Targeting Talent

The Art of Targeting Talent: A Modern Approach

Targeting Talent

Targeting talent can be a multifaceted concept. It can mean precision, broad grouping, or envisioning an ideal end result. However, one thing is clear: without a well-defined target, especially when it comes to attracting talent, your efforts and resources may not yield the desired results.

In today’s digital age, where talent interacts with media, content, and other forms of engagement in unprecedented ways, it’s crucial to move beyond traditional guesswork. We now have more insights than ever into candidate behaviors, including what they consume, how they engage, and when they are online. This knowledge offers a powerful advantage in crafting meaningful outreach.

Gone are the days of vague targeting. While broad branding and general social content can still play a role, when you’re seeking a specific skill set or audience, it’s essential to do your homework. Understanding your target demographic opens up numerous opportunities to position your message, brand, and opportunities precisely where they will be most effective.

Instead of relying on assumptions about where your audience might be, flip the script. Identify your ideal candidate first, then find them online. Avoid the “post and pray” approach. When targeting talent utilize a variety of resources and targeting tactics to ensure your outreach is as effective as possible:

  • Contextual Targeting
  • Behavioral Targeting
  • Cross-Pollination Targeting
  • Interest, Title, Competitor Targeting
  • Lifestyle Targeting
  • Life Event Targeting
  • Lookalike Audience Targeting
  • In-Market / Out-of-Market Targeting
  • Search Activity
  • Demographic Targeting
  • Geographic Targeting (including Geofencing & Geofarming)
  • Retargeting/Remarketing (for those who have previously engaged)

The key is to leverage your knowledge about your ideal audience to precisely target across their digital footprint. Ensure that your efforts—whether they are ads, branding, messages, or social content—are hyper-focused and intentional.

Naturally, targeting is a crucial step in the process. However, it’s equally important to ensure that your messaging, candidate experience, and measurement efforts are up to par. Effective targeting alone isn’t enough; you must also focus on crafting a compelling message, optimizing the candidate’s experience, and rigorously tracking your results. This ensures that not only are you reaching the right talent, but you are also successfully engaging and attracting them.

In conclusion, while it might be tempting to rely on a single source or approach, the digital landscape can be overwhelming and complex. To attract the right talent and stay competitive, it’s essential to approach your strategy with effort, an open mind, and a willingness to adapt. If you lack the resources, support, or expertise to implement such strategies effectively, seek professional help—it will pay dividends in the long run.

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Boosting Recruitment: How SCG Advertising and PR is Helping the Philadelphia Police Department Attract New Officers

For the past 12 months, SCG Advertising and PR has been working with the Philadelphia Police Department in their recruitment efforts to hire more officers to protect the City of Philadelphia. During our last campaign in January of 2024, SCG partnered with Audacy, Hugh Douglas, and Merril Reese. This led to several radio and streaming audio spots featuring live reads from both local sports personalities highlighting the benefits of becoming a Philadelphia Police Officer. This had a great impact on the local sports audience who were targets of the campaign.

In continuing our current and next campaign efforts, last week our Haddonfield team visited Audacy’s studios, on Polygraph Day – an exciting promotional event to help the Philadelphia Police Department hire more police officers.

SCG collaborated with the agency team from Audacy from concept to client buy-in, and execution of this exciting promotional event. Two lie detector experts and Captain John Walker of the Philadelphia PD spoke on air about career opportunities with the PPD and put WIP 94.1 sports radio personalities, former pro players, and fans on the spot about “truths” related to the local sports teams. Our team had the opportunity to watch the tests live in action, listen to on-air broadcasts, and tour the studio. SCG will be using footage from this event in the upcoming police recruitment campaign beginning 9/30/24.

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Driving Recruitment Success: SCG Teams Up with New Jersey State Police at BetRivers 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series

SCG had the honor of collaborating with the New Jersey State Police and vendors at the Dover Motor Speedway at the BetRivers 200 @NASCAR Xfinity Series on April 27th, 2024. This was an extremely rewarding and exciting experience, considering we have been working with the NJSP since 2016!

When we began working for the NJSP in Recruitment Advertising the force struggled to recruit new members. There had been a decline for the past few years, and the events of Covid 19 and George Floyd only generated more apprehension for potential recruits. With the number of applicants steadily declining, we had an opportunity to use our experience in Recruitment Advertising to bolster the NJSP back to what it once was.

Over the past few years, we have created a blend of media to advertise the NJSP including radio, billboard, Meta, Indeed, and non-traditional media. We have seen numbers climb higher than we could have ever expected and people from all backgrounds, genders, ethnicities, and education levels are applying to be a part of the NJSP.

So naturally when the sponsorship was approved for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Race we went straight to work in designing the billboards and artwork for the car wrap. As driver, Dawson Cram, raced around the home of the Monster Mile we couldn’t be more proud to see the vehicle covered in the NJSP logo.

After the race, NJSP recruiters stationed at the Fan Zone near Miles The Monster to educate attendees about the NJ State Troopers and their application process.

It was a great day for racing and recruitment, and we are grateful to all who allowed us to participate in the event.

To read more on our work with law enforcement, check out our other blog and news article on police recruitment 

Using Social Media for Recruitment: Is Your Next Hire One Meme Away?

Did you know?

  • 96% of employers use social media to hire talent
  • 86% of job seekers use social media to search and apply for jobs
  • 63% of job seekers look at social media for information about a company’s workplace diversity
  • 65% of job seekers read at least 5 reviews about an employer before applying
  • 75% of potential hires are not actively seeking jobs on job boards

Social Media Recruiting– an asset many companies know they should be using social media for, but are unsure where to begin. Some assume getting started would be as simple as creating a social media profile, but really, the first step should be determining your objectives and developing a strategy.

In order to use social media recruiting to effectively hire candidates and promote your employer brand, organizations need to develop a clearly defined strategy, build relevant and engaging content, and have the bandwidth to monitor interactions and track performance– all while ensuring an accurate and professional representation of your brand.

 

 

If you’re thinking about getting started, here are 10 tips to jumpstart your recruitment efforts on social.

  1. Tell your employer brand story

 

  1. Don’t say it, show it.

 

  1. Stay ahead of the curve

 

  1. Engage. Engage

 

  1. Be authentic

 

  1. Empower your team

 

  1. Plan ahead

 

  1. Understand your audience

 

  1. Get leadership buy-in

 

  1. Commit resources

 

 

Contact SCG today to learn more about how we help our clients use social media to reach job seekers and build a candidate pipeline.