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With modern technology bringing the world closer, Co-authors John Manzano, Country Manager and Roland Cerera, Digital Marketing Content Manager with TeleDevelopment in the Philippines takes a quick look at how the different generations behave in the world wide web.

The Digital world imposes a critical role in our current society. Getting a thorough understanding of how people react to this phenomena is critical to success for any online undertaking. A recent analysis of consumer’s online behavior points out the significance of revisiting marketing strategies. This report encompasses the preference and activities of more than 18,000 online users globally, purposefully segregated by geography and generation.

This data can be utilized in a number of ways, from online shopping preferences to job hunting activities of applicants. In a truly global online marketplace, competition is no longer limited to local offices during regular business hours. Job searches can happen at any moment in time as the World Wide Web becomes accessible from virtually everywhere anytime.

Creating an online experience enhanced by technology such as augmented and virtual reality or 3D is coming at least as important as providing convenient and personalized avenues for online job seekers. Therefore, increased competition, combined with consumer demand for richer experiences, will ultimately lead hiring companies to rethink their online strategies.


Online Generations

Generation X (those born between 1966 and 1981) surprisingly has more online presence compared to millennials. However, their activities are more focused on online shopping. This generation is in a stage whereby they are more concentrated in maintaining their family lives and that their careers are already established. We can consider them as being passive in job hunting.

Capitalizing on this data, it can then translate to intensifying hiring campaigns within the realms of online stores. These passive job seekers may have their interest piqued at one point once a hiring ad is present while they browse for their next furniture online.

Millennials (born between 1982 and 2001) are more focused on social media sites but are expected to surge and even far surpass the levels currently exhibited by older generations as they continue to enter the workforce and adulthood.

Baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1965) are less inclined to shop online as generation X but the survey disclosed that they, in fact, however surprising, are online as much as the millennials.



Online and Offline Presence
When comparing the impact of online versus offline touch-points that create the first trigger moment, of note is that 52 percent of online job seekers cited at least one offline channel as a source of initial awareness, and 59 percent cited one or more online channels.

Social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn are primarily the most common source of initial awareness, cited by nearly a third of the survey respondents. Online advertisements were cited by 15 percent. Physical recruitment hubs came in as the second most popular source of awareness as attested by 22 percent of the populace.

Millennials were not only more likely than the older generations to be influenced by online sources such as social media or peer reviews, they were also more likely to be influenced by offline channels. Both online and offline channels are effective in creating consumer awareness and demand, especially when used together. Companies’ brick and mortar strategies need to continue to evolve to attract candidates and compete in the online market. Increasingly, we are seeing inventive marketing strategies, as well as new technologies such as robots and AI. Hiring processes are incorporated or have gamification as the main component of their interactive and virtual reality initiatives. All of these are being deployed as hiring companies strive to compete on all fronts.


Reasons for Applying Online
Given the demographics where age groups were categorized according to their online experience and preference, the number one reason why people look for a job online is out of sheer convenience (57 percent). It is closely followed by having the ability to compare benefits (53 percent) and to look for a more competitive salary (45 percent). All age groups reported the same top three drivers.

Going through a deeper analysis of a job seeker’s online behavior, it is not surprising that a generous salary package attracts 55 percent of the survey respondents. 41 percent are looking for a job online with a more conscious effort as they match their skills and talents versus the job posting.

Millennials were more concerned about the quality of work and how they can contribute their skills to the company while those in Generation X are focused on how near their residences are to the workplace (39 percent).


Online Security
A chief concern is Identity theft. While most companies are of course making a concerted effort to protect their customers’ personal information, frequent media reports on data breaches around the world continue to make consumers anxious and keep the issue top of mind.

Taking into consideration trust issues, online job seekers said that protecting their data and information is on top of their priorities (64 percent). Although millennials are the generation least concerned about data protection, it still ranked high as a priority for earning their trust cited by 56 percent of millennials, 66 percent of gen Xers and 71 percent of baby boomers.


Feedbacks and Online Trust
As part of building online trust, reviews and comments are the primary source of online trust. Overall, 31 percent of the job seekers responding to the survey said they shared a comment or review online. The millennials were most likely to post a review (34 percent), followed by gen Xers (29 percent).

The growing trend for consumers to post reviews and comments is driven by factors including the rise of social media, where job seekers talk about their experience in the recruitment process; the rise of bloggers, whose business models are based on providing product reviews that drive affiliate clicks. Those who have applied and went through a company’s recruitment process claim that they have talked about their personal experience on Facebook (31 percent) and Twitter (24 percent). Interestingly, 8 percent would send an email or contact the company through their website to give feedback.


Marketing and Digital Recruitment
As a country manager of a prominent consultancy and end-to-end solution provider for IT-BPM players, I find the survey of great relevance to the industry itself. This is an avenue we need to explore if we wish to step up and engage our talent acquisition needs efficiently and effectively.

The job hunting behaviors of Filipinos or global consumers, whether they are millennials or from generations X or Y, are becoming differently motivated and are increasingly influenced by worldviews and preferences. With the help of this study, companies will have a more adept understanding of the current trends deemed useful to successfully address demands equally beneficial to the growth of their respective businesses.

The data and its analysis are key indicators for companies and businesses to highly consider Digital Marketing as the next big step towards growth. There are more than one billion people who access the internet in the Asia-Pacific and the Philippines stands among the frontline digital economies in the region. According to the Asia Digital Marketing Association (ADMA) and the Internet World Statistics, the country and its 33 million users ranks second in Southeast Asia and 6th in the whole of Asia in terms of internet users. This milestone headlined worldwide tells about the enormous marketing potential businesses can explore in the region.


The Mobile Revolution
It is without a doubt that the Philippines has a very substantial digital marketing ecosystem. It is now imperative to look at the number associated with the platforms internet goers use.

The explosion in smartphone popularity has rapidly changed the dynamics of the online world. The Nielsen Southeast Asia Digital Consumer Report noted that a growing number of Southeast Asian consumers go online via internet capable mobile devices. In another study by the Wall Street Journal, desktop usage’s last peak was March of 2015 with 567 billion total minutes of desktop web usage. The trend has been negative since with mobile usage up dramatically with more than one trillion total minutes of activity as of March of 2016.

A lot of casual browsing is migrating from the PC to mobile devices. Advances in hardware and software have made phones a personal computer. With one out of every three Filipino netizens going online via smartphone, the platform is unquestionably the best avenue to focus on with Digital Recruitment. Making sure that marketing plans are mapped out to incorporate the aesthetics within the bounds of a smartphone will heavily increase its efficiency and effectivity.

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