Speaking to – not at – your audience
Back in the early days of the “World Wide Web,” online marketing was fairly straightforward. It depended largely upon a user clicking through on a banner or link placed within a media channel that was popular with a specific type of audience (similar to a traditional newspaper or magazine ad).
The most forward thinking online marketers were quick to grasp that their ads and promotions would be much more effective if they were served up according to a consumer’s wishes and interests. Soon, tracking and analytics tools became part of the marketing strategy – and were just as important as the message being conveyed. And, as the tools and technologies used to measure interest and effectiveness became more sophisticated, the consumer experience became less like a one-way transaction and more like a back and forth conversation.
A different strategy for a different world
Thanks to digital transformation, the conversational (or personalization) aspect of online marketing is more evolved than ever. Today a consumer no longer expects to spend time searching for the most relevant information about a particular product or service. After making an initial inquiry, they expect that content to be delivered to THEM.
Amazon, Expedia and similar sites have set a high benchmark for the consumer-centric experience. And it’s something your best candidates now expect as well. Say goodbye to the transactional “post and pray” reality of the past and welcome to the brave new world of candidate personalization!As consumers themselves (not of products or services, but career opportunities) your candidates expect a seamless, fully integrated experience - however, wherever and whenever they connect with your organization. And the results speak for themselves: a recent WorkTrends survey, administered by IBM found that candidates who are satisfied with their experience are 38 percent more likely to accept a job offer.
Technology is key
Thankfully, there are software solutions available right now that leverage AI and machine learning to make personalization simple, seamless and (for your recruiters) automatic. By capturing very basic information (like an email address) you can now know a potential candidate’s
- Geographic location
- Career areas of interest
- Education/specialization
- Language preference
- Preferred devices (desktop, laptop, tablet, smartphone, etc.)
- Hobbies and interests
Take your EVP and run (your campaign) with it!
As with any consumer product or service, a lot of the success depends upon strong brand recognition/identification and a unique selling point. That’s where your EVP and employer brand come into play. They’re also a valuable retention tool for the people already working in your organization (since current employees who align with you EVP can be brand ambassadors for getting your message out to their peers).Using your EVP and employer brand as the foundation (along with your candidate’s profile) you can build a personalized campaign that nurtures top talent at every step of their journey - and drives them to greater levels of engagement at every touchpoint:
- Personalized home pages
- Enhanced job descriptions
- Job alerts and recommendations
- Employee “Day in the Life” videos
- Automated Email Drip Campaigns
- A checkout style apply process
At Symphony Talent, we’re advocates of the personalized, candidate-centric experience and have developed a suite of proprietary tools and services that bring the power of candidate personalization to your recruiting strategy. Listen to our free webinar on-demand to learn how Memorial Healthcare System is leveraging this in their talent acquisition strategy and redefining how they attract, hire and engage quality talent in the competitive healthcare landscape.
