact that you have launched a new website or refurbished your office is fantastic news, but believe me journalists won’t! Think about what there is an appetite for and craft a release based on this. Your target audience is seeking advice and information on subjects that will help them in their day to day job. Think about what data you have access to – salary levels, skills in demand, pooling & pipelining and diversity - and use that to form a release about the market you operate in. This will have far more appeal and position you as an expert in your respective field. Once you have a good, crucially, newsworthy press release, here are my top tips on how you can get much more out of a press release:

The top five PR and marketing tips your recruitment business shouldn’t ignore Whilst the recession certainly reduced the size of the UK staffing sector, today’s market is crowded and full of agencies vying to compete with and overtake their competition. Despite this, however, too few look at PR and marketing as a tool to not only differentiate themselves from their competitors, but to also position themselves as the ‘go to agency’ for clients seeking staff and for candidates looking for their next role. There is perhaps a tendency to view marketing and PR as a time consuming and often costly exercise they can do without. Wrong. If done effectively, it can help a staffing company reach its objectives and facilitate growth. Here are my top five tips: Create original, engaging content Perhaps an obvious statement, but any material you create – whether this is a newsletter, mailer, brochure, or media article – needs to not only be compelling, but it also needs to grab the reader’s attention. Like me, most of you will be inundated with content from third parties and, if they fail to draw me in, they not only don’t get read but the brand in question doesn’t strike me as an authoritative voice in their market. Your content needs to be engaging and offer the audience added value. Target your content correctly

As a woman who took a relatively lengthy career break to care for my children, I was interested to learn about the launch of a new scheme by Credit Suisse in London to help senior professional women re-start their careers after taking time out of the workplace. Dubbed the “returnship”, the Real Returns programme is the first UK example of an idea which has been gathering pace in the US over the last few years. The scheme involves returners taking on CV-worthy projects that draw on their existing skills and experience and being paid accordingly. It’s effectively putting a toe back in the water of the corporate world, allowing women - who have perhaps lost confidence in their abilities - the opportunity to prove that they’ve still got what it takes to succeed and that it is actually possible to juggle corporate life and a family. 70% of women fear taking a career break This story really struck a chord with me personally, as believe me, when you’ve been out of the corporate world for a good few years, the prospect of going back is a daunting one indeed. Once you’ve jumped off the train, it’s very hard to jump back on. In fact, a recent survey from London Business School shows 70% of women fear taking a career break. Nagging doubts about whether you can still do your job, whether you’ll be up to speed with new technology and how you’ll combine a working day with the working day you usually put in as the primary carer are more than enough to put you off even looking for a role. Female brain drain I know of far too many professional women –experienced, bright, capable and very well-organised – who have never returned to work after having a family. Not only is this a great loss to the professional world and the wider economy, but it’s also a personal loss for these ladies. All of that brain power, time invested in studying - in most cases for a degree or professional qualification – not to mention years spent climbing the career ladder, potentially sidelined for a future of domestic drudgery or a low-paid job for which they are massively over-qualified!

As recruiters look to maintain a competitive advantage, get in front of key clients and attract some of the best candidates, many will turn to PR for support. However, it is all too common to find organisations jumping head first into PR without the necessary in depth planning. Any communications activities such as this are strategic, long term investments which will require a level of forethought in order to be truly successful. So, if you're looking at PR as an option, what do you need to consider? Take a look at our top five tips we shared with TIRA readers:

What is your definition of PR? In our monthly team meeting here at BlueSky we discussed the various clients we have and what level of PR support we provide them. One interesting question that was raised was do our clients, and do people on the whole get PR? If you asked 10 people how they defined PR I am pretty sure that the vast majority would say it was getting an organisation’s name into the news.