Despite the fact that social media could help brands connect with millions of people every day, so many companies still haven’t fully embraced social channels for recruitment. Social media recruiting may take a little time to get established, but once you’ve got a strategy in place, you’ll find it’s a highly effective way to attract top candidates to your business.
Benefits of Social Media Recruiting
Social media is a fantastic mechanism for celebrating your company culture and explaining to followers, and potential candidates, what it is you do, the people who work on your team, and what makes your brand special.
Over half the world’s population is active on social media, meaning that whatever industry you operate in, you have the chance to broaden your reach. Jobseekers can participate in discussions, comment on your posts, and engage in genuine conversations with you as a brand, which makes your company seem more approachable and authentic, giving people a taste of what it’s like to work for you. As Kathleen Duffy, President and CEO of Duffy Group, explained in a recent podcast, many candidates are looking at companies before applying for roles, and the way you present yourself on social media can make or break that relationship before it’s even begun.
So many people aren’t necessarily searching for a job when they browse social media, but they might come across a company that’s a great fit for them or see a role they know they’d be great for, and that can inspire them to apply. Cultural fit can play a very important part in employers’ search for ideal candidates, and social media can be effective in finding people who are the perfect choice for your business. By using social media in a creative way, you can significantly expand your reach.
Social media channels, whether it’s Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, or LinkedIn, are free to use, so the more businesses can use them in their recruitment efforts, the lower their recruitment costs will be. They can also supplement your employee referral program, engaging with existing employees to promote vacancies and put forward people they think are right for a role.
Keep It Consistent
The first step to elevating your social media channels is to get clear on your messaging early on. Using social media to showcase your brand messages is a great way to increase candidate application rates, but you’ll have even more success if you keep your messaging and style consistent. From the tone of your copy to the lighting and style of your images, it helps people know what to expect from you as a brand and as an employer. If potential candidates scroll through your social channels, they should be clear on what your ethos is and the type of company you’re operating, which will help them (and you) know if they’re a good fit.
Create Engaging Videos
Video has become the go-to content in the last couple of years, but it can be an effective recruitment tool, too, because it is almost guaranteed to increase your engagement rates. People want to grab a glimpse behind the scenes of a business, especially when it comes to applying for a vacancy, and video is the ideal medium for this. From documenting a day in the life of an employee to show the type of work your staff do and the perks of working for your company to creating soundbites from the CEO or industry news and trends, video can be a short and sweet way to update your followers and potential applicants and show why they’d enjoy working for the business.
Don’t Dilute Your Usual Content
Depending on your industry and specialty, there’s a high chance that the people looking to buy your products or services are very different from the people looking to work for your business. With this in mind, it’s important to keep the content you create for recruitment separate from your regular social media marketing, as it may just dilute your overall brand message or social campaigns or alienate your audience. You may want to create a stand-alone recruitment page that can work across different platforms so you can create career-focused content without worrying it will disrupt your social marketing efforts.
Choose Platforms Wisely
If you create a fun TikTok video and post it to LinkedIn, it’s unlikely to have the desired effect or reach the right people. You want to engage with people who are searching for their dream job, so choosing the platforms you post to is key to making sure your content gets in front of the right audience. LinkedIn is an obvious choice, but it’s not the only solution. In fact, you want to choose the channels where your target candidates are most likely to be based on your industry. For example, Twitter is popular for marketing and PR professionals, while Facebook can be a great place to find people seeking retail jobs. LinkedIn is popular with jobseekers in the finance, law, or project management fields.
All recruiters should be using social media to network and attract talent because it’s free, it offers a wider talent pool, and it provides an opportunity to engage in a two-way conversation with interested applicants. When it’s used correctly, social media can help businesses broadcast their message and find suitable candidates more quickly than job boards and recruitment sites, and it’s a foundation for communicating with candidates in ways that can’t be achieved via more traditional routes.
Chester Avey is a Guest Contributor at HR Daily Advisor.