What is social media recruitment? Simply put, it is the use of social media platforms to inform relevant talent of opportunities within your company. While millennials make up the largest group of social media users, the 45-64 demographic is rapidly becoming more active. Social media recruiting works very differently than the typical method of publishing an ad and waiting for the applicants. Today, the first place most people turn to when looking for a job is the Internet. As a result, it is very important to make sure you have a strong social media recruitment strategy in place.
On average, you only have 3-5 seconds to grab the attention of the reader and in that short time a candidate will make a snap decision as to whether they want to learn more. Companies that have a successful social media recruitment strategy report that they see a noticeable improvement in the quantity and quality of their candidates as well as a decreased amount of time between application and hire. But, keep in mind; you can’t just post one vacancy every few months. You must engage your network.
How to Develop an Effective Social Media Recruitment Strategy
1. Choose the Right Network
Learn to use social media effectively where potential candidates in your industry are the most active and will most likely to see your posts. Some places to reach those candidates include LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Your industry will dictate the most effective places to advertise your vacancies.
LinkedIn was specifically created to reach out to potential employers or talent. In addition to paid postings and pay-per-click ads, LinkedIn allows you to post about your company's openings on your updates stream. This means that you can include a link to your company site or pictures and links to other places where candidates can learn more and find out how about open positions. Though this method should ultimately be used an additional choice above and beyond paid advertising, it should be noted that the space is a valuable venue to brand yourself.
Twitter's effectiveness depends on how many followers your company or another company has (you can target followers of another person/company’s handle), and whether the people you want to reach use Twitter consistently. If you want your tweets to reach candidates, you can always assign a budget promote your tweets thus assuring that they end up in front of your ideal audience.
Most businesses have a Facebook presence and your posts can reach far beyond the people who have “liked” a page. Each time someone "likes” or shares something on Facebook, that person’s friends, friends of friends, or even the general public will see the post. This social sharing increases your post reach remarkably. If your page has 100 "fans," and just one of these users has 300 "friends" and just half of them see the "liked" post, that is an additional 150 more people who have seen your job posting!
2. Variety
Social media users are accustomed to seeing a variety of post topics and styles in their various streams. Don’t fill your accounts with just job openings and opportunities because your followers will lose interest fast. Utilize fun themes like Motivation Monday or circulate local stories that are relevant to the target audience. If you can keep your fans interested they will turn into promoters of your brand, which will ultimately make it easier to recruit.
3. Be Engaged
Once you catch their attention; you must engage your audience. Once you open the door for conversations you must reply to all comments, queries and feedback. This interaction establishes confidence and credibility. Remember, your social media pages are above all information resources. For instance, if you are posting a job opening, make sure your instructions are as clear and easy as possible so candidates can take action.
