“I want to rank on the top of the first page of Google because we can’t fill our job orders.”
“I don’t see our company’s name at the number one spot on Google when I type staffing agencies in our city. No one knows we have open jobs!”
“Google AdWords must be the answer!”
You would be surprised how many times businesses make those comments. It is just one example, but the same principle holds with Facebook advertising, LinkedIn advertising or any online advertising and marketing tactic.
With the challenge of candidate recruitment, staffing agencies and businesses jump to a conclusion with the hope of finding results. Jumping to a conclusion in marketing strategies typically doesn’t lead to the desired results. Let’s take a step back and ask a different question.
What is your goal? What is your staffing agency’s business goal? Do you have a SMART goal?
After that discussion about goals, we can then dive into strategy and tactics.
PREMIUM CONTENT: May Staffing Industry Report Webinar replay
SMART Goals
Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound goals require a different mindset. Traditional business goals are “we want to grow the clerical side of our company this year” or “we want to open an industrial division.”
Those goals are a start, but they aren’t what we need to really develop the right marketing tactic, whether it’s pay-per-click advertising, email marketing, social media or any other tactic.
A SMART goal is “We want to place 240 employees in industrial staffing by the end of 2018.”
Those are SMART goals. A variety of different marketing strategies and tactics will work. Let’s dig into online advertising.
Examples of PPC Tactics That Will Help
Let’s stick to some simple math. If it’s the month of May, the industrial staffing goal means we have eight months to place 240 employees, or 30 employees per month. That seems attainable, but my next question would be “How many applications do we need to get to 30 employees?” Is it a 3-1 ratio? 5-1? 10-1? Let’s say it’s 5-1.
That means we need to get 150 applications per month to reach that 30 employees on assignment. We can use that information to create a tactic and a strategy to help the staffing agency reach its SMART goal.
Now, how do we get those employees?
We can drive people back to the Job Board on your well-optimized and mobile-friendly website. That is where your jobs are located and that’s the place we want to get them to apply. Consider a retargeting option on Facebook (and maybe Google) where you show recruitment ads and jobs to people in your candidate database or to recent website visitors. (Remember – returning website visitors convert 2X more often when compared to new website visitors!) Think about showing ads to Facebook users in your geographic market with interests related to your job openings. (Don’t target anything that could be a protected class – be very conservative here!)
We could use a lead generation technique to recruit candidates. Display your ads in the Facebook space, have a form pop up when they click on the ad and only make them complete a short form. Name, email and phone number is quick, easy and won’t be a barrier to apply. A frustrating mobile experience won’t lead to desired results.
People are spending at least 50 minutes per day on Facebook and Instagram. They are spending most (if not all that time) on their mobile device. Go where they are and make the candidate experience easy or they are going to your competitor.
Meeting Your SMART Goal
We started with the problem of candidate recruitment, which is plaguing the recruitment world right now. The first thought was to go to Google because we need candidates and it seems like a natural fit.
But we needed to take a step back and get back to the SMART goal of finding 240 employees (and a resulting 1,200 applications) in the industrial division by the end of the year. Knowing that specific information helped create a plan that can deliver the desired results.
MORE: Use your ATS to re-activate past candidates
