Does your recruiting department use LinkedIn?
LinkedIn has a bit of a reputation for being old school. It isn’t the fanciest social media platform with the most bells and whistles, and its reach isn’t as wide as Meta’s products. But if you’re recruiting new talent and hoping to cultivate a great workplace, LinkedIn is the place to be. When people are looking for a job, LinkedIn is where they’re going to go, and the platform can be a useful tool for recruiters seeking new hires.
Although it isn’t the largest social media platform, it is pretty crowded—and becoming more so. LinkedIn has 875 million members, and over 100 job applications are submitted on the site every minute (source). It’s a particularly intriguing platform if you offer flexible work locations, as many LinkedIn users are outside the United States or are looking for remote work. How can your business stand out from the crowd and attract high-quality applicants?
Effective company LinkedIn pages will help you:
- Generate new leads on recruitment and hiring.
- Weed through a large number of candidates with various skill sets.
- Improve your company’s SEO in general so more people can learn about your products and services.
But if your page isn’t optimized, people won’t see it. You don’t want to pour time, energy, and resources into a platform that isn’t giving anything back. Optimizing a social media page is one of those tasks that’s easy to put off forever, but once you actually set aside the time and do it and tweak it properly, you may see a substantial difference in the number and quality of candidates coming through the door. Set a day aside to work on your company’s LinkedIn page instead of just letting it sit idle.
Here are five easy ways to optimize your company LinkedIn page to get more eyes on your recruiting content and more applications heading to your inbox.
Use Keywords in Your ‘About Us’ Section
One of the most visited sections on your company page will be your About Us section, so you want to ensure it’s in tip-top shape. It should be aligned with your brand, describing your mission statement as clearly as possible, as well as how people can reach out for more information and what your company provides for people. It should also use keywords. People who are unfamiliar with your company will be searching for commonly used words in your industry, so make sure there are enough keywords in your page to attract attention (but not so many that it sounds clunky or unnatural). This isn’t the time to get creative with words; people won’t be searching “inner-self workshops,” but they might be searching “yoga teachers.” Clarity beats cleverness when it comes to keywords, and your About Us section needs to be crystal clear. You also want to keep things short—a tight paragraph is all you need, as most people will simply skim.
Make Your Page Visually Appealing
LinkedIn isn’t exactly known for its beautiful design; there isn’t a ton of room for personalization or branding. But there are options to add branded images in important places, and you should make sure you take advantage of those. Company pages with profile pictures get six times more visitors than those without (source). That means your profile picture is of the utmost importance. Use a high-quality version of your logo that will stand out and attract attention. It’s also important to have a banner image, and here’s where you can have a bit more creativity and flexibility. Consider showing off your products, a snapshot of happy customers or employees, or any other image that goes well with your logo and makes your page attractive.
Post Video Regularly
Like every other social media platform, LinkedIn tends to prioritize video. It’s no surprise why, either—video attracts the most attention and keeps LinkedIn users on the platform. When you post content to your page, consider making it a video. In fact, video gets five times more engagement than static content on the platform (source). This can be either high tech and fancy with animation or low key, like employees sharing why they love working for your business. You can even host live events within LinkedIn, like a career fair or an info session for anyone interested in hearing more about your open positions. Although video seems complicated and like a lot of work, it’s almost guaranteed to perform better than a blog post or simple photo. So get out your camera, your most charismatic employees, and your director’s hat.
Invite Your Community In
A LinkedIn page with no followers isn’t a good look. If you’re just getting started or you feel like your page hasn’t gotten a lot of love lately, make a plan to increase the number of likes and followers you have. As tempting as it may seem, don’t fall for the trap of buying followers—fake followers are a waste of money that don’t bring in actual leads and can actually spam your page and bring it down in the LinkedIn algorithm. Paying for followers is never worth the cost. Instead, brainstorm some authentic ways to increase your audience. You can start by simply inviting clients and connections to like your page, and follow it up with an effective content marketing strategy. Make sure your LinkedIn link is on all your promotional materials, as well. Real growth takes time, so don’t obsess over vanity metrics, and instead focus on cultivating an online community feel.
Allow for Applications via LinkedIn
LinkedIn isn’t just for letting people know about your company—you can actually incorporate your applications directly into the platform, making it easier for people to apply for your open positions. If you haven’t started using this feature of the social media platform, start doing so, and see your application rate skyrocket. Many people will appreciate the streamlined process applying in-platform provides and can search for jobs with their specific skill sets offered.
Claire Swinarski is a Contributing Editor at HR Daily Advisor.