Mobile and Facebook coming together in Africa – potential for recruitment…?

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Julia Levy

We have been talking to clients about the potential of mobile to connect with candidates in Africa where internet infrastructure is often poor but mobile phones are hugely popular.  We’ve also had great results helping clients recruit in Africa using Facebook.  Now Orange is bringing these two elements together by offering Facebook on its mobile platform.

The version that they will be launching will not have all the functionality of Facebook, but it is an important start to getting more people connected across Africa.  We’ll be watching this development with interest.

You can read more about the development here.

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Reaching the 7 Billion: Using mobile to create global social engagement.

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Julia Levy

I attended a fascinating event as part of Social Media Week last night:  With almost 7 Billion mobile internet users, mobile technology is now all pervasive – far exceeding other ways to connect and offering huge potential – both in the developed, but most excitingly, in the developing world and emerging markets.  The speakers were from well known brands – Google, Blackberry, Unilever – as well as a fascinating new play, Jana.com which is using mobile technology to connect directly with consumers in the developing world and at the same time giving those people a way to earn additional income.  They are doing this in a number of ways such as rewarding people with mobile phones with cash which they can collect directly on their phone using mobile payment systems such as M-Pesa in Kenya.   Speaking to the company’s founder, Nathan Eagle, after the event, he explained that he is currently focused on large audiences and gathering consumer related data.

All the speakers talked of the importance of mobile as a channel and ensuring that consumer experiences are optimised for mobile.  Ian Carrington from Google said that the company sees itself as a “Mobile first company.”  They have even developed a tool to help SMEs create a mobile enabled page, called Mobilize.

Jay Altschuler from Unilever described how mobile is now the “glue that holds together the media plan.”  He talked about a campaign they ran in Turkey recently where a billboard was effectively turned into an interactive game using SMS and QR codes which ultimately led to a coupon so that people could sample the product that they were marketing.

Another theme was the fact that mobile offers possibilities that are simply not available on other platforms such as location and contextual based marketing to provide a richer and more personalised experience e.g. being able to deliver search results for restaurants in the direct locale of where a person runs a search on their mobile.

One note of caution with the use of mobile internationally was that there is no “one size fits all” as Nathan Eagle explained, different ways of engaging work more or less effectively in different countries e.g. in the Philippines “virtually everyone engages via Facebook”, in Pakistan the mobile web prevails whilst in India, SMS is king. “A campaign that works in Bangladesh doesn’t work in Brazil.”  Tailored solutions are therefore vital.

Whilst the event was not recruitment related, it reinforced that mobile now needs to be considered as part of any attraction and engagement strategy going forward – from looking at mobile as an attraction strategy to how it can be used to engage and build relationships with candidates.

The event is due to be posted on Livestream so you can watch it directly.  I’ll add the link as soon as possible.

Thank you to Edelman for organising such a great event!

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Social Media Week – what can celebrities teach recruiters about using social media?

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Julia Levy

Social Media Week is happening this week – dozens of events in cities around the world all focused on the innovations in social media and what it means for business and individuals.

The first event I attended was entitled Social Celebrities.  I can hear you asking what Celebrities like comedians and big names (in the UK at least) like Gok have got to do with recruiters…. in my view, the answer is that we can learn a lot from them!

We are increasingly working with clients on their social media strategy.  Many of them are concerned about entering the social media sphere and feel particularly nervous about a few areas including

  • reputation management
  • how to deal with the volume of feedback that could ensue from establishing themselves
  • legal considerations
  • evaluating the return on investment etc.

As a result, they have tended to hold back.  However, the incredible uptake of social media by organisations’ target candidates are making a compelling argument that the time to engage has arrived.

Listening to the people who are representing celebrities, analysing the data and providing legal advice who spoke at last night’s events, it is clear that they have faced some very similar challenges and are finding successful ways to address them and harness the power of social media.

Here are some of the highlights that I picked up which I think that are just as relevant for employers working on their social media strategy:

  1. There is no fixed formula for developing a social media strategy – different platforms and approaches work for different celebrities (organisations) and different target audiences
  2. Most celebrities (organisations) are time poor so strategies are needed to have the greatest impact
  3. Celebrities’ (organisations’) technical abilities vary and this needs to be taken into account when exploring solutions

Here are some of the recommendations which came out of the presentations:

  1. Be clear about your objectives for participating in social media before you start – is it branding, awareness raising, dealing with feedback?
  2. Start small, possibly on just one platform, and grow from there
  3. Take the responsibility that goes with establishing a presence seriously – you can’t just dip in and out
  4. Data about the people with whom you are engaging can offer tremendous insights but they must be captured and time and skills are needed to interpret the findings
  5. Legal issues which apply in the real world are equally relevant in the digital world
  6. And lastly, but most importantly, the conversation is already happening without you – it’s up to you how and where you choose to engage

With thanks to the people who hosted and spoke at the event!

More posts to follow from other events.

 

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Great infographic on the role of Facebook in recuiting

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Julia Levy

Just saw a fantastic infographic about the power of Facebook as a recruiting tool.

The data are probably quite US centric looking at the sources, but we have had significant success using Facebook in countries which are not such evident users of Facebook. However, if you look at a previous post we wrote about internet and Facebook usage stats, then you will see some surprising data about just how prevalent Facebook is becoming.  It’s been great for graduate campaigns in particular…

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Google+ for Business

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Andy Leong

Google’s answer to Facebook was launched this week, with the release of Google+ Pages for organizations. The question is, what does this mean for recruitment?

First, we need to look at the size of Google+’s current network. While Google + grew rapidly in its first few months, there are now reports of users deserting it.
With the release of Pages for business, will this turn the tide for Google?

Secondly, the question is how can businesses use Google +. The following functions are at the core of Google:

1. ‘Circles’: Groups of followers
2. ‘Hangouts’: Start realtime face to Face video chats. Can be used for webcasts, discussion panels, etc.
3. +1 Buttons: Sharing of content across the web (similar to the Facebook Like button) to encourage sharing.
4. Ripples: Track a post’s progression and connect with users (Experimental / Beta feature)
5. Analytics: Integration with Google Analytics to evaluate your social recruiting efforts on Google+

Using this functionality, companies can use Google+ to share different information with different groups e.g. graduates to facilitate tailored messaging. They can also use it to research and source candidates and even set up interviews over the internet.

Google+ also has another benefit – it can help with getting your organisation higher on the natural search rankings. Research has shown that Google is now factoring whether or not you have a Google+ account and how you are connected, which can possibly affect your search engine results positively.

With the release of Google+ Pages for business, we are likely to see reports of increased traffic to Google+ again as businesses stake their claims. The first step in taking advantage of Google+ is to claim your page. The applications for recruitment are likely to emerge more strongly over the coming weeks and months.

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Surprising statistics about the uptake of the internet and Facebook around the world – a valuable resource for informing international recruitment advertising campaigns

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Andy Leong

The Internet World Stats website, or IWS for short, is a useful source of internet usage data and population figures for over 233 countries and regions.  The data are consolidated from various periodic surveys and official country user records.

Individual country information is broken down into total population, country area, the capital city and population, total internet users and even total Facebook users and the Facebook penetration rate. A couple of other useful websites related to the country are also listed for additional information.

Additional links to other resources are listed in the Internet Marketing pages which cover subjects like mobile internet usage, broadband usage and internet growth.

Even though IWS may not be the most visually appealing site on the internet, it does contain a lot of useful information. Which may help you identify potential opportunities for recruitment via online channels. An example would be in Malta with its small population where we could identify that there’s a 58.9% internet penetration rate with 46.5% of them being Facebook users alone!

However, when planning a recruitment communications campaign, these high level statistics should only be considered a first step in determining whether or not to use online or social media.  Many other factors should also be taken into consideration always starting with having a clear understanding of your target candidate profile and the countries in which you want to recruit.  We have had significant success in some unusual countries with online campaigns – using regional social media as well as the better-known global media.

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Attend our event Innovation in Recruitment Communications in London

Posted on October 26, 2011 by terrafirmaassociates

Good people are hard to come by. To find them you need to look hard.

With a society more connected and mobile than ever before, the way you look at recruitment must adapt rapidly in order to attract the best. Join us at our half day workshop:

Innovation in Recruitment Communications
on 11 November 2011 at 12:30 GMT
(central London)

During this workshop:

  • we will present some of the latest trends and innovation in social media and their application for recruitment 
  • Explore peer case studies on how social media is being successfully utilized to deliver top talent
  • Work with you to show you how you can build  a social media roadmap adapted to your needs

The event will combine formal presentations, practical case studies from your peers and an opportunity to work in small groups to explore social media and their application to your specific needs. Food and refreshments included to sustain us during the event!

It builds on our success running similar workshops in the USA in October.

To attend or for additional information

Contact Martyn Baxter either at mbaxter@terrafirmaassociates.com or on +44 207 253 11 37.

If you want to receive the latest news in the recruitment advertising field, you can also subscribe to our blog!

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How recent Facebook changes may affect your recruitment communications

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Andy Leong

With the slew of Facebook changes announced at the recent F8 conference, from the new “Timeline” to the new “Gestures”, Mark Zuckerberg announces some exciting new features even in the face of new competition (namely Google+) and surpassing 800 million active users!

We would like to highlight some new features / changes which we feel recruiters should be taking note of:

  1. The “Like” button is opening up
    The current ‘Like’ button you see all over Facebook and websites who uses it will soon feature new buttons like “Read”, “Listened”, “Watched”. Launched as ‘Gestures’ during the developer conference as part of the Open graph beta, this could technically mean new customised buttons like “Apply” or “Register” or any verb or noun may soon make their way to websites.Facebook Social Graph
  2. Expandable Ad Format
    The upcoming new ad format allows users to comment and like an ad, especially useful if you are promoting a Facebook company page. Soon, you will see your friends’ comments on adverts in your newsfeed.Sample advert with Likes and Comments
  3. New metric “People Talking About”
    The new metric brings together users ‘Liking’ pages, posting to wall, commenting on posts and any other actions users can take on Facebook.
    Along with that, Facebook also opens up the Pages Insight API which means customised Page Insight solutions may soon be available from Analytics vendors, this will likely bring more advanced analytics solutions to the market.
  4. Facebook users don’t have to ‘Like’ a Page or Brand to comment any more
    Previously, users would have to ‘Like’ a Page to be able to comment on wall posts or any content related to the Page. This could be a double-edged sword depending on how you look at it. Fan numbers could come to a stand still or there could be an increased amount of interaction from users who are not your ‘fans’. One key thing to note would be ‘Number of Fans’ should not be the only metric you are measuring your Facebook engagement anymore, but a focus on engaging users.

Posting a job on Facebook is just not going to cut it anymore, but having related content, messaging and engagement, which ties in with your recruitment goals. Which brings us to the old saying: Content is king. We look forward to the ever-changing social designs coming up and to seeing how they can be harnessed for recruitment.

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Attend our event Innovation in Recruitment Communications in New York and Washington – book now, as only a few places are left!

Posted on October 5, 2011 by terrafirmaassociates

Book now and attend

Free half-day workshop
Innovations in Recruitment Communications
on 24 October 2011, 0830 EDT in Manhattan
or
on 27 October 2011 in Washington

 - Both workshops are hosted by two of the most respected International Public Sector organizations -

As you know, good people are hard to come by and with a society more connected and mobile than ever before, the way you look at recruitment must adapt rapidly in order to attract the best!

Some interesting insights before the event: Did you know, that social media is already being used by nearly 50% of organizations like yours and almost all your peers see social media as an integral part of their future recruitment communication strategy! [TFA survey, Sept.2011]

  • Learn about the latest innovations in social media 
  • Share peer case studies and how social media is successfully utilized to deliver top talent
  • We will help you to roadmap and optimize your social media strategy 

To attend or for more information

Send an email to Martyn Baxter at mbaxter@terrafirmaassociates.com or call +44 207 253 11 37.

If you want to receive the latest news in the recruitment advertising field, you can also subscribe to our blog!

 

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Using Google Sites as a Wiki

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Andy Leong

We love sharing new ideas within the company and with our clients. We recently launched an internal Wiki site to share the useful recruitment communication tools, processes and information within the company across different departments. After evaluating the many platforms we could use, from running an enterprise Wiki on our intranet to hosting it on a webserver running wiki software, we decided to host our wiki in the Cloud using Google.

We chose to use Google sites as a Wiki for these reasons:

  1. Ease of set-up: we were up and running within minutes of deciding to trial our Wiki Familiar interface: this made it much easier for our colleagues to start uploading and accessing content
  2. Web hosting: no need to load software or worry about hosting
  3. Secure pages: The entire wiki site can be public or restricted to a private audience chosen by your administrator. You can also set the level of the user to view only or with admin rights.
  4. Google Search: Search across your own site content with Google search technology

You can probably find many more reasons why all companies should run an internal wiki. Sharing the information of our various departments within the Wiki in the last 3 months has proved to be a surprisingly enjoyable experience

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