HR Trends in Marketing & Social Networking

HRmarketer has released its Trends in HR Marketing report, “Where HR Suppliers Spent their Marketing and PR Dollars in 2008 and What’s Ahead in 2009.” The report collected data based on responses from a diverse group of HR and employee benefits suppliers during Q4 of 2008.

What Worked During 2008

The report asked respondents what marketing and PR activities they used in 2008 and what they plan to use in 2009. Direct e-mail marketing was the favored tactic and will continue to be in 2009, followed by search engine optimization and distributing regular monthly press releases to media contacts and over a wire service.

The report also found the marketing tactics growing the most include Web 2.0 activities such as Webcasts and Webinars, blogging and podcasting, as well as using social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. The use of self-published original content, such as white papers, eBooks and research reports, also showed considerable growth.

The tactics decreasing the most in popularity include print advertising and print direct marketing, trade show exhibiting and sponsorship.

The top five “must have” marketing and PR tactics were: direct e-mail marketing, search engine optimization, self-publishing original content, speaking at conferences and Webcasts and Webinars. The top five “replaceable” marketing and PR tactics were: print advertising, print direct marketing, podcasting, online display advertising and paid buyer guide listings. Tactics that were seen as “not important” include: sponsoring analyst research, applying for awards, print advertising and trade show sponsorship.

Budgets and Sales

The report found that most companies plan to keep their budgets the same in 2009. Marketing activities to see the biggest budget increases include: direct e-mail marketing, online advertising, Webcasts, search engine optimization and self-publishing original content. Those to see the biggest budget decreases include: trade show exhibiting, print advertising and trade show sponsorship.

In terms of sales, the report found that lead-generating activities include: direct e-mail marketing, search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising and self-published original content. The biggest challenges respondents faced were: generating more qualified leads, increasing online visibility, properly allocating the marketing budget and keeping the marketing budget intact.

Respondents felt that lead generation, Web site traffic and brand recognition were the most important metrics used to determine the effectiveness of their marketing and PR tactics.

Public Relations

When it comes to the use of press releases, only 24 percent of respondents said they contract with an outside PR firm or marketing agency, a decrease from 41 percent last year. Of those who do contract with outside agencies, 54 percent are satisfied with the firm’s effectiveness, 4 percent are not satisfied, down from 15 percent last year, and 32 percent have been working with the firm for more than two years.

Of those who contract with outside PR companies, 33 percent pay a monthly retainer fee of $3,000; 25 percent pay between $3,000 and $5,000 and 13 percent pay more than $7,000. Only 36 percent of vendors do not send out press releases, down from 51 percent last year and 65 percent do not search optimize the releases.

The report found that most vendors keep up-to-date on HR news by reading general business press, HR Web sites and eNewsletters. About 31 percent said they visit these sources each day, while 30 percent read the sources each day. This year, 22 percent of respondents said they read blogs daily, compared to 12 percent last year, while 36 percent rarely read blogs, compared to 45 percent last year.

Social Networking

When it comes to social networking, 60 percent of respondents said they participate and 80 percent of vendors said their social networking use increased during 2008 and will continue to increase during 2009. LinkedIn is used by 93 percent of companies, followed by Facebook at 70 percent.

About 82 percent of respondents said they don’t measure the ROI from participation in social networking. The number one benefit of social networking was listed as thought leadership marketing, followed by brand marketing, low-cost viral marketing and the ability to communicate with customers.

Looking Ahead

As for the year to come, 41 percent of respondents were “somewhat optimistic” about the overall health of the HR marketplace, down from 60 percent last year. Only 9 percent were “very optimistic,” compared to 30 percent last year. About 19 percent felt “pessimistic” about the future, compared to 2 percent last year.