For the 2018 Super Bowl, marketers paid more than $5 million per 30-second spot to capture the attention of more than 110 million viewers, according to Sports Illustrated. Advertisers vied to win over audiences with memorable messages… similarly, recruiters do the same thing. How do you differentiate your message so yours is the one clients and candidates are talking about at the water cooler the next day?
You want to be talked about and remembered like the Budweiser Clydesdales ads, or this year’s NFL ad with New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning and wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. performing the choreography from the movie “Dirty Dancing.” If your ad isn’t noticed, you’ve wasted your time and money.
If you’re trying to attract top talent who are already employed (passive job seekers), then it’s critical that you stand out from the crowd.
Personal videos are a great way to inject that human touch when you can’t meet face-to-face with a client or candidate.
- An NPAworldwide member based in New York City uses a video tool to differentiate himself. At www.useloom.com, you can create and send videos for free. He first received a Christmas card from another member, and thought the personal video was very endearing, so he thought it would be a great way to go after hard-to-get candidates and clients. He says “Since then, I’ve made a couple videos, as a way to send a link or attachment, and I’ve had people call me back and say ‘you’re the only guy who’s sent me a video.’ I had one client not getting back to me, I sent them a video saying ‘you’ve gotta get back to me,’ and it worked.”
Make your job ad stand out with a good design and/or infographic.
- A passive candidate on LinkedIn might scroll through handfuls of job ads that say “Project Manager – NYC,” but a job ad with a good design will stop the scrolling and grab their attention. Jobgrams make a job ad a visual experience, with symbols, graphics, color, and short sentences. They’re designed to be shared on Facebook and Twitter. Similarly, another NPAworldwide member uses ruutly.com to enhance his jobs ads. The site takes job descriptions and make it into a more engaging experience. It gives a better endorsement of the job and shows enthusiasm, rather than the typical ‘copy + paste’.
Aside from the job title and location, you want to share the perks first.
- Does this company offer a great salary? What about company culture – do they offer flexibility? Is there a fast-track for growth and promotions? Passive candidates need a reason to even consider leaving their current job for this one, right off the bat. Details about the job’s responsibilities and requirements / skills can come later.
- If the salary or company culture isn’t anything spectacular, try to sell them on the location. Sizzle is a tool to entice candidates to your job ad – they create a video to attract candidates for relocation purposes.
Like a Super Bowl ad, your job ad has to relate to the target audience – stress the benefits, opportunities, perks, etc. A great job ad will not only attract the right sort of talent, but it will also portray your firm as innovators.
This was exactly my point when my colleagues asked if I was watching the big game. My first response was “I will watch the commercials”. I always go down memory lane to my college years when our Marketing Teacher would make it an assignment to really watch the commercials. We would analyze them in class. And since then I knew it is all about those valuable seconds we get to make an impression than can open or close a door, or make us memorable or fail at it.