Going Mobile

"What's missing from all these discussions is mobile."

The comment was made by Peter Zollman, founding principal of Classified Intelligence LLC and the Advanced Interactive Media Group LLC, internationally known consulting groups that work with newspapers, broadcasters, dot-coms, yellow-page companies, and technology providers to develop profitable interactive.

The time wasn't several years ago, but only seven months ago, at the Onrec 2008 Conference & Expo, where Zollman moderated a panel discussion on "The Changing Face of Job Boards."

Now it seems mobile will get some airplay, at least if search engine optimization and Web marketing expert Joel Cheesman has anything to say about it.

Cheesman, best known for the widely-read blog Cheezhead, has launched mJob, a boutique marketing agency focused on mobile recruiting.

The company provides services to help employers and job sites get the most from their recruitment and marketing efforts by going mobile.

mJob's offerings include mobile site creation; SMS (text messaging) campaigns; mobile search engine optimization (SEO)/search engine marketing (SEM); Bluecasting (Bluetooth campaigns); idle screen advertising; analytics; and more.

Why go mobile?

Cheesman answers the question in depth in a white paper with that very title, available free at the mJob website.

The mJob report should be required reading for recruitment professionals, as it provides insight into an important, and as yet largely neglected, component of candidate outreach.

As mJob points out in the press release announcing its launch: "With more than 4 billion handsets in the world, mobile is rapidly becoming the media of choice for savvy businesses and employers across the globe. The mobile Web allows an employer, for example, to connect with candidates like never before: a connection based on relevance, engagement, and consumer opt-in."

An audience of 4 billion, though already huge, is expected to increase by 50 percent in four years time, mJob notes. It cites findings from the GSMA, the association that represents the interests of the worldwide mobile communications industry, which projects the mobile Web is on path to reach 6 billion consumers over the next four years.

Cheesman says, "Mobile will have a growing impact on the choices marketers and employers make to promote opportunities and brands."

Mobile also allows for anywhere, anytime job searches. A person reluctant or unable to look at a job site at work on a company computer, for example, will be able to view that site on a mobile device--provided of course the job site can be viewed on a mobile device.

Hmmm, starting to make sense?

For those keeping score, the discussion Zollman referenced at the Onrec conference has since taken place, and the result is a new destination, mobile. And, right now, the way to get there is via mJob.