Have you ever picked up your smartphone while you’re in a queue, shopping, commuting or watching TV to check a fact, buy something or find a fix on the fly? These micro-moments offer a new opportunity to engage and an important step towards longer term goals such as recruitment.

In the early part of 2015 Google identified a new consumer behaviour type, called micro-moments. These micro-moments predominantly take place on smartphones and more than likely will involve watching a video.  And it’s not just Google who believe this is happening; Jeffrey Hammond from Forrester says “consumer engagement is shifting toward micro- moments”, whilst digital analyst and futurist Brian Solis of Altimeter Group has written that CMOs need to invest in micro-moments.

Consumers expect brands to address their needs with real-time relevance. People don’t rely on long sit-down sessions at keyboards to make purchases anymore. We reach for our devices to make informed decisions faster then ever before. Although mobile is the catalyst for this change, this phenomenon has implications far beyond mobile; it affects the entire journey across screens, devices and channels.

People making career changes or seeking jobs are no different, with 90% of smartphone users having used their phone to make progress towards a long-term goal or a multi-step process while out and about.

Google has defined micro-moments as instants of high intent and engagement, many of which happen in spare moments, such as waiting in a queue, commuting, preoccupied with something else, with the journey later continuing on either on a mobile, PC or tablet. These are not just distractions but real opportunities to engage.

Google have effectively broken it down into four key areas:

For 2016, employer brands that recognise and fully utilise the opportunity micro-moments present will get ahead of their competition in the war for talent.