Mobile Recruiting 101: Basic Q&A

Monday, April 6, 2009  //  3 Comments  //  Blog, Mobile Marketing, Mobile Recruiting, Mobile Trends

Ok, so I know what you are thinking: Mobile (SMS) is just for the youth market, right? Well, while that may have been the case a few years ago, we are now witnessing a growing trend that reveals otherwise. Today, of the 262 million total U.S. wireless subscribers, more than 138 million users now send and receive text messages. 72% of those between 25-49 use text messaging, and 53% of texters are 35 years-old and up.

While it is easy to get excited about the trends in mobile, it’s important to understand the basics before embarking on any mobile recruitment strategy. What follows is a quick primer that I have put together to hopefully addresses some of the fundamental questions.

Mobile Marketing: Basic Q&A

Q: What is SMS?

A: SMS is an acronym for short message service. SMS is often referred to as text messaging.

Q: What is MMS?

A: MMS is an acronym for multimedia messaging service. MMS messages are typically mobile messages that contain some combination of text, images, audio, or video.

Q: What is the standard length of an SMS (text message)?

A: SMS/text messages are usually limited to 160 characters, with spaces.

Q: What are the two questions that need to be asked prior to executing a mobile recruiting strategy?

A #1. What are the key goals and how can mobile help to achieve the objectives?
A #2. Who is my target audience and what is most important to that audience?

* Identifying the objectives and target audience are both critical to understand in order to craft the most effective marketing program to achieve the desired outcome.

Q: What is a Common Short Code (CSC)?

A: Common Short Codes are short numeric codes to which SMS or MMS can be sent from a mobile phone. Short codes are commonly 5-6 digits, and can be “vanity” codes (which no other company can use) or shared codes (used by many companies). The short codes facilitate an interactive mobile experience between the consumer and host company. See mobile marketing examples by Sprite and Coca-Cola. For more details, visit the Common Short Code Administration (CSCA).

Q: What are the five most common modes of communication available on a mobile device?

The five modes include:

1. Voice
2. SMS (Short Message Service – A.K.A. text messaging)
3. Web (WAP=Wireless Application Protocol, or Mobile Web)
4. Applications (think of any device (i.e., iPhone) that can leverage mobile apps)
5. Email (Not always available to all mobile users.)

* Of the five modes of mobile, SMS/text-messaging is the most widely used data application on the planet.

Q: How popular is text messaging?

A: Consumers today are using text messaging more than ever. Worldwide, there are 4 billion mobile subscribers with 3 billion currently using text-messaging.  In the U.S., there are over 262 million wireless subscribers and 138 million using text messaging.  In Q2 of 2008, a Nielsen Mobile study revealed that in the U.S. there are now more text messages being sent and received vs. phone calls.  See more stats here.

Q: What is a keyword and how is it used?

A: Keywords allow your consumers to interact with your mobile programs. For example: “Text HEWDIVERSITY to 77950“ allows potential candidates to “opt-in” and receive job alerts from Hewitt Associates.  To start, users are prompted to send a text message with the keyword “HEWDIVERSITY” to the short code 77950. In this example, the keyword ‘HEWDIVERSITY’ is tied to an auto-response that confirms the opt-in subscription, as well as a “call to action” message.

Q: Why would any company want to engage in recruiting through mobile marketing?

A: Let’s face it: Technology is changing the way we all communicate at all levels. Our target audience has become increasingly “mobile” and no longer simply sitting at a desk waiting for our call or email.  The mobile device is personal and next to the wallet, purse, or keys, it is the one thing we each carry with us. As working professionals, we are often on-the-go, traveling, in meetings, attending conferences, training, out to lunch, vacation, and so on.  With over 262 million U.S. wireless subscribers, we need to consider ways in which we can increase the odds of connecting with our target audience. As some would say, ‘fish where the fish are’… Click here to read: ‘Mobile Recruiting: Why Run SMS Campaigns?

Q: What is WAP?

A: WAP is an acronym for wireless application protocol and is commonly referred to as the mobile web. WAP sites are mobile versions of a websites, typically optimized for mobile devices.

Many mobile-optimized sites today are using the ‘.Mobi’ extension. More and more companies today are staking their claim in the dotMobi space, which is evident by the fact that dotMobi sites actually experienced a seven fold increase last year. As a standard practice, mobile-sites should not be a “web-version” of your site on a mobile device, but a “MOBILE-optimized” version made for mobile. It should also (ideally) automatically detect whenever someone is visiting a site through a mobile browser. You can get more information on dotMobi, as well as “best practice” development tips by visiting MobiThinking.com.

dotMobi site example: CloudRecruiting.mobi (*Note: From any mobile browser, type either ‘CloudRecruiting.net’ or ‘CloudRecruiting.mobi’ to view site.)

Still have questions?  Please list your comments below and I will be sure to respond back as quickly as possible.