3 Proven Digital Marketing Strategies for HR in Asia

Articles

HCLI Research

Published 28 October 2016

Human resources is one of the most misunderstood and under-appreciated functions in any organisation. Some of your friends and colleagues may even think of HR as just posting job openings online. So how can HR move from an image of job posters to brand builders? Joe Escobedo shares.

Through clever digital marketing, says Jaclyn Lee, Ph.D, Senior HR Director at Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD).

Below, successful HR practitioners share how they attract, engage and retain top talent in Asia using digital marketing strategies.

1. For Great Applicants, Promote Openings On These Online Channels

Many HR practitioners in Asia I speak with say one of their biggest challenges is attracting top talent, particularly in emerging markets.

Understanding this gap in the region, Matt De Luca founded JobNet.com.mm, one of the fastest growing job boards in Myanmar.

Unlike many local companies in Myanmar that rely on referrals or agencies to recruit employees, Matt uses online platforms like Facebook Ads and Google AdWords for his clients.

Why Facebook ads?

Facebook is the most used digital channel in Myanmar. “This makes it the obvious choice to target users, particularly for employer branding purposes.”

It’s more cost-effective in emerging markets. “Running ads in Myanmar may be cheaper than in competitive markets like the U.S. For example, one could expect to spend between $350 and $600 in Myanmar.”

Why Google AdWords?

Google AdWords attracts local and international candidates with the roles they’re searching for. “For example, having a relevant landing page and choosing targeted ad keywords for the Burmese market such as “sales manager yangon” will naturally produce leads from candidates interested in working in Burma as sales professionals. This tends to result in better conversions and lower cost-per-clicks, ultimately reducing the cost-per-hire metric that HR pros monitor.”

Matt and his team recently used Facebook Ads and Google AdWords to attract candidates for a local beverage company.

They also achieved 7,186 visits to their employer profile on JobNet, increasing company visibility. Even if applicants did not consider applying for a specific position, digital marketing can boost qualified applications for positions in the longer term by keeping the company’s name on job seekers’ radars. Across multiple digital channels, their ads reached more than 200,000 potential candidates, of which 6,000 translated into job views, and of which 250 became qualified applicants – or 1 qualified candidate per 800 ads run, at least in this example.

2. Try This Email Marketing Tip To Keep Candidates Engaged

So now that you have attracted top talent, how do keep them engaged with your brand?

Adriano Corso, who manages digital recruitment across Asia Pacific at IBM Smarter Workforce, suggests taking a “recruitment marketing” approach.

He explains, “HR pros must be able to engage their audience throughout the recruitment marketing funnel. And marketing automation tools such as email marketing play a key role in recruitment.”

So how can you improve your recruitment email click rates?

Adriano recommends including a short video and gamification aspect in your recruitment videos.

“Results are incredibly high when a link to a short video, describing the company culture or the hiring process, is included in emails to qualified candidates, with click-rates exceeding 50%. Moreover, conversion rates can easily go above 40% when real people are featured in the video or when a gamification aspect is included.”

Adriano says this approach is particularly effective with candidates in the tech or creative industries, as well as for senior roles in other industries.

3. Use This Digital Tool To Retain Top Talent

So you managed to bring that key talent onboard. Now, how do you ensure they don’t quit and join your competitor?

Jaclyn at SUTD says her team leverages analytics to improve employee retention.

She explains, “Dashboards give us insights into employee demographics, growth trends, and attrition analysis. We are also able to deal with causation analysis to drill down into people issues.”

For example, reviewing causation for turnover in critical and high-value positions is critical, as failing to address root causes early can have a strong, negative impact on your organisation’s stability, productivity and growth.

“In a study we conducted, we discovered that when our university campus shifted from the western to the eastern part of the island, turnover spiked.

Using analytics, we discovered that most of the employees who resigned lived in the western part of the island, which meant a long commute for them. The team then worked on recruiting talents living in the east and also transport options for those living in the west. As a result, turnover has been reduced substantially.”

Though there are numerous ways to approach data collection, in this example, the university collected demographic information about its employees including home address, commute time, nationality, and other key factors. Then this information was organised into an analytics dashboard, enabling the HR team to track causation in real-time.

Supercharging Your HR Efforts With Digital Marketing

Without a doubt, digital marketing can give your HR efforts new strength, helping you attract, engage and retain top talent, building your company into a world-class employer brand.

Have you tried any of these digital marketing techniques in your HR activities? If so, looks like you’re more of a digital marketer than you thought!

If you haven’t yet, don’t worry. Experiment with the ones above and let me know your results.

This article was originally featured in Forbes.