When it comes to using digital marketing for recruitment, it's no longer a question of if the tools are valuable, but of how you're going to implement them. Paper resumes are a thing of the past in an age where all of a candidate's data can be found online — however, HR managers are finding it difficult to find talent. Here are some tips on using the tools of digital marketing for recruitment to connect with prospective employees.
Optimize Your Site
Any job-seeker you're interested in will be checking out your website, too — and according to the Pew Center, 28 percent of Americans have used their smartphones to look for a job, and half of them used one to fill out an application. For that reason alone, you want a mobile-ready, quick-to-load site that offers a good user experience. Beyond making a good impression, an optimized site using responsive design will have higher placement in search results.
Utilize Display Ads
Placing display ads on websites still has value in today's marketplace, especially for brand positioning and driving brand recall. Thanks to advances in contextual and behavioral targeting (which allow advertisers to target specific users) and native advertising (branded content designed to blend in on a publisher's site), "banner blindness" doesn't have to be an issue when you want to reach a large audience.
Because of ad exchanges and real-time bidding, it's possible to hyper-target your audience and only buy ad space that's relevant. In an environment where one in five users has ad-blocking software installed (according to the New York Times), it's advisable to work with a trusted partner to develop display ad campaigns.
Retarget Prospective Candidates
Retargeting serves ads to users who have engaged with your company's website in the past. This can help keep your company visible to prospective candidates before they officially apply. Because retargeting serves ads to engaged users, it tends to have a high ROI, and that means more relevant job seekers in your inbox. Additionally, retargeting pools can be segmented to remove those who have taken certain actions, like applying on your site, so that you are not wasting ad impressions against folks who have already converted.
Use PPC
Pay-per-click (PPC) can and should be used to drive web traffic to your company's job postings. Listing boards aren't necessarily the first place people will look for work, and organizations large and small are taking advantage of search engine opportunities. PPC ads allow you to only show ad display to people who have used key phrases you choose, and only pay for those who are interested. They also offer immediate, trackable results that allow you to tweak your campaign until you find just the right candidates.
Promote on Social Media
Some 70 percent of organizations leverage social media as a recruiting strategy, according to the Society for Human Resource Managers. Facebook alone has over a billion daily users, so there can be little doubt that you'll find your candidates there. Social media, like the best of PPC, display and retargeting, offers tools for narrowcasting ads in order to reach prospects who are interested and qualified.
