As the labor shortage drags on, and may even be getting tighter, getting the word out about open positions in your remodeling company is more important than ever. Your recruiting effort is really a marketing function.

In this episode, Jack Jostes drops by to talk with Tim and Steve about going beyond the help-wanted ad to effectively use digital marketing tactics to fill your open positions.

Jack is the author of Get Found Online: the Local Business Owner’s Guide to Digital Marketing, and CEO at Ramblin Jackson, a digital marketing agency in Boulder, CO, that helps remodeling companies and contractors get found online.

In marketing, the key is make your message about what the customer wants, needs, and dreams of. Show them how you’ll solve their problem, identify their pain points and offer them solutions. It’s the same when recruiting. People want to make good money, enjoy their work, and be part of a team. They want job security. Remember that hiring isn’t just about that one person — it’s about their spouse or partner and family.

Knowing that can also help get the word out. If you’re trying to recruit, and a spouse sees it on Facebook or Instagram, they may bring it to the right person’s attention — “here honey, this sounds just like you.” It’s also imperative to make everything easy to find on mobile devices like smartphones. He tells you how to do that, as well as:

• The importance of having a career page on your website
• Using video and YouTube to your advantage
• How to involve your team to get the word out
• Controlling the message
• Positioning your company as a winner online
• And more…

Think of yourself as a storyteller, says Jack, and he how to craft stories that will bring more applications to your inbox.