There are numerous avenues available when looking to fulfil a recruitment requirement. The majority of these are well known and have been discussed at great length. One strategy that doesn’t fall into this category is paid media.
Despite the concept being well documented over recent years, it continues to be largely overlooked for recruitment needs. Google, Facebook and LinkedIn, amongst others, offer strong advertising capabilities. Therefore, considering the wealth of options available, the current lack of use is somewhat surprising.
What is behind the current reluctance?
So, what is preventing businesses from taking advantage of paid media advertising for their recruitment? There are a number of potential explanations, but a lack of understanding features high on the list.
A likely scenario is that decision-makers are concluding that there is insufficient knowledge within their organisation to adequately set up, and maintain, a successful paid media campaign. With the complexities that accompany the day-to-day running of these channels, it’s unsurprising that this is proving challenging.
Which aspects are discouraging the use of paid media?
Even though an increasing number of organisations recognise the importance of paid social media, they also understand the need for expertise in the area.
There are several potential pitfalls when attempting to run a successful campaign, and mistakes can be easy to make when not experienced in the area. There must be consideration shown to the locations to target, the campaign goals to set, the tracking of users who have visited the landing page, the call to action and the media channels to utilise. Failure to acknowledge any one of these aspects can significantly harm the success of a campaign.
How can this barrier be cleared?
However, there is a straightforward solution to this problem; partnering with a specialist recruitment marketing company. By doing so, the creation of your campaign, as well as the daily maintenance necessary to maximise success, are all handled on your behalf. Not only will this ensure adverts are optimised to target the largest and most relevant audiences, but it will also significantly increase the likelihood of good quality applications being harvested.
Another option open to businesses is the use of an RPO provider. RPO, of course, means much more than just handling paid media campaigns, but it can certainly fall into the overall offering.
All aspects of the recruitment campaign can be managed, from the construction of a landing page to the creation of assets to advertise across the most appropriate paid media channels. Such specialisms highlight the value of an RPO provider and the crucial role they can have in ensuring the success of your recruitment campaign.
Witness the success of consumer marketing
How often have you witnessed adverts on the internet related to products or services you have recently searched for? No doubt, countless times. In turn, has that ever prompted you to click through to the page and purchase that item or take advantage of that offer? Most likely. This is a classic example of remarketing.
By retargeting ads to individuals who have recently visited a site, there is a higher probability that the final action will be taken. If an individual has already displayed interest, an additional reminder could be all that’s required to tempt that person into eventually making that all important purchase.
How can it be replicated in recruitment?
A similar approach can also work effectively in recruitment. As a job seeker or passive candidate, you’re likely to come across a whole host of job advertisements while searching the internet. Within that, you may click through to roles which sound of potential interest. However, that will not always translate into an application being made.
In many cases, the timing may not be right to make a move, even if the proposition sounds like an interesting one. Despite this, if served the ad again at a later date through remarketing, it not only reminds the individual of the opportunity, it could represent an appropriate time to register.
Consequently, a similar degree of success can be enjoyed as is experienced with consumer marketing.
Don’t let a shortage of expertise be a roadblock
The digital transformation process taking place at the moment should provide a great incentive to give the green light on utilising paid media. Without doing so, you risk missing out on much of the top talent. By failing to open up your proposition to a broader audience, the quality of responses is likely to be significantly reduced.
Don’t let a lack of expertise within your business prevent you from adopting paid media strategies to propel your recruitment campaign.
This is the first instalment of a blog series exploring the subject of paid media within the recruitment industry, so look out for more over the coming weeks.
Written by Tom Chapman, Digital Marketing Executive at Talent Works International. For more information, contact tom.chapman@talent-works.com.
