In the rapidly evolving recruitment marketplace, 2024 presents unprecedented challenges and opportunities for hiring professionals. As statistics indicate a shifting paradigm in candidate behavior and competition for talent continues to intensify, companies must reassess their recruitment strategies to stay ahead.
According to Indeed’s Job Postings Index, as of November 2023, hiring was down 22.5% from its December 31, 2021 peak, and the federal government reported that hiring was down 20.6% from its March 2022 high. This has been due to companies successfully filling positions, which is giving rise to fiercer competition among employers. Moving into 2024, recruiting is being characterized by heightened competition for quality candidates. According to recent statistics, 79% of job seekers actively engage with companies through social media platforms and carefully assess employer branding and online presence. In this era of digital transformation, recruitment marketing professionals need to understand the evolving dynamics and tailor their strategies accordingly.
Why should companies adjust their recruitment marketing for 2024? Because recruitment is no longer a sheer numbers game; it's a game of strategy. In the face of evolving technologies and changing candidate expectations, companies must review and adjust their recruitment strategies for the new year. Their focus should shift from a volume-based approach to a quality-driven one.
Programmatic job advertising has emerged as a beacon of efficiency, offering a strategic solution to reach the right candidates at the right time through a data-driven approach. This article will delve into the process of optimizing existing recruitment marketing methods in order to make programmatic job advertising most effective.
Before embarking on the journey of employing successful programmatic job advertising, companies and recruiters must begin with a thorough appraisal of the existing recruitment marketing. This could be called the discovery and appraisal phase, and it involves a meticulous examination of strategies, the employer brand, and its presence across various platforms.
Social media, company websites, and employer profiles are crucial in shaping candidate perceptions. Here, companies should perform a comprehensive evaluation of all of these media, ensuring that these contain up-to-date information and the appropriate messaging. This is particularly important in the case of social media, where format and language can vary widely (e.g., LinkedIn vs. TikTok).
Highlighting the employer value proposition (EVP) is also essential, as this is the bedrock upon which a compelling narrative is built to attract top talent. The EVP should be effectively communicated across all the media and platforms used by the company and recruitment marketers.
Understanding where ideal candidates dwell in the digital landscape is equally important. Here, candidate personas can serve as invaluable tools, enabling professionals to decipher the preferences and online behaviors of their target audiences. This also goes a long way toward avoiding wasteful ad spend on platforms that do not resonate with the desired talent pool.
Digital connectivity has redefined the recruitment paradigm; thus, recruitment continues to undergo a profound transformation. For companies, optimizing visibility online has become imperative. Methods and media that play integral roles in amplifying visibility include:
Generalist job boards, such as Indeed and ZipRecruiter, provide a broad platform for recruiters to reach a large and diverse pool of potential candidates. These platforms are advantageous for casting a wide net and attracting candidates with various skill sets and backgrounds, making them suitable for various roles.
Niche job boards, like Dice for tech professionals or Behance for creative talent, are instrumental in targeting job seekers from specific industries or with a unique skill set. They enable recruiters to connect with a more focused and qualified audience, ensuring that job postings reach individuals with the precise skills and experiences sought for particular roles.
Leveraging paid advertising on social networks, like LinkedIn or Facebook, allows recruiters to tap into vast user bases and target advertisements based on demographic and professional criteria. This approach facilitates reaching passive candidates – those potential hires who may not actively be seeking new opportunities but could be enticed by relevant job advertisements in their social media feeds.
Creating comprehensive employer profiles on platforms like Glassdoor and LinkedIn enhances recruitment marketing by providing a transparent view of the company culture, values, and employee experiences. Positive employer branding attracts top talent, as candidates are more likely to be interested in organizations that showcase a positive work environment and employee satisfaction. This is an opportunity to use high-quality collateral like pictures and videos.
Banner and display ads, strategically placed on industry-related websites or within relevant online communities, can significantly increase the visibility of job openings. These visual advertisements capture attention and drive traffic to specific job listings, helping recruiters stand out in a competitive job market and fostering brand recognition.
Programmatic job advertising is becoming recognized as the pinnacle of efficiency in reaching the right candidates in the right places, and is one of the best and easiest ways to engage with active job seekers.
It has been forecasted that the global Programmatic Job Advertising Software Market will rise significantly between now and 2031. In 2021, the market grew steadily, and with the rising adoption of strategies by key players, it is expected to continue to rise. The global Programmatic Job Advertising Software market size was valued at $828.3 million in 2022 and is expected to reach 7.61 billion by 2028 (LinkedIn).
According to the Society for Human Relations Management (SHRM), in 2021, 57% of companies that were using programmatic advertising planned to increase their investment in the technology. This trend has been seen as a direct result of the fact that programmatic job advertising maximizes return on investment and improves recruitment marketing and talent acquisition efforts.
In addition to running programmatic job advertising campaigns on job sites, there is also proactive outreach to engage with candidates in unique ways, which include:
SMS text message campaigns for recruitment marketing offer a direct and immediate way to engage potential candidates. Recruiters can quickly communicate essential job details to a targeted audience using concise and compelling messages. SMS campaigns are particularly effective for reaching passive candidates who are harder to reach as they are less active on job boards and may not regularly check their email as frequently as active job seekers. SMS is also helpful for people who are in fast-paced jobs who cannot always make it to a computer but would still like to learn about a company or proceed with scheduling interviews.
Email campaigns remain a cornerstone of recruitment marketing due to their versatility and widespread use. Recruiters can leverage targeted email campaigns to share detailed information about job openings, company culture, and benefits. Personalized and visually appealing emails create a lasting impression, fostering a sense of connection with potential candidates. Additionally, email campaigns allow for ongoing communication.
Streamlining the application process through concise forms on landing pages and easy application methods is crucial for attracting quality candidates. Short forms and easy apply reduce friction, making it more likely for candidates to complete the application swiftly. Landing pages can be optimized to highlight key aspects of the job and company, ensuring that candidates get a quick overview of what makes the opportunity compelling.
Leveraging the data within the application tracking system (ATS) is a powerful method for identifying and engaging potential candidates. Recruiters can use the ATS to search for candidates with specific skills, experience, or qualifications, ensuring a targeted approach to recruitment. By analyzing the data in the ATS, recruiters can also identify trends, optimize their talent acquisition strategy, and build a pipeline of candidates for future roles.
Launching a multifaceted recruitment campaign is not the end; it's the beginning of an iterative process. Regularly checking the performance data of all campaigns is essential to discern what is working and what needs adjustment. Analyzing candidate behavior during the application process also guides improvements; shortening application forms or utilizing short forms can streamline the candidate funnel.
Moreover, this phase is an opportune time to scrutinize the hiring process itself. Assessing the turnaround time for converting qualified applicants into full-time hires ensures efficiency and aligns with the expectations of a fast-paced job market. Flexibility is critical, and the ability to adapt strategies based on real-time data distinguishes the successful recruitment professionals in this digital age.
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In today’s recruitment ecosystem, programmatic job advertising stands out as a beacon of innovation, offering recruitment marketing professionals a powerful tool to navigate the complexities of the 2024 landscape. By embracing this data-driven approach, companies can discover the right talent and engage with them through a targeted and effective media mix.
The team at Recruitics is here to help recruitment marketers looking to build data-driven recruitment strategies. Recruitics’ programmatic advertising solutions help organizations target job seekers across a diverse mix of job sites and platforms, so that they can facilitate breakthrough job ad performance and more cost-effective recruiting.
