Where are all the candidates now?

Need to hire? Have you just written a job ad and are you about to post it on your usual job board? WAIT! 2021 has shaken things up and there’s a lot of ‘new normal’ to come to terms with. Not least of which is a really tough recruitment market and a desperate shortage of applicants across many sectors.

Many companies are finding that ‘just doing what you’ve always done’ is no longer getting results. If you need staff now, then you don’t have time (or money) to waste on running the same job ad over and over trying to attract the right candidate.

Fortunately, technology has kept moving throughout the COVID crisis and so has the way people use it. If you want to get your advert in front of job seekers AND get them to complete an application, there are more fresh and more engaging ways to do it than just putting an ad on Seek. Here are three ideas to think about:

1. Use video

Compared to a static advert, videos are more engaging, they allow you to convey more information and when it comes to social media, they are proven to have a better click-through rate. In the words of the Facebook Marketing team, “there's a video ad for any business, any budget, any goal.”

If that goal is to promote your job vacancy and get applications, why not use video to tell a story about your team and what’s great about working for you?

Big Splash helps customers use video to promote their vacancies to their target demographic on Tik Tok, Facebook and Google. Our use of video for HR teams in 2021 has expanded by more than 50%, with the results speaking for themselves. We’re seeing higher candidate interest in campaigns when video is involved.

Even if your HR team isn’t quite ready to move to totally visual ad mediums, think about video as a supplement to your traditional campaign. It can support a written ad and help with conversion from interest to application.

2. Tik Tok

Tik Tok is a social media phenomenon based on sharing of amateur videos. In September 2021, it announced that it had over 1 billion global users: 63% of whom are under 30 – and it’s growing fast.

Advertisers in all sectors who are trying to reach the elusive youth demographic know that ‘traditional’ media isn’t necessarily the best place to put their dollars and the HR sector is no exception, especially when you are trying to reach ‘passive’ candidates who are not actively looking for a new role.

For companies trying to fill entry-level and ‘early stage of career’ roles (think hospitality, retail, apprentices, drivers, etc.), there’s a good reason to consider Tik Tok as an option. As experts in recruitment advertising, we are seeing our job ad videos on Tik Tok generally have a higher and deeper engagement than Facebook ads, the session duration is longer, the bounce rate is lower and the ‘start application’ rate is higher.

It’s early days for Tik Tok when it comes to advertising and they are still doing a lot of work to deliver features employers need, like specific geo-targeting. But for some campaigns, with expert advice, it’s definitely one for HR teams to watch.

3. Facebook Apply

The tech revolution has affected more than just a redistribution of ad revenue. Candidates expect the process to be fast and easy. They are less patient and less motivated to jump through hoops. They expect a better application process.

There’s another important driver in this attitude change. With the rise of internet access via mobiles (now 53%), it stands to reason that the number of candidates who have access to a desktop to upload a Word or PDF CV will be declining. This means a ‘paperless’ application process that can be done entirely on mobile phones will become a necessity. If your organisation doesn’t have a plan for how to adapt, now’s the time to start thinking about it, or risk declining application numbers.

Facebook Apply is a feature in its infancy, but starting to gain traction with recruitment professionals. Essentially a ‘call to action’ at the end of a video job advert, it allows a candidate to express interest and be contacted for a chat. Quick and very candidate friendly.

Watch this space.

As experts in recruitment advertising, Big Splash keeps our finger on the pulse to ensure we’re recommending the smartest options for employers. Unlike a mainstream advertising or Ad Words agency, we don’t sell widgets. We spend 100% of our time helping companies connect with job seekers and we are pretty good at it. Since 2002, we’ve worked with over 800 media across AU and NZ, helping our clients to get on with doing what they do best.

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