Is social media still an effective way of recruiting employees in 2024? The answer, like so many human resources topics, depends on who you ask.
While algorithms and changes to the Facebook ads mechanism have plummeted the viewership of many companies’ content, the fact remains that US adults still spend a ton of time on social media. Most adults spend hours a day scrolling their phones, whether they’re laughing at memes on Instagram or wishing someone a happy birthday on Facebook. Social media isn’t going anywhere; it’s simply changing as all technologies do. That might be frustrating, but it’s part of the technology game. Since people are still spending time on social media, it’s still a worthwhile avenue to focus on—if done properly.
But how to recruit top talent on social media has changed wildly the past few years. The rules of 2023 no longer apply, and it’s important to stay on top of the changing technology in order to get the most out of your efforts. Doing what you’ve always done isn’t going to get you the results you’re looking for. It’s entirely possible to utilize social media to recruit top talent and see little to no results—a conclusion you want to avoid at all costs. Diving into recruitment via social media without any type of strategy and just hoping for the best is the perfect way to crash and burn your efforts. Here’s how to woo top talent these days online, without falling into common pitfalls and wasting your time and energy.
Be Where Your Recruits Are
One thing that hasn’t changed? Being where your recruits are. If you’re looking for talent fresh out of college who can bring in new ideas, Facebook isn’t a great use of your time. Instead, try TikTok. Working in the news media or publishing industry? There’s still a ton of activity on X (formerly known as Twitter). If you’re looking for a professional with years of experience, LinkedIn is probably your best use of time. Things like gender, age, and physical location are all things to consider when it comes to deciding which platforms to engage with. You don’t need to be everywhere at once—in fact, you shouldn’t be! It’s better to lean hard into fewer platforms than to spread yourself thin and try to be all things to everyone. That will water down your messaging and serve as a time waster. If you choose two platforms to be on and really lean into your content, you’ll see growth and activity. You can always repost your content to other platforms if you want to at least stay somewhat active on them, but tailor your content to the platform where your recruits are spending the most time.
Follow the Trends As Best You Can
Staying authentic to your brand is important. You don’t want to portray your company as a goofy, happy-go-lucky place where people break into dancing if that’s not what it is. But that’s not the only way to use TikTok effectively. Leaning into trends will help your content actually be seen in algorithms. On Instagram in particular, utilizing trending audios will help boost your posts and get your recruitment appeals in front of more eyeballs. Unfortunately, there’s no central source where you can really track social media trends, but try to pay attention to what popular accounts are doing and try to gain some insight from them. This is where having employees who actually use the platforms you want to be on becomes key. Trends use to be less important, but current algorithms seem to be leaning heavily into trending posts and videos, and while that may seem frustrating, ignoring them may be your peril. There’s no point in crafting great content if nobody sees it, and these days that might mean embracing a trend or two.
Consistency is Key
Consistency on social media platforms is essential to growth. If you only show up to post once in a while, your post won’t be promoted and will be buried in the algorithm. That means consistency becomes king—in fact, it might even be more important than quality in some cases. It doesn’t take long to fire off a quick reel on Instagram, and it keeps your post top of mind (and top of scroll!) Focus on making content often instead of making it perfect. That way, when you have a serious call to action—like asking people to head to a job posting, or inviting them to a networking event—they’ll actually see it. You want your preferred social media platforms to almost be like a recruitment business card. When people click over and see that you haven’t posted in ages, or don’t see up-to-date links and descriptions, they’re going to assume you’re either no longer recruiting or just don’t really care to put effort into it. That’s the opposite of what you’re going for.
Throw Some Dollars Behind It
Much of social media is pay-to-play these days. While it doesn’t thrill recruitment teams, it does even the playing field a bit. While it’s become harder than ever to get your authentic content in front of peoples’ eyes, it’s becoming easier than ever to put some money behind it and get real data. While ads are more expensive than they used to be, they’re also more effective in terms of targeting. It might be worth it to pay for a Facebook ads course for someone on your recruitment team, so that when push comes to shove and you really want calls to action fulfilled, you have a higher chance of achieving your goal. Another great thing about social media ads is that they’re easy to play with. You don’t have to throw a ton of money behind a post right away; you can always start small or engage in A/B testing to see what performs well. In other words, you can dip your toe in the pond instead of diving into the ocean.
Claire Swinarski is a Contributing Editor at HR Daily Advisor.