The Good, Bad, and Ugly of Tracking Conversions from Indeed’s Sponsored Jobs

The Good, Bad, and Ugly of Tracking Conversions from Indeed’s Sponsored Jobs

Nov 1, 2023 | Career Site, Job Advertising, Recruitment Marketing

In the past, recruiting was a simple affair. Recruiters would post jobs on traditional job boards, count the applicants, and plan their budgets for the year. But then, Indeed stormed onto the scene, changing the game with its pay-per-click (PPC) model, quickly becoming the dominant force in the job board industry. Yet, Recruitment Marketing experts can’t help but feel frustrated by the enigmatic nature of the PPC model and the uncertainty surrounding the source of their applicants.

 

Indeed’s story has two sides. On one side, they paint a rosy picture with impressions, clicks, and the coveted “apply” button clicks. On the other side, your trusty ATS (Applicant Tracking System) reveals how many applicants you received from Indeed. Often, these two sides don’t align, leaving you wondering how much you should invest to secure an applicant.

 

When things don’t go as planned, Indeed tends to blame the application process or claims that the job is so hot it requires a larger budget to attract applicants. On the flip side, the Recruitment Marketing and Talent Acquisition teams are left perplexed. Despite increasing spending, they’re not getting the desired number of applicants.

 

However, a significant share of the responsibility falls on the recruitment marketing team if they haven’t set up proper conversion tracking. While Indeed used to provide tracking pixels, that’s no longer the case. If your recruitment marketing manager isn’t proficient in setting up conversion attributes and goals, pointing fingers at Indeed won’t solve the problem. They have the data to show you what’s happening, but you need your data to make a compelling case.

 

So, how can you establish conversion tracking for Indeed without their tracking pixels? It’s a challenge, but you can get creative with Google Tag Manager (GTM). Using the “Custom HTML” feature, you can insert a script that triggers when someone submits a form, for example. This script sends data to your GTM account, allowing you to set up triggers and variables for data analysis in Google Analytics.

 A custom version of Indeed’s tracking pixel on your career site provides valuable insights, such as which jobs receive the most page views and applicants from Indeed. For instance, you might opt to use Indeed Apply for jobs with low click-through rates from Indeed to your career site.

 

Without the right conversion tracking on your career site, you’ll have to rely on Indeed’s data and trust that their account managers have your best interests in mind. They usually do, but they also manage other accounts, and they’re not in the best position to help you achieve your objectives on your career site without reliable data.

 

This post isn’t a step-by-step guide on setting up custom conversion tracking code; however, it’s a reminder that Indeed has its data, and you need your data to gauge the performance of your sponsored campaigns. Once you’ve implemented conversion tracking, you’ll be better equipped to make informed decisions about your budget and how much you’re willing to invest in Indeed to attract the applicants you desire.

Nailing Down Recruitment Marketing Conversion Goals

Nailing Down Recruitment Marketing Conversion Goals

Oct 11, 2023 | Employer Branding, Recruitment Marketing

Understanding Conversion in Recruitment Marketing

So, what exactly counts as a ‘conversion’ in recruitment marketing? A conversion boils down to an action taken by a user or job seeker that gets you closer to your hiring goals. It could be applying for a job, clicking to apply, checking out specific pages, showing interest, or engaging with social media posts via likes or shares. How you define these actions in your strategy is a game-changer. However, it’s vital to remember that talent acquisition usually sees conversions as applicants, especially since recruiting is transactional in nature.

A Story to Illustrate

Let me share a story from my time as a recruitment marketing manager at an IT consulting company. We had to hire a whopping 1000 employees in just one quarter. The marketing team came up with a strategy, but they didn’t loop in talent acquisition or my team. The plan was to boost awareness and reach through social media and job boards, directing traffic to a landing page. But when the campaign ended, we were far from the number of applicants needed to meet our hiring goals. I won’t spill the exact cost, but let’s just say it was more than a small house in Atlanta!

The Problem: Mismatched Goals

Here’s the kicker—marketing had a different idea of what a ‘conversion’ was. For them, if someone viewed the landing page, that was a win. But for the hiring managers, it was all about expecting tons of applicants, and needless to say, they were not thrilled. Plus, they had to foot the bill for this massive marketing campaign spend.

Defining Your Conversion Goals

To really sum it up, successful recruitment marketing boils down to understanding which conversions matter and how they sync up with your organization’s hiring objectives. Plus, with open communication and alignment between marketing, talent acquisition, and hiring teams, can tweak recruitment marketing strategies to hit the nail on the head.

Facebook Recruitment Marketing Tips for Healthcare Companies

Facebook Recruitment Marketing Tips for Healthcare Companies

Sep 28, 2023 | Employer Branding, Recruitment Marketing, Social Media

When it comes to employer branding, Healthcare Facebook pages are about as boring as C-Span in the morning. Marketing typically allows an extra Facebook page for employer branding just as long as they stay within branding guidelines. But, here’s the issue. Facebook penalizes you for content that is…um inspiring with low likes, shares, and zero comments. And let’s face it, healthcare professionals are avid Facebook and Instagram users, so it’s vital they see your updates. That’s why we’ve got some Facebook recruitment marketing tips to bring some life to your page, increase engagement, and convert potential candidates.

Prompt and Personalized Responses

The worst thing you can do if you’re a healthcare organization is turn on automated responses. It screams disinterest and drains the life out of the candidate’s experience. Our top advice? Respond promptly and personalize your messages. Address candidates by name, and show them you care about their interest in a role or an event. Tailor your responses to their inquiries or comments, showcasing

Share Additional Information in the Comments

Facebook’s algorithms love engagement, and they play it like a game. That’s why we suggest using the comment section to share more about the job opportunity – benefits, work culture, and anything else potential candidates might want to know. Don’t forget to throw in some links to relevant pages on your website, engaging videos of your workplace, or testimonials from your awesome team.

Leverage Messenger for Private Conversations 

Imagine a potential candidate expressing strong interest or having specific inquiries. Inviting them to start a private chat via Facebook Messenger is a game-changer. It allows for a personal and in-depth conversation, addressing their questions, and concerns, and guiding them through the application process.

Highlight Employee Stories

It’s easy to turn a Facebook page into a job posting bulletin board, but that won’t get you far. And ditch the stock photos of smiling hospital staff. The right approach? Feature inspiring employee success stories, and testimonials, or even give a sneak peek into a “day in the life” at your organization. This humanizes your brand and provides valuable insights into the incredible experiences of working within your company.

Monitor and Analyze Engagement

Everyone knows Facebook tends to exaggerate impressions. But, the real gold? Focus on the engagements – likes and shares. Keep an eye on the engagement of your posts and delve into the comments to spot recurring questions or concerns. These insights will help fine-tune your recruitment marketing strategies, showing what content truly shines. 

Getting to the Finish Line

Engaging potential job seekers on Facebook is all about being personal, informative, and responsive. Nurture genuine conversations, share meaningful insights, and make the most of the platform’s features. If someone is interested in an opportunity, show them. An issue with an application, guide them. And, when a candidate doesn’t hear back after an interview, chat with them. You can significantly enhance your recruitment marketing efforts with a great  Facebook page, and attract top talent by showcasing your unique culture and providing transparent information. It’s easy to start a Facebook page, it takes time to build a great page that your audience will want to follow. Hopefully, these tips will help your recruitment marketing and if you would like to learn more, please signup for my newsletter or follow me on LinkedIn. 

Consider These Metrics in Your Social Media Recruitment Marketing Campaign

Consider These Metrics in Your Social Media Recruitment Marketing Campaign

Aug 18, 2023 | Job Advertising, Recruitment Marketing

With employer brand budgets getting cut, Recruitment Marketing professionals are nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Now is the time to really look at those social media metrics. First, you need to know the essential key metrics of social media metrics. Then decide what you want your social media campaigns to do and then focus on those metrics.

 

So, with that, here are the seven key metrics for every social media campaign that should be measured (Check out my video on the importance of a social media campaign’s learning phase).

 

  1. Impressions: Impressions represent the number of times your content or ad was displayed to users. It provides insights into the campaign’s overall reach and visibility.
  2. Reach: Reach measures the unique number of users who have seen your content or ad. A high reach suggests that your campaign is successfully reaching a wide audience.
  3. Frequency: Frequency gauges the average number of times an individual user views your content or ad. It helps determine if your campaign is overexposing certain segments or failing to engage others.
  4. Clicks: Clicks indicate the number of times users interact with your content by clicking on it. This metric shows how engaging and compelling your campaign is to your target audience.
  5. Cost per Click (CPC): The CPC metric calculates the average cost incurred for each click on your ad or content. It helps assess the campaign’s cost-effectiveness in generating user interactions.
  6. Click-Through Rate (CTR): CTR is the percentage of users who click on your ad after viewing it. A higher CTR signifies that your content is resonating well with your audience.
  7. Conversion Rate: The conversion rate tracks the percentage of users who completed the desired action, such as filling out an application form or signing up for a newsletter. It is a pivotal metric that directly measures the campaign’s effectiveness in driving desired outcomes.

 

Recruitment marketing’s social media programs are critical in attracting talent. To understand what makes a successful campaign successful, start with these key metrics mentioned above, such as impressions, reach, clicks, and conversion rate, which is indispensable in measuring social media campaign performance. Over time, you’ll improve campaign performance along with ROI on ad spend. I hope this helps those starting out and if you like what you see, please subscribe to my newsletter.

 

How to Align Recruitment Marketing and Talent Acquisition Teams with Your Marketing Guidelines

How to Align Recruitment Marketing and Talent Acquisition Teams with Your Marketing Guidelines

Jul 19, 2023 | Employer Branding, Recruitment Marketing

Here are five essential methods that recruitment marketing teams can follow to ensure they remain aligned with their organization’s brand guidelines and maintain a positive relationship with the marketing department.

 

  1. Partnering with the Marketing Team

The marketing team possesses valuable insights into the company’s brand identity, its unique selling points, and its target audience. Understanding these aspects is crucial for effectively communicating with potential candidates. Seek guidance from the marketing team on logo usage, brand identity elements, social media strategies, creative assets, and external communications to ensure consistency across all touchpoints.

  1. Maintaining Brand Compliance

Brand consistency is key to making a lasting impression on candidates and building trust in your organization. Adhering to brand guidelines is essential in maintaining a cohesive brand image.

 

  1. Creating a Recruitment Marketing Tool-Kit

Building a comprehensive recruitment marketing toolkit is a game-changer. This toolkit should consist of brand-compliant creatives, compelling copy, and engaging content that resonates with potential candidates. Providing your teams with these resources streamlines their efforts and ensures consistent messaging, which leads to a stronger employer brand in the long run.

 

  1. Emphasizing Brand Consistency

Consistency in branding extends beyond visuals; it also involves maintaining a consistent tone and messaging. A clear and unified voice across all recruitment communications reinforces your

company’s identity and values.

 

  1. Social Media Approval

Social media has become an indispensable platform for Recruitment Marketing. It offers an opportunity to showcase your company culture, values, and job opportunities to a wide audience. However, to maintain brand integrity, it’s essential to seek Marketing’s review and approval before posting on social media. This step ensures that the content aligns with the established brand guidelines and does not deviate from the overall brand strategy.

 

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How to Attract Applicants with Job Titles

How to Attract Applicants with Job Titles

Jun 11, 2023 | Career Site, Recruitment Marketing

The candidate’s journey ends when the job title is uncommon or confusing.  The reason why so many companies struggle to attract applicants to their jobs is often due to job titles and then the job description. 

Common vs Uncommon Job Titles

Job seekers usually search for jobs using standard job titles. For example, a software developer with multiple skills will click on Software Engineer before they click an Angular Developer job title. Not every software engineer is called an Angular Developer. Therefore, the right person will never see, find, or even consider this job because they won’t search for it. To remedy this, talent acquisition teams need training and the tools to provide data on proper job titles, like talent intelligence tools.

Confusing Job Titles

When possible, avoid using abbreviations because this will impact SEO rankings for your jobs, for example, Sr. SW Developer.  Google places more emphasis on keywords, such as software rather than SW. And, job seekers usually search for jobs without abbreviations. But, sometimes using an abbreviated word in a job title is the norm, like DBA (database analyst), AWS (Amazon Web Services), or QA tester (quality assurance). 

Job Title Tools

LinkedIn Insights is an excellent tool that provides data on common job titles and skills. Using this platform gives your talent acquisition teams talent data on your competitors’ job titles including their hiring activity. For example, if a company wants to hire a Director of Business Development in Atlanta Georgia, LinkedIn Insights provides its users with the following:

  • Common titles used by companies in Atlanta
  • Percentage of professionals with that title
  • Number of similar job posts in Atlanta 
  • New emerging skills

LinkedIn Insights is not the only platform, others like Talent Neuron, will analyze your job description and provide relevant data on common job titles and even trending titles. When these tools are used to improve job SEO, a company can determine if a job title should be Business Partner Manager or Human Resource Manager, for example.

Candidate Journey

The candidate’s experience really begins with the job title.  A video testimonial or image helps create awareness and consideration, but they will not apply to job titles that are confusing.  If the job title doesn’t clearly define what the role is, then they will not apply. The candidate’s journey has many starting points, and the job title is one of them.