As this is my first blog for the Campus Ali site…a brief introduction may be the best way to start!  I’m Cara and am the newest addition to the Graduate Solutions team! As the new Campus Analyst for Stafford Long I now get to put 3 years of hard work getting my Marketing degree into good practice.  And, as a bonus, I still get to feel like a student through my visits to Uni’s around the country where I’ll be finding out what students feel and think about graduate recruitment issues.

Following the last blog from Mike I thought I’d pick up on the subject of graduate targeting! Every student knows how important Facebook, My Space, Bebo and other social networking sites are in providing a distraction from looming deadlines and preparation reading. There’s always time for catching up on the latest gossip from friends or looking at pictures from the last big night out! 

A new report by the Guardian, which reveals key insights into the attitudes and aspirations of a good representative sample of the UK’s graduates, further proves this stating that ‘89% of graduates use Facebook with more than half of them on a daily basis.’  So…with this in mind should recruiters be using the ever-developing digital media – and specifically networking sites – as a way of targeting those elusive graduates that may become CEOs in the future!?  Undoubtedly the ‘old skool’ method of using printed media to advertise is still very popular. Newspapers and brochures are used by almost four-fifths of the graduate sample taken and will probably remain to be so.  However, given that digital media can be such a cost effective tool, are companies missing out in failing to use networking sites in an integrated approach to reinforce the recruitment message?  

The Guardian report concluded by encouraging recruiters to target the passive, as well as the active, talent pool through emerging recruitment platforms. It suggests that companies should embrace and connect with graduates’ changing values. The internet and email are frequently used by recruiters to do just this, but their use of networking sites is currently limited.

Cara Says…The use of networking sites could enable companies to target a variety of graduates each with differing usage, purpose and occasion and allow a more interactive, softer approach in order to recruit the stars of the future

To access the article click here (you may be required to register first)

The findings from a recent report into online social media indicate that 83% of internet users watch video clips – up from 62% in 2007 (NMA, 23.04.08). Some sagacious recruiters have tapped into this mainstream online activity. For example, NHS Careers have recently launched a digital campaign to raise awareness of the types of jobs they offer. The campaign’s website features video case studies of young people already working within the NHS.  Meanwhile, the video shown below has been posted on Youtube and illustrates what it’s like to work for search engine behemoth Google.

It’s important to consider here that people use social media sites such as Youtube to find entertaining and engaging content and that they can post scathing comments if unimpressed by a video. Indeed, viewers may develop negative perceptions of an organisation based on a poorly produced clip. For such a less-than-impressive example, click here. As a rule of thumb, a good employer video should be around 3mins long, show different locations and people and cover a range of topics such as diversity of staff, what a working day will be like and the philosophy of the company. With a few major online job boards also beginning to host employer videos, it’s likely that this form of media will continue to gather momentum.

Ali Recommends: Creating an online video offers a number of benefits for employers. They provide a unique opportunity to engage with jobseekers in a way that sets you apart from other advertisers. On the other hand, they give jobseekers a far greater awareness and understanding of your organization, a specific role advertised, or the sector in which you operate – perfect viewing for graduates about to take their first tentative steps into industry. For more examples of the kinds of online videos other companies are producing, click here.

A couple of my colleagues here at Stafford Long have recently been involved in developing virtual careers fair ‘stalls’ aimed at the graduate market, which has prompted me to get blogging. Careers fairs in online environments have come a long way from their humble beginnings as aggregators of employer information. They now offer many opportunities to provide valuable content and 1:1 interaction, with elements such as downloadable podcasts, video streaming and MSN-style chat in ‘networking lounges’ injecting a bit of buzz into the recruitment process.

Employers are getting excited by the idea as virtual fairs enable them to have a powerful virtual presence and advertise their jobs without incurring the travel expenses and other costs associated with attending an event. In addition they gain access to a number of qualified candidates who can browse through jobs and talk to the companies they are interested in without having to fight the crowds.

In the not-to-distant future, it seems candidates could log into a virtual fair, apply for a job and attend a video-casting virtual interview all in a one-stop online shop. This raises the question that as the effort to attend these events for both clients and candidates decreases will the quality of candidate also decrease? Also, is it really advisable that employers should someday abandon traditional job interviews in favour of such virtual interviews? As there is no substitute for the value of face-to-face interaction at some stage in the recruitment process, I think it’s more likely that virtual fairs and job interviews will replace some but not all traditional careers fairs, initial telephone interviews, and other screening interviews.

Digital Ali Says: There’s no doubt that the use of virtual careers fairs will continue to grow due to their cost-effective nature and the fact that they are in-tune with the modes of communication favoured by today’s web-savvy graduates. 

A number of brands are currently experimenting with the use of online widgets so I thought I’d talk a little about them here. A widget is an interface that includes updatable content, enabling users to interact and stay in touch with companies without the need to visit their website. The hype surrounding them comes as web users are being encouraged to add widgets to their social networking pages, such as Facebook and Bebo, in exchange for engaging content and/or discounted purchases (for example, click here) . Once added, a widget is seen by everyone viewing the page and may spread throughout the user’s network in a viral fashion.

It’s important to consider here though that a widget aimed at building a brand for the purposes of recruitment is unlikely to have a large pass-along appeal on a social network. However, widgets that can be applied directly to a user’s desktop or iGoogle homepage may be of interest to recruiters. For example, the inset image shows a widget featuring rolling news from different employers. Clicking on a headline links users through to related corporate forum threads and blogs. Such regular feeds of interactive information will prove a valuable relationship marketing tool, particularly for interested potential applicants wishing to be kept updated on key dates or the latest company news.

Ali Recommends: If you’re a graduate employer, consider that while social media sites have many effective advertising options, recruiters should proceed with caution when considering using widgets on them. Desktop widgets may be more likely to be used and valued by your target audience and can help forge relationships with potential employees.

Hello and welcome to the first Digital Ali blog entry. As Stafford Long’s new digital media planner, I’ve been press-ganged by Campus Ali to keep you all up to date with the hot digital trends of the moment. It’s no secret that the internet continues to displace the consumption of traditional media, particularly amongst the youth demographic. Therefore, I will be dropping in regularly to take a look at the many exciting opportunities now presented by digital media and will be chewing over whether these trends may – or may not – be of any relevance to clients aiming to target students with their recruitment campaigns.

From the familiar to the obscure, I’ll be investigating how your target audience like to interact and be communicated with in digital environments, with the aim of helping to create effective and targeted graduate recruitment communications. As the weeks go on, feel free to have your say or ask a question by posting a comment.
 
Until next time,

Ali

Campus Ali Says: Believe it or not there is actually another Ali in the Stafford Long office (albeit a slightly inferior Ali), so getting him to write on the blog was an opportunity that we had to take advantage of.
 

You’ve had Muhammad Ali, Chemical Ali, Campus Ali and now you have Digital Ali. Digital Ali is Stafford Long’s new digital media planner; quite simply, he has his eyes on the screen when it comes to all things internet. He knows his Facebook from his Bebo, his Milkround from his Hobsons, and he may even be able to tell you what Blyk is…

Check back next week to read his first golden nugget of information…