local media insider
Review

Is TweetMyJobs worth adding to recruitment sales?

The Washington Post weighs in on this partnership program

Alisa Cromer
Posted
Job seekers find recruitment ads like this one posted by the Washington Post on TweetMyJobs. Cool tools include pushing the red button to find out "who you know" using the site...
Connecting with Facebook is seamlessly prompted and socially savvy.
Photo

The Washington Post was one of the first companies to add social media as an upsell to the recruitment category.  By 2009, they had already built automated Twitter channels that they still own and manage. In fact, today the Post's 30 Twitter accounts tweet to channels like  #dcadmin, #dcpr, #dceducation, etc.

So for a company who already does social media job posts, what's the value of adding automated technology from TweetMyjobs? Is it worth it?

According to Matt Radke, Marketing Strategy Manager, Washington Post Media, about $60 per advertisement added to about 30% of the Post's recruitment ads sold by the telemarketing team. Part of that $60 is paid to the partner, however, Radke says the upsell is adds materially to performance. Here's how the partnership got started, how it works, and key insights.

The partnership initiated when the Washington Post Media's team wondered if TweetMyJobs would do a better job of turning longer online and print employment ads into 140 character, searchable Tweets.

"They've optimized recruitment ads for Twitter," Radke said.

While TweetMyJobs is not integrated into the self-serve platforms, it is one of the products that Washington Post telemarketers resell via their call center (for the regular recruitment rate card, click here).

TweetMyJobs supplies distribution software and the Social Network Interface (SNI) engine that allows employers - and in this case resellers - to distribute jobs and promote the employers brand through Facebook, Twitter, Mobile and the major job search engines at the push of a button. The platform also automates the shortening of the ad into a searchable Tweet. 

Below is a job's detail page showing a bright red button which, when pushed, prompts you to log on to Facebook to see who else that is part of your social network is using the site:

tweetmyjobs

Additionally, visitors can click on "channels" in the nav bar, enter their job field category in a field, see the closest ones and sign up:

According to Radke, TweetMyJobs' technology that automates restructuring the ad into searchable Tweets makes a big difference in results.

"They are best of class experts in automating the Tweet Structure to allow for it to be searched. We have our own system, but TweetMyJobs has a better way," Radke said.

"They leverage the space so that the links to the job are not disrupted. It's set up in an algorithm, that allows them to have the most efficient (Tweet) structure."

Here are ten additional insights from the Washington Post's experience as a TweetMyJobs reseller: 

1. The main value is adding clicks from search results, not followers.

"Only a few thousand people follow (our jobs channel), but if (your jobs) are on Twitter they are able to be searched. People are searching for jobs on Twitter and hopefully (your ads) show up in some of those results.

2. TweetMyJobs is bigger than Washington Post's own recruitment Facebook and Twitter platforms, in spite of an earlier launch and major media. 

Being the expert nationally, with technology that scales across the country, has made a difference. In spite of posting jobs across a variety of it's own social platforms, "the main driver is TweetMyJobs. That's where you are going to get the bonus clicks."

3. Additional results for advertisers are tracked by  number of expressions of interest/number of total clicks - not resumes

Since Twitter is most often accessed over the phone, the key metrics for the recruitment ads in this case are clicks. At the Washington Post, the team tracks two basic metrics for advertisers: Clicks which link to the job details page, and "expressions of interest" or the click from the job detail page to apply for a job.

"One of the things that we track and control is the conversion ratio, ie expression of interest/ clicks, that is how many are applying who clicked.

4. In general Twitter still has lower conversions than job sites, but increases lift

"We know from the test and research that Twitter seems to have lower conversions; people are not applying from their phone." 

However, there is value in "the fact we're out there in front of people searching through that channel. They can save it and email it to themselves."

5. Average lift - or extra click throughs  - ranges from  10 clicks to 100 clicks

The number of clicks depends on the jobs. Some jobs get multiple hundreds of clicks. The most heavily clicked are security jobs and administrative roles, which often get hundreds of clicks and provide an exceptional ROI for employers. Other top categories that use Twitter to search for jobs include healthcare, accounting, paralegal and drivers.

6. The average lift varies depending on the job.

Again, like the # of clicks, the percentage lift varies by category.

7. Around a third of employers who buy recruitment ads  from the call center will agree to an upsell to TweetMyJobs.

With the big lift, social panache, and low pricing, TweetMyJobs is an easy upsell, or can simply be packaged in.

8.  The lift in performance  is considered critical, for the low price

While Washington Post as a media partner simply marks up the rate, but it is still so low that employers perceive this as a high ROI upgrade. 

"We tack on a margin, but at $60 to Tweet a job, it is still a relatively affordable upsell. Part of that goes to TweetMyJobs, so it's not a lot of money." The typical sale includes Tweeting throughout a 30 day period, and reporting.

9. TweetMyJobs also drives traffic to the recruitment site - and thus other employers benefit from lateral traffic

Since clicks on the Tweeted listings go to the Post's job site, "The value is having  another distribution mechanism to drive traffic to the employers and in the way that we are having traffic come to our site."

10.  All upside, no downside

 Radke recommends media have some kind of a social media upsell, and therefore "TweetMyJobs" makes sense. "It's as simple as setting up a feed, and comes down to the sales people communicating the value."

Our take: While Washington Post, as a national and top 25 cities social media brand has an advantage and may see more lift from TweetMyJobs than other areas of the country, the most important factor may be the "all upside, no downside" opportunity. We can't think of a reason not to sell this partnership. 

Matthew Radke Matt Radke, Marketing Strategy Manager, Washington Post 

Washington Post, Matt Radke, tweetmyjobs, recruitment, upsell