Mobile advertising will put your recruitment messaging in a shop window that almost everyone spends way too much time looking at–their mobile phone. According to recent statistics, 84% of British people own a smartphone and they spend an average of 2hrs 34m on their phone every day. That’s an attraction opportunity that no recruiter can pass up. 

Mobile technology has become so sophisticated that it’s possible for the entire application process to take place on mobile. It’s changed the way people apply for jobs with 61% of online job applications being made on mobile devices. There's a real appetite for mobile job applications among job seekers too, with a survey by Indeed finding that 66% of people in the UK would be keen to apply for jobs on their phone.

Let’s look at how mobile advertising works and how you can make it work for your organisation.

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How do I optimise my application process for mobile?

There’s plenty of enthusiasm for applying for jobs via mobile phone. The challenge is turning that enthusiasm into quality applications landing in your inbox. That two-thirds of British people admit to having abandoned online applications due to bad user experience shows that not everyone is succeeding at that. So, what can you do to make sure your mobile recruitment process works for the candidate?

One response could be to replace your application form with the one-click apply function that you find on some job boards. Though this will definitely curb the number of abandoned applications, making the process too easy could result in you receiving a large number of low quality applications which will slow down the recruitment process. If you need people quickly, though, and are ready for a lengthy sifting process, that might be a price worth paying.

Alternatively, take a step back and look at the whole application process through the candidate’s eyes. Review your application form. Make sure the form works and that it can be viewed properly on mobile devices (along with the rest of your website). Think about the role you are advertising–are all the sections of the form necessary? Is the form suited to the kind of role you’re advertising? Remember that many applicants–particularly for lower-paid jobs that draw a high proportion of mobile applications–might not have been schooled in how to sell their skills in an application. Make sure you prompt them where necessary so you can get a clear idea of the skills an applicant can offer.

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How do I develop an effective mobile recruitment strategy?

The stats tell you everything you need to know about developing an effective mobile recruitment strategy, especially when it comes to social media. There are 53 million social media users in the UK and 98% of them use their mobile to access it. Add to that the fact that UK social media users spend an average of 1hr 48mins minutes per day using social media. Suffice to say, placing mobile ads on social media is a great way to attract attention to your job ad and organisation to get them noticed. Dynamic programmatic ads can make those ads even more effective.

Your social media strategy needn’t revolve solely around job adverts, though. Employers can also attract attention and engagement by creating social media content optimised for mobile. People love to share content on mobile and statistics suggest that there’s a whole lot of that going on–for example, Facebook users share an average of 4.75 billion items per day and nearly all its active users access Facebook on a mobile device. If your content captures the imaginations of social media users, it’s likely they’ll share it–which means more visibility for you as an employer. This process is known as ‘content seeding’ and it can be really useful in attracting valuable passive job seekers to your brand. 

QR codes are another way to use mobile technology in recruitment marketing. Although QR codes got off to a rocky start when they were first introduced in the early 2010s, they’re now widely used, with a recent survey finding that almost 90% people had scanned a QR code at least once in their life. That’s great news for recruitment marketers because QR codes can be used to take interested candidates straight through to a careers site.

It might not be new or cool but SMS text campaigning is another mobile marketing option that shouldn’t be overlooked–especially when targeting older people (among whom SMS use is increasing). The appropriateness of SMS campaigning for recruitment will depend on your target audience but the fact that SMS campaigns far outstrip email when it comes to open rates and CTRs show that it still has plenty to offer.

‍App downloads increasing year on year makes Google Ads in-app advertising another mobile marketing option worth considering. What’s more, the Google Ads keyword research tools might help you discover more keywords that you can include in your online content to help with targeting. 

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When is mobile advertising most effective?

The effectiveness of mobile advertising tends to run in inverse proportion to the effectiveness of mobile users. That’s because people are usually on their phones when they’re least active–when they’re having their morning coffee, at break times or at lunch. For that reason, you should schedule posts about new job vacancies or employer branding articles for these times to maximise the chance that they’ll be seen, engaged with and shared. 

Mobile advertising can also be effective in helping you meet Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) commitments. Statistics have shown that women are more likely to use mobile devices to search for jobs significantly more than men, which means that if you’re looking to increase the number of women in certain areas of your business, mobile advertising could offer a solution. Also, in an age when smartphones, by providing easy internet access cheaply, have made the desktop computer something of a luxury item (smartphones now constitute 55% of online devices), mobile marketing could be a way to target people on lower incomes. 

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Looking for something else to read? Learn more about the best media for recruitment advertising here.

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