Is your company using a Text Campaign?

If not, consider what a text campaign can offer your company.

• Text messages may be as long as 140 characters with spaces.
  
• Subscriber database is available to client for phone numbers.
  
• Subscriber list is not distributed to anyone else.
  
• Subscribers can be reached at any time, whether print or radio is running or not
  
• Offers ability to gauge reaction to current print and radio campaigns
  
• Offers flexible options for last minute events
  
• Easy to push hard to fill positions and spotlight them
  
• Don’t have to advertise events, but also specific positions
  
• When sending texts, you can target all or select markets
  
• Candidates can pass the job text on to friends by either forwarding information or simply passing the text number on
  
• People carry their cell phones with them everywhere
  
• You receive a direct line to active candidates
  
• Candidates are selecting to receive your message, this is not unwanted spam!
  
• Very few companies have used texting in their recruitment media mix, be one of the first!

MOBILE - Smart Phones and Senior Positions

ThoughtGadgets.com just posted an article about the use of smart phones and their demographics. This is a great opportunity to take SMS marketing and senior position recruitment into consideration.
Senior positions are notoriously difficult to recruit for but if you are able to get your foot in the door and start a dialogue and building a bond with them or even just keep them posted to your activities and let them know of the opportunities available to them, you liken your chance for that of a transfer.
It takes a lot to get them to take that first step away from a company they have been with for a while. You have to address their frustrations with their current company but in a way that they will not jump in to defend it, offering a sympathetic voice, possibly one of other employees that left others to come to your company.
Then take a chance to address the opportunities and your unique selling points of your company in contrast to their current frustrations. Show them what they have to benefit by coming to your company.
Time, investment and a lot of effort go into building a career within a company and it is important to understand everything that the candidates have done to achieve their position. A simple $2,000 sign on bonus on top of what they are already making doesn’t really compare to 15 years of experience and loyalty.
It is not just the aspects of the job that should be addressed, but also the location and ways it can benefit their family. You are not just selling a job with your company but a chance for a lifestyle change.
Much of this depends on more than a simple SMS text, but it is the text that potentially opens the door for the rest of your message by drawing on a willing and interested audience.

MOBILE - The danger of mobile recruiting? Not doing it.

Kristine Rhodes, blogger and a member of the ERE Community, posted a great article about the importance of mobile recruiting. She addresses some of the top myths about mobile recruitment including cost, audience and the idea of it being invasive. Check the post out at: http://community.ere.net/blogs/kristine/2010/02/the-danger-of-mobile-recruiting-not-doing-it/

MOBILE - mobile past, present and future

VIDEO - CHEEZHEAD.com's the slice 4.30.09

Mobile Recruiting 101: Basic Q&A

Jim Stroud posted a great article Q&A covering SMS and Mobile recruiting. It covers a wide range of questions and talks about how to apply it towards your campaign and even if the medium fits your campaign. Great article for a constantly growing market.

http://www.therecruiterslounge.com/2009/04/06/mobile-recruiting-101-basic-qa/

PRINT / MOBILE - Can mobile save print classifieds?

Here's a great article talking about the power of combining mobile marketing with print advertising. Cheezehead: Can mobile save print classifieds? Rather than online taking viewers away from print, print advertising combined with mobile marketing can be an effective way to route your candidates to your online corporate and social networking websites. It is important that you maintain your brand offline—through print—in order to build brand awareness and encourage candidates to stay in-tuned, receiving your updates. By providing them alternative ways—on all media spectrums—to receive immediate updates and information about your company, keeps you at the top of their minds. The info you provide can be anywhere from job fairs, openings, or events your company takes part in. After all, we are in an age where we feel the need to have information at the tip of our fingers at any given moment. A simple way to direct job seekers to online or start receiving your updates through their phones, is posting a number that they can text in, at the bottom of your ads as well as mentioning it during your radio spots. It's a fun and interactive way for job seekers to become involved and informed about your company. What are your thoughts?

MOBILE - txt ‘now’ 4 recruiting pwr

This is a new article touching briefly on the potential uses of texting for marketing and recruiting. It will certainly be interesting to see the kinds of applications that will be available to candidates on their phones in the coming year. Is your company currently using any kind of mobile marketing? What are you main concerns? What do you like best about it?

http://www.cheezhead.com/2009/01/21/ved-txt-now-for-recruiting-power/

NON-TRADITIONAL - SMS Recruitment Text Messaging

In advertising, your goal is to reach out to your audience and engage them in an active dialogue that leaves them with a positive impression towards your company. SMS Text Messaging offers you an excellent connection and helps to kick start your conversation with consumers and potential candidates. This process is already strong in Asia and the UK and it's slow creep has started in America.

How does this process work?

1. You purchase a number unique to your company that mobile phone users can text to.


2. You then pick out key words to be texted to your number that kick off certain return messages. ex: "Job Fair" "Store 87" "Site 25"


3. Post this number and the desired key word on billboards, print ads and anywhere you are running placements.


4. When a candidate spots your message and texts the key word to the number they will receive an initial message. The messages usually run 140-150 characters long. This includes spaces! This is how all the shortened words showed up like THX (thanks.)


5. After this initial message you can direct them to an additional number allowing them to receive extra information.


6. Sometimes you are able to then hold on to these numbers and send out additional texts with updates about positions open, new job fairs or updates to your website. The key is moderation; don't leave a bad taste in your candidate's mouth by bombarding them with repetitive messages. They are probably having to pay for each one you send.


7. Metrics and measurements of who is calling and from what area are occasionally available at the end of your purchase or throughout the life of your campaign. Take advantage of this and review where and when your hits are strongest. Consider this research when building for the next campaign.

Patriot has currently been developing quite a few of these campaigns and the requests for it continue to grow. If you have questions about the process, just leave a comment!

Have a great weekend!

RECRUITMENT VIDEO - Recruiting Videos Allow Potential Candidates to Feel the Passion

ERE's Dr. John Sullivan has posted an extremely strong article on using recruitment videos to help attract candidates and convey the atmosphere of your company effectively.

Different types of branding and recruitment videos are listed and it might help when trying to figure out where to start. There is also a very well composed list of content to include in your video like mentioning your company’s technology, using employee generated videos and displaying the unique aspects of your work place.

They make an important point of including slight flaws of the company to help keep the image of the company grounded without inflating expectations. No company is perfect and by acknowledging this, it helps with the human connection between your company and your candidates. Let them know if something about the job might not be so pleasant, like long hours, but reinforce how employees are properly rewarded for their hard work and dedication.

I somewhat disagree with one of the last points about searching for negative videos and requesting that they be taken down. If an employee is posting a negative video on their blog or Youtube, yes you would be within right to ask them to revise or request it be taken it down but by doing so, it could work against you by appearing to be a company that heavily censors their employees. By at least matching the negative videos with your own, you are able to present many aspects of your company to potential candidates and with the information provided they are able to make their own judgments towards your company. One general company video versus an independent employee’s video may look like a valid statement and something to consider. Ten detailed employment videos over a broad spectrum of your company versus and independent employee’s video might cast the shade of a simply disgruntled employee. The information is out there and they are able to see the facts from both sides and they make their own informed decision.

Review the article and let us know your thoughts.

http://www.ere.net/2008/08/11/recruiting-videos-allow-potential-candidates-to-feel-the-passion/

NON-TRADITIONAL - CareerBuilder On Verge Of Offering Job Search On iPhones

CareerBuilder continues to reach out in innovative ways to all sorts of job seekers. Job seekers will soon be able to access CareerBuilder's database through their iPhone. Candidates will be able to bookmark and favorite the jobs that strike there interest, leaving them available for more browsing later from either their mobile or viewing the account from their computer. Browsing is not at an additional cost and seekers are only charged at the data-transfer rate on their mobile's contract.

This is a small step in the direction of approaching an audience through mobiles but the possibilities are what make this so striking.

For more information, visit: http://www.ere.net/2008/06/11/careerbuilder-on-verge-of-offering-job-search-on-iphones/