Compared to email, with an average 38% open rate, SMS has an exceptional 82% open rate. Additionally, while roughly 33% of potential employees respond to texts, only 8% respond to emails. These are just a few reasons why SMS marketing has become one of the most popular 2023 marketing trends!

But what is SMS text message marketing, and why is it gradually becoming one of the most popular staffing and recruiting trends? In this guide, we’ll explore what it is, ways HR professionals can use it to snap up top talent, and tips on how to use it effectively. 

What Is SMS Marketing?

SMS marketing or text marketing is a type of mobile marketing that involves sending promotions to people via text messages. It’s an effective way to promote products, services, and events, as well as forging relationships with prospects and customers.

6 Ways HR Professionals Can Use SMS Marketing for Recruiting

Text marketing can be an invaluable tool for HR professionals during the hiring process. Here are six ways HR practitioners can use SMS to make recruiting top talent easier.

1. Advertise Vacancies

Text marketing is an excellent way to notify potential employees about job openings, especially those with non-desk jobs in the health care, education, construction, and hospitality industries. It can also effectively reach potential employees who don’t work regular 9–5 jobs.

While potential employees with non-desk jobs and flexible schedules may miss emails, they’re unlikely to miss texts, making SMS marketing an effective way to advertise job openings.

Additionally, since text marketing allows you to use keywords for your marketing campaign, it effectively attracts the most suitable candidates. Using keywords, you can segment your SMS contact list and send customized texts to potential employees based on their skills, work experience, and career objectives. This way, you’ll reach relevant and qualified candidates genuinely interested in joining your organization.  

For instance, if you’re an HR professional looking to use text messages for education marketing, you can send students customized texts based on their interests. 

2. Send Applicants Updates

Consider using SMS to keep potential employees in the loop during recruitment. It lets you give candidates updates about their job application status, actions required, and changes to the hiring process. These updates ensure candidates remain engaged throughout the hiring process and improve their experience.

3. Schedule Interviews

Shortlisting candidates and phoning them individually to schedule interviews can be time-consuming. Scheduling interviews via SMS is a great way to save time and monitor all planned interviews from a central dashboard.

With SMS marketing, you can send automated text messages to candidates to schedule interviews. This automated process reduces marketing costs, making it an excellent recession-proof marketing strategy.

You can also send prospects text reminders a day or two before the interview to prevent no-shows. This way, you don’t miss out on qualified candidates.

4. Promote Company Culture

Text messaging is one of the most personal ways to contact people. This makes texts great for sharing more personal information, such as your company culture, with potential employees.

You can use texts to share information about your organization’s vision, mission, values, work-life balance policies, and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. This will help you attract candidates who fit your company culture perfectly.

5. Answer Queries

Candidates often have concerns during the recruitment process related to the job posting, their application status, and the interview process. Text messages are the best way to promptly engage with applicants and provide them with answers. 

Compared to email, which has an average response time of 3.5 hours during work hours, SMS has an impressive average response time of 90 seconds. This means texts are the best way to provide candidates with information and prevent them from dropping off during recruitment due to delayed responses.

6. Send Surveys

SMS surveys are an excellent way to receive feedback from prospective employees quickly and easily. Use SMS surveys to ask prospects about their skills, work experience, and career objectives. You can also use surveys to get feedback on your recruiting process so you can identify flaws in the process and improve customer service.

Tips for Using SMS Marketing To Recruit Top Talent

Text marketing can facilitate recruiting and boost your chances of hiring top talent. Here are some best practices to remember when using texts for recruitment: 

• Seek permission first: Texting potential candidates without their consent infringes on their privacy and goes against TCPA compliance. Only send texts to people who have opted to receive them to avoid potential legal issues.
• Keep messages concise: People don’t like reading large chunks of text on their smartphones. Keep your messages brief and straightforward.
• Personalize your texts: People are more likely to read and respond to personalized texts. Instead of generic messages, send customized messages with the candidate’s name and the opening they’re applying for.
• Send messages during work hours: Send messages over working hours (between 9 a.m.–5 p.m.). Not only is doing so courteous, but it can also improve the open rate of your messages.
• Include a call to action: Tell candidates the next steps you want them to take, such as applying for the job opening or confirming availability for an interview.
• Don’t use your personal phone: Using an SMS messaging service is the best way to text candidates without giving them your cell phone number. This method keeps your contact information private while allowing you to communicate with prospective employees. 

Leverage Text Marketing To Attract Top Talent

If you aren’t leveraging SMS for recruiting, you could be missing out on top talent. Want to save time, reach candidates quickly, and compete favorably with other companies searching for top talent? Then consider using an SMS marketing platform like launch.ai. 

With launch.ai, you can consolidate prospects into lists to easily send a single message to numerous prospects at once. You can also get a bird’s eye view of all your conversations from one convenient dashboard, so you don’t miss a thing. 

Ready to enjoy hassle-free recruiting?