3 ways to utilise social media for recruitment

Today you would assume that everyone, everywhere is using social media but the truth is, this isn’t an accurate way of thinking. Whilst social media provides a wide range of opportunities and benefits, many businesses are still failing to use it effectively, especially when it comes to recruitment.

A new survey by Lucas Blake recently found that almost half of recruiters aren’t using any form of social media. The survey, which questioned 750 business owners, found that 46.1% of people weren’t using social media. Why? Well it could be down to a number of different reasons, though we believe it may be that people don’t know how to utilise it effectively. With this in mind, we thought we’d share some of our top tips on how to recruit in the age of social media.

1. Use a variety of platforms

When you think about social media recruitment, we bet the first website that pops into your head is LinkedIn. Sure, LinkedIn is a fantastic website for finding and connecting with quality candidates but it’s not the only social media site out there that recruiters can use.

Many recruiters are actually finding success with using Twitter for recruitment. Twitter followers are almost three times more likely to apply for a job position than a LinkedIn connection. It also has an extremely large audience and gives recruiters the opportunity to widen their reach with the use of hash tags.

Facebook is another fantastic platform for recruitment. The survey from Lucas Blake actually found that recruiters prefer Facebook to LinkedIn. 39.2% of those questioned claimed to use Facebook for recruitment, compared to just 29.1% for LinkedIn. 28.1% of the recruiters use Twitter for LinkedIn and 1.3% said they used an alternative platform that wasn’t listed.

“We all need to be wary of avoiding the Ron Burgundy syndrome: On the surface, looking and sounding the part, but without providing the right discipline, focus, and ongoing context, appearing as nothing more than a talking head.”

2. Give your employer brand a personality

It’s important to keep your marketing knowledge in mind when advertising roles on social media and connecting with candidates. Remember, people want to connect with other people, not brands or companies. Therefore it is essential that you create a personality for your employer brand and market it effectively.

Potential candidates don’t want to be bombarded with links to job listings every few minutes. They want to know more about your business and the employee experience you offer. Sharing video content, infographics and images are great ways to engage your followers and tell them information about your business. You should also think about producing content that they will find valuable, such as CV and interview tips. The more engaging your content is, the more likely they are to choose your company over one of your competitors.

3. Experiment with paid adverts and sponsored posts

One of the great things about using social media for recruitment is that it’s free but there are paid options that can be incredibly beneficial to your social recruitment strategy. We highly recommend experimenting with targeted adverts on websites like Facebook and sponsored tweets on Twitter.

The best thing about using these paid forms of advertising is that you can select your demographic and therefore only pay to show your content to people who are 1) likely to be a good candidate for your brand and 2) likely to apply for your job. Targeted adverts are great for boosting engagement and generating higher conversion rates.

These are just three of the ways you can utilise social media for recruitment but there are many more for you to explore. Whilst online job boards and other more traditional methods of recruitment are still relevant, if you want to find the best candidates to fill your roles, utilising innovative new channels like social media is an absolute must.

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#Quote

    “LinkedIn is increasingly becoming a very strong place for companies to develop their talent plans, their recruitment plans, and so there are ways in which we can track some of the momentum there.” 

• Jeff Weiner, LinkedIn CEO.

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