The modern candidate is more demanding than ever before. Candidates and clients expect businesses to make an effort to connect with them. Companies that contact their customers only when they want to make a placement run the risk of losing them. Hiring companies expect recruitment agencies to reach out to them before, during, and after the hiring process.
Email is one of the most powerful ways to connect with existing and potential clients. Designing and implementing an effective email marketing strategy tops the priority list of every marketing manager. And it should top the priority list for every recruiter. When creating your email marketing strategy, one of the first things that you need to do is build your email list.
What is an email list?
An email list is a list of contacts (existing clients and prospects) that the recruitment agency has gathered. An email list includes email addresses of customers who have expressed interest in receiving information (e.g. top candidates) and updates related to offers (e.g. referrals) and other events that the agency conducts in future in a digital format (e.g. a podcast.... messages delivered to their inbox).
Building an effective email list takes time and effort. Many recruiters wrongly consider buying an email list a better option than building one. What they fail to realise is that many email lists for sale are not updated and may include inaccurate (even fake) email addresses. Old email lists may even include email addresses of people who have opted out of marketing emails. Mailing such people can result in the business getting flagged as a spammer. More often than not, recruiters that buy email lists do not get their money’s worth.
Why build your email list?
In today’s age of social media, email marketing has still not fallen out of favour. A study shows that email marketing, on average, sees a 4300% ROI for businesses in the U.S. Another study shows that businesses are six times more likely to get higher click-through rates on emails than tweets. When it comes to getting on-board new customers, email is 40 times more effective than Facebook or Twitter. Another study shows that for every $1 invested, email marketing generates $40.
Some reasons that make email one of the most effective communication channels are:
Email is personal
Emails are direct and personal. There is no ranking system that can limit your reach, and you get direct access to your client's inbox. To personalise your emails, build and capitalise on candidates profiles, determine the right time to send emails, match personalised emails and landing pages, and set up automated behaviour-trigger emails.
Email is purposeful
Before starting to send email notifications to a person, you need to get an opt-in form filled (in an ideal world...). YOU ARE ALLOWED TO EMAIL B2B, on the basis of legitimate interest. A candidate making an effort to fill out your opt-in form would be more receptive to your message though. A prospect taking time out from their schedule to provide their personal information is an indication that they are interested in hearing from you.
Privacy
Email is one-on-one. Your prospects and candidates can read emails that you send in the privacy of their inbox, without stressing about others knowing the content of the message. Additionally, your target audience can ask you questions directly in private, which helps build trust and confidence.
Unparalleled reach
Almost every internet user has at least one active email account. Additionally, many email users use email several times a day, which increases the chances of your message getting noticed. A study estimates that around 3.9 billion people use email worldwide. By 2022, this figure is expected to grow to around 4.2 billion. Comparatively, only 3.48 billion people use social media. Businesses around the world realize the importance of building an effective email list and run social media campaigns to get people to sign-up for their emails.
Cost-effective
There are several reasons why email is more cost-effective than several other marketing communication channels. Emails are shareable, have a good CTR, and generate a high ROI. Additionally, you do not have to pay costs for hiring ad space, printing marketing collateral, and postage and other expenses associated with traditional marketing efforts.
Email is targeted
The problem with using traditional advertising mediums such as job boards is that you do not have any control over who watches/sees your ads. All you can do is buy job slots and hope that your target audience notices your advert.
Emails, on the other hand, are targeted as you only contact a person who has expressed interest in your service.
