With 7 million open jobs in the US (US BL&S,11/5/2019), companies of all sizes have found themselves in a war for talent. Fewer active job seekers mean lower visits to job boards, fewer views to job postings, and of course fewer applicants to add to your pipeline. In a talent ecosystem built on a “Butts in Seats” mentality, companies who simply rely on posting jobs and waiting for applicants are feeling the pain.
To combat this trend, strategic Talent Acquisition teams have grasped the important role proactive marketing plays in their sourcing strategies. These teams are not waiting for their ideal candidate to show up on a job site but are rather taking the needed steps to find them wherever they are online and invite them to consider a better opportunity.
In the past, this proactive marketing meant direct 1:1 outreach with recruiters calling into companies, scouring resume databases or LinkedIn. While these types of recruiting tactics are certainly effective, they can also be time-consuming, costly, and primarily focused on professional positions.
Recently, the topic of programmatic advertising has gained traction in Recruitment Marketing discussions as HR looks to evolve their marketing practices to add the efficiency their corporate marketing partners have discovered. While programmatic offers many strategic opportunities to target passive job seekers online, the use of location and geofencing has emerged as a secret weapon.
While digital advertising has long leveraged location targeting at the DMA, City and even zip code level, the growth in smart phone use (81% of Americans now use a smart phone according to Pew Research) has provided the opportunity for much greater precision reaching candidates based on where they are or where they have been. Leveraging GeoFencing allows you to be more efficient with your advertising dollars by focusing your ad spend where your candidates are and drastically reducing impression waste.
A few examples of how GeoFencing can be leveraged for Recruitment Marketing might include…
Hourly Workers – Geofence neighborhoods (in a tight proximity of your location); schools or college campuses nearby or other businesses in the area that have hourly workers with similar skills to those you require. If your workers have similar demographic profiles you can even identify and target the neighborhoods with similar HHI, Family Size, Age and Gender.
Trade Shows – Geofence conference events and conference hotels that your most desired candidates attend and keep in front of them after they leave the trade show floor!
Competitors– GeoFence local competitors to attract their employees to your opportunities or highlight career opportunities after news of layoffs / office closures.
Campus Recruiting – GeoFence the specific academic buildings on campus where your most desired majors are spending their class time and stay in front of them when they return to their dorms!
Drivers – GeoFence truck stops, warehouse facilities, driving schools and terminals to help fill these high demand positions.
Veterans / Government workers – GeoFence Military Bases, VA Hospitals, Federal / State Office buildings where your ideal candidates are working.
