Times are rapidly changing.
The days of face-to-face interaction have decreased, although those kinds of interactions should always be valued. In the age of technology, the way we interact is always shifting.
Right now, we noticed that recruiting is also done differently.
Finding potential recruits can be a long and tedious process. According to our statistics, the average person recruits just over one real estate agent per year. That is a lot of work for adding one person at a time to your team.
Working with SmartSetter will increase the amount of prospective recruits to, on average, one real estate agent per month. But how will you successfully recruit them?
Sometimes, agents aren’t ready to switch, but when they are, you will want to be at the top of their mind. We wrote an article about the importance of thinking about the long game. Incorporating email drip campaigns and touching base with them is critical to developing a relationship with them. We strongly recommend that you employ texting in your recruiting strategy.
Why texting now matters
Text messaging is one of the most used forms of communication, especially among Millennials. According to one study, 33 percent of Millennials think it’s acceptable to text during a job interview.
Different times, indeed.
Some interesting figures to note are that 73 percent of job seekers prefer to receive job opportunities via text. Approximately 66 percent of candidates consider text recruiting messages as acceptable and 78 percent of job seekers who own smartphones would apply through their mobile device. A whopping 89 percent of job seekers think mobile devices are critical in the job-hunting process. All this means is that potential recruits are using their phones a lot, and texting is their preferred method of communication.
Not only is it easy for you to pivot your recruiting tactics to incorporate SMS, but you will instantly benefit from the fact that 53 percent of job seekers trust a company more when it reaches out quickly, a follow-up text accomplishes this perfectly.
Since Millennials make up a huge part of the workforce, it’s important to understand how they operate. When looking at SMS open rates, a whopping 95 to 98 percent of text messages are read within minutes.
Before you start to incorporate texting in your recruiting, here are some key things to keep in mind.
The art of texting
One of the most important things you need to do before you reach out to anyone over text is to get their permission. Ask for their consent during the interview process and let them know, or even ask, how often you will be sending them messages.
Keep texts short and simple. The whole point to texting is to save time, on your side and your potential recruit’s side.
Time your messages. Sending a recruiting text at the right time will increase your success. One study found that 14 percent of job seekers don’t like to receive a work-related text outside of business hours. Respondents also felt that the best time to receive a recruiting text was between 8am and noon during weekdays.
Pay attention to the timing of your messages. Sending a recruiting text message at the right time will also have a significant impact on success rates. A study found that 14 percent of job-seekers don’t like to receive text messages outside of business hours. They also viewed recruiters who sent messages outside these hours as unprofessional. For most respondents, the best time to receive a recruiting text message was between 8 am and 12 pm.
Keep messages professional. Use full words and try to stay away from using emojis or shortcut words, like “2” or “U”. Stick to business-related content and do not give big news, whether it’s positive or negative, via text. Job acceptance or rejection deserves a phone call or email.
Text like a human. There are ways to automate your texts, but try to make the content approachable and personalized. It emphasizes the interaction over the transaction.
Because of the large open rate for texts, send time-sensitive information via text, like interview times or changes for an interview.
Also, do your research about your recruits. Not everyone loves receiving a work-related text so you need to know your audience.
Before sending your text, make sure you proofread it. Autocorrect and spelling errors can make you look unprofessional and deter a potential recruit. Also double-check who you are sending the message to as mixed messages can lead to confusion and, eventually, disinterest.
Which is better?
Now that you’ve seen the benefits texting could have, it’s time to incorporate it into your follow-up plan.
However, don’t forget about the importance of emails. Texts and SMS are an additional, effective tool to use, not to replace one thing with another.
Comparing it to email, SMS does have a higher response rate, eight times to be exact, according to one study. Joined with other tools in your followup kit, you could be well on your way to signing a new recruit.
Marketing campaigns have looked at their stats to see what works best for them. Although you aren’t marketing a product, you are marketing your company. When comparing SMS message marketing to email marketing, with sources reporting that text campaigns were opened 98 percent compared to 20 percent open rate from an email campaign. That is a huge difference.
According to Twilio, nine out of 10 texts are opened within the first three minutes of receiving them. This means it’s a great opportunity to instantly capture the recruit’s attention.
It seems obvious that texting is an excellent way to open the doors of communication with a potential recruit, but when should you choose text or email?
Here are a few questions to ask yourself when deciding:
How time-sensitive is the message?
Does it require two-way communication?
Will the message have images or video in it?
Will your customers need to have access to this message at a later date?
It’s important to distinguish between when and how to communicate with your potential hires. By doing this, you come across as current, professional and a leader worth working alongside.