Social media recruiting is a method of using social media channels like LinkedIn, Twitter, or Instagram to build a brand, find talent, promote vacancies and communicate a certain message to potential candidates. It is also a vital part of Marketing Recruitment and Content Marketing. If your company doesn’t have a Social Media Recruitment Strategy, this is a great opportunity to implement one.
In doing so, you can reap numerous benefits, such as reaching more passive candidates, increasing the number of referrals, targeting the perfect talent, showcasing your company’s culture, and establishing a more personal connection with promising talent while saving money on traditional recruitment campaigns.
Need more convincing? A recent survey suggested that up to 94% of professional recruiters network on social media and use it to post jobs to an extensive community, and another study suggests that 59% of employees say a company’s social media presence was part of the reason they chose their workplace. So let’s explore some fruitful strategies your company can use for Social Media Recruitment:
1. Identify The Right Social Media Platform for Future Hires
The most obvious and frequent place where recruiters and businesses look for candidates is LinkedIn. There’s a reason why 87% of HR specialists use it and that is because you can directly evaluate a candidate’s expertise while checking the education and experience of your potential hires. Beyond simple job posting, this platform can also be used to connect to your employees’ professional networks to reach new candidates, participate in groups, boost your LinkedIn page rankings, advertise important jobs, and leverage an impressive analytics dashboard for better results.
However, while LinkedIn is the 800-lb gorilla in social media hiring, don’t forget about the other platforms where you can build a professional online presence for your company and connect with promising talent. Especially for more creative companies with a visual offering, Instagram is a perfect channel to showcase your culture based on your values and mission. Facebook is a great informal way to connect and share your projects or initiatives while advertising jobs and encouraging your employees to share it with their contacts. And niche professional sites like GlassDoor are important to monitor to see your company’s reviews by your employees and manage your reputation with potential hires.
Ultimately, where you allocate your time and resources is a company-by-company decision – so do a bit of research and outline a plan that makes sense for your company’s objectives.
2. Build Your Online Reputation With Qualitative Content
Having a brand that stands out to your customers is excellent, but keep in mind that your audience will be formed from all your stakeholders, including business partners, employees, and candidates your company recruits. Therefore, your goal should be to plan social media campaigns that not only seek to promote your services or products but also to share a message comfortably aligned with your values. Some interesting content ideas are fun videos, how-to guides, blog posts, images from events or the office, inspirational photography, infographics, or even podcasts! All of these can be used to showcase the company’s personality to hire better candidates.
Aim to highlight why your employees are proud to work for your company and you’ll build a brand that makes job applicants dream of working with you. In this way, you will build an emotional connection with stakeholders, and become one of those businesses people talk about with great respect and admiration. Keep in mind that consistency is key. Have one voice and keep your message lined up with your ethics and beliefs.
3. Involve Your Employees in Sharing Your Culture
You’ve found the platform to share your great content. You post consistently, and you’ve been getting an impressive amount of engagement from audiences and potential candidates alike. Now you are wondering how you could increase your reach. Well, a great opportunity to reach more potential hires is to get your employees involved.
A study from Social Media Today concluded that content shared by employees receives 8 times more engagement than content shared by brand channels. So, it’s time to take advantage of the existing growing network of your staff and encourage them to share and interact with your content, especially when it comes to posts advertising new hiring positions. You would be surprised by the power of personal referrals!
Of course, you may consider creating a policy for social media engagement from your employees, suggesting appropriate tone and messaging when it comes to sharing your content. They are your brand ambassadors, after all, and so a little effort to clarify your company’s voice and how your people talk about your company can go a long way in terms of staying on message.
Lastly, A Few Things to Remember
Adopting a social media recruitment strategy means having an amazing team in charge of cultivating the perfect combination of digital marketing, data analysis, social media engagement, and HR tactics. However, these 3 recommendations for recruiting better talent can go a long way as you get started, even if you’re not a true social media expert. So remember: identify the social media market where your future employees are spending their time, provide them with quality content that showcases your culture and values, and inspire your staff to share it with their network. By aligning HR with marketing strategy, you’re sure to see progress as you attract new, better applicants for your company online.
And remember, if you need better ways to manage your applicants once you’ve reached them, consider a simple, streamlined ATS like BirchHR – Leave us a message and we’ll happily help you get started!
