Text to Apply by Fountain is a mobile engagement solution that allows job seekers to text a keyword (ex: JOBS) to shortcode 464646 to begin the application process directly from their mobile device of choice. Text to Apply enables employers to capture applicant data while providing an engaging candidate experience.
Available in United States Only:
This feature is only available in the United States. Job seekers who attempt to text 464646 outside of the United States will not receive a response.
Creating a Keyword
You'll need to create a unique keyword for your job. Think of keywords as UTMs you can use to track where your applicants are coming from, and how effective your campaigns are. Because keywords act like UTM parameters, we recommend one keyword per unique marketing campaign. For example, the keyword for a billboard should be different than the keyword on posters. This allows you to track which medium was more effective and appealing to applicants, while simultaneously providing useful data that can be used to plan and structure your next marketing campaign. Consider using different keywords to track other variations such as wording, graphics used, colors, location of the poster, etc.
To add a keyword, follow the steps below:
Select the Sourcing tab located in the top navigation bar.
Ensure Text to Apply is selected in the vertical navigation bar on the left.
Select Add Keyword in the top right corner of the Text to Apply page.
If you cannot access this button, you may have run out of available keywords or this feature is not enabled for your account.
Define your keyword in the Customize Keyword section. Choose something easy to remember, catchy, and relevant to your job or company. Keywords must be:
Between 3-15 characters
Can only contain letters A-Z and numbers 0-9.
Underscores (_) and dashes(-) are allowed. Other symbols and spaces are not acceptable.
Unique and have not be used before by your account or another customer.
Lastly, choose what link to include in the response text: "Join our team! Check out these jobs from [BRAND NAME]: [LINK]"
You can choose one of the following link types:
Opening: Choosing to link to an Opening will direct job seekers to an application form for a specific position within a location. This is the best applicant experience as it's the most direct and the least clicks for job seekers. This option is best suited for companies who have centralized hiring by position or want to do targeted marketing for a specific position or have evergreen Openings. This feature is only available in the United States, so if you do not have any job locations in the United States, you will not see an options in for the Opening dropdown.
Location: Selecting a Location will direct job seekers to the openings within a single location. This is a great option if you're planning on doing a poster on your store or doing localized advertisements. If you do not have the option to select a Location, ensure that your locations are in the United States, and that the Jobs Directory is not disabled in your Company Settings
Brand: Brand will direct job seekers to a job directory of all the Openings within your business. If you have multiple brands under one Fountain Account, this allows you to do branded marketing for each brand. Note that the Jobs Directory will only show US locations within the brand. This is preferable for those doing nationwide marketing campaigns that will advertise for multiple locations.
If you link your keyword to a brand or location, you can also configure the Geolocation. This capability enables you to specify a default radius which will be used to automatically filter and display job openings to applicants within the predetermined or preset radius of miles. Applicants can then increase the search radius, or change their location to expand their search.
Review the job seeker's experience with the preview on the right, click on the link to test it out, and make sure everything is correct. Note: Due to compliance standards the reply message cannot be changed and is set by default by Fountain.
Click Add Keyword and then Confirm to continue.
Click Agree to finish adding the keyword.
Important Notes:
Multiple keywords for the same link: You can have more than one keyword for the same brand, location, or opening. This allows you to test the performance of different marketing campaigns.
Once a keyword is added, the keyword and the link tied to the keyword cannot be edited or changed. Please choose your keyword wisely before confirming it.
Marketing Text to Apply
Text to Apply is an alternative method to application URLs and QR codes. The use of Text to Apply to recruit applicants needs to be successfully shared and marketed to potential applicants in order for it to work effectively. A few ways to advertise your job is on flyers, stickers, shopping bags, or wherever there's a consistent flow of people. Try using a simple call to action like "We're hiring! Text JOBS to 464646", applying to your jobs just got easier!
Important Note:
Text to Apply feature utilizes a short code (464646) that is subject to the carrier networks and CTIA's rules to protect consumers. To be compliant, all your advertisements must include the following:
Service description and name: Example: Sign up to receive shipping notifications from Bob's Burgers!
Fee disclosure: Example: Message and data rates may apply (NOTE: this verbiage is required verbatim)
Frequency: Example: "One message per login", "Message frequency varies", "Three messages per delivery"
Customer care contact information: Example: "Reply HELP for help"
Opt-out instructions: Example: "Reply STOP to opt out"
Link to Company Mobile Terms of Service
Link to Company Privacy Policy
Dashboard & Metrics
The Text to Apply dashboard is where you can see all the keywords you have added to your account, as well as some basic performance metrics.
To get to the dashboard, follow the steps below:
Select the Sourcing tab located in the top navigation bar.
Ensure Text to Apply is selected in the vertical navigation bar on the left.
You can filter the metrics on the dashboard with the time selector on the upper right corner. This filters both the Unique Inquiries column by the keyword texted in date (first time if the unique phone number texted the same keyword multiple times) and the Applicants column by apply date.
Aggregated Metrics
The top of the dashboard gives you a summary of metrics for all the keywords on your account along with how many keywords you have used out of the number available to your account on the upper right box.
Total Unique Inquiries | Total Unique Inquiries is the sum of unique combinations of phone number and keyword. In other words, this number shows you how many unique phone numbers texted in a unique keyword. For example, if Molly texted "Apply" and "Jobs" and applied to a job each time. She now has two applications, which means she is counted twice in the Total Unique Inquiries.
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Total Applicants | Total sum of all the applicants from any keyword. |
Total Apply Rate | 
*This is not a total sum of all the rows on the table for Apply Rate. |
Metrics By Keyword
The bottom table shows every single keyword you have added to your account and its relative performance metrics.
Unique Inquiries | This is the number of unique phone numbers that have texted the respective keyword to 464646. If a job seeker texts the same keyword multiple times, they will only be counted once. |
Applicants | The number of applications that resulted from texting in the respective keyword. Depending on your Duplicate Handling settings, a job seeker can apply more than once and therefore is not representative of unique individuals.
It is possible number can be higher than your Unique Inquiries if you have a time filter selected where the applicant texted a keyword outside the filtered time but applied on a later date that falls within the time you're filtering by.
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Apply Rate | The percentage of applies from the unique inquiries. If this number is low, consider reviewing your Application Form if the link is to an Opening and tweaking your job description to something more appealing. If it's linked to a Brand or Location, in addition to improving the Application Form, also consider how you're naming your Openings and how it's appearing on the Jobs Directory. 
Note: It is possible for this percentage to be above 100% depending on your settings allow for individuals to apply more than once. For example, if Sam texted in the keyword "Apply" once, but got to link to your Jobs Directory where she applied to two different job Openings. That is an apply rate of 200%. |
These metrics will help you identify which keywords are performing well. Please note the configuration of each keyword, especially Link Type, can affect their performance. Sending a job seeker to a Jobs Directory versus an application form are two different experiences and can affect the application rate. Even if two keywords had the same exact campaign but were for two different job Openings, it's possible that the job description, location of the job, or another variable affected the application rate. Therefore, the best way to test the performance of a marketing campaign is to conduct two marketing campaigns for the exact same configuration: e.g. same link.
Reporting
You can run reports on all your applicants like you normally do to analyze the source of your applicants. All applicants that came through Text to Apply will have "text_to_apply" as their utm_source so you can compare it with the rest of your applicants and measure success among other sourcing avenues. The specific keywords the applicant texted in will also be on the applicant's profile and recorded under utm_term.
The Applicant Experience
To check out the applicant experience, you can try texting "Jobs" to 464646. Keywords are not case-sensitive, and Fountain supports "STOP" and "HELP" responses if the applicant chooses to unsubscribe or needs help with the link or application.
If you would like to learn more about our new Text to Apply feature, please contact your Customer Success Manager or [email protected].