How To Use Social Media as a Recruitment Tool and Make the Most of It
Social media has become the go-to place for numerous activities—briefing, conversing, shopping, and now job searching. According to Glassdoor’s 2018 report, 79% of jobseekers use social media to look for job opportunities.
Recognizing this trend, hiring managers have shifted their focus toward social recruiting. In 2021, over 92% of employers were using social media, as CareerArc reports. In Zippia’s 2023 survey, 56% of recruiters claimed that their best candidates come from this source.
Source: Skeeled
Still, to make the most of it, you need to know how to use social media as a recruitment tool. That will set you up for success and prevent you from making rookie mistakes, ensuring efficiency from start to finish.
In this article, we’ll shed light on the best practices and examine all the ways you can incorporate social media into your recruitment strategies. We’ll also touch on Workello, an ATS solution that can streamline your recruitment process.
Distributing Your Job Ads on Social Media
Most employers turn to digital job boards when advertising a vacancy. While they’re an excellent starting point, they shouldn’t be your sole source of candidates. By dispersing your hiring ad on social media, you can reach an even wider audience.
Besides that, it allows you to get in front of a specific group of candidates. For one, different age groups tend to use different channels. Although LinkedIn is generally the most frequent choice when it comes to career development, you might be better off focusing on Instagram or TikTok to attract younger audiences. You can also target specific industries or groups on social media.
Check out this chart by FlowingData to discover the popularity of different social media channels among different age groups:
Source: FlowingData
The first step is to research where your target audience is. You’ll likely need to do some testing to see what works and for which group. Make sure to also look into what your competitors are doing and how they’re acquiring their talent.
Here are 4 tips for successful social media job advertising:
Post about your open positions and ask your employees to share them, especially if they have relevant connections
For even more reach, sponsor said posts and track the analytics
In the ad, make sure to clearly state how interested candidates can find out more and apply.
Include behind-the-scenes photos, videos, and other visuals to make the ad more appealing and interesting
Sourcing Candidates Directly
To expand your reach further, consider using social media to source passive candidates. According to SHRM, 82% of organizations are already doing it.
If you’re only targeting individuals who are actively seeking jobs, you’re missing out. The majority of employed individuals would be willing to switch employers if a more suitable opportunity came up. In Gallup’s State of the American Workplace Report, 51% of people with jobs claimed to be keeping out for new opportunities. In the aftermath of the great layoff of 2023, this percentage is likely higher.
Here’s a table explaining the key differences between recruiting active and passive jobseekers:
Active Candidates
Passive Candidates
They’re trying to engage with you
Narrow talent pool
You need to sift through many unsuitable applications
It’s difficult to find a close match, so compromise is needed
You’re trying to engage with them
Wide talent pool
You need to review a great number of profiles
You can find individuals with specific qualifications and skills
Once you define the ideal profile for the vacancy, use the search and filtering options to find suitable candidates. Review their feed to identify if they’d be compatible with the position and company culture. LinkedIn has made this easy, as it provides career-related info.
No matter where your candidates come from, use Workello to organize and manage them. Control all aspects of the recruitment funnel through a single dashboard, triggering automated responses with each change.
Strengthening Your Brand
While it’s not recruitment per se, branding is incredibly important. If done incorrectly, it can hinder your recruitment efforts. In CareerBuilder’s 2016 Candidate Behavior study, 64% of participants claimed that they research a company before applying. If unable to find information, 37% said they would skip over the ad.
Source: The Talent Hub
The same goes for social media. Everyone uses it nowadays, so businesses need to do so as well. Your brand should be easily identifiable and memorable. As McKinsey reports, strong brands outperform their competitors by 96%.
Here are 4 essential steps to building and reinforcing your brand on social media:
Define your brand—Establish your core values and messaging and stick with them. Develop a visual brand to tie it all together, maki
Have a strong online presence—Have multiple social media channels and post regularly on all of them, adapting the content to each
Provide value—Being present is important, but what you put out in the world is crucial. Post content that’s valuable to your audience to build trust and authority
Test and improve—Track the analytics to measure success. Don’t shy away from change. If need be, rethink your branding strategy to stay relevant
Cultivating Relationships
Another important aspect of branding is relationship building. While it’s important to stay professional, you should also be personable and authentic in your interactions. After all, a company is nothing without its people.
Be it current employees or potential candidates, you need to show that you care about them. That will help you build trust and create strong and loyal communities. Thankfully, social media is the ideal platform for that.
With Candidates
Social media enables you to develop and nurture your candidate pipeline, which consists of individuals who have expressed an interest in working at your company.
Having a solid relationship with candidates can be quite beneficial:
It can reduce the time and cost to hire. After all, you’re not starting from scratch each time. And since the candidates are already familiar with your company, it’s easier to build trust
It also leads to a higher quality of hires. Connecting on social media can provide both parties with valuable information, allowing them to accurately evaluate culture and job fit. Also, candidates who have engaged with your brand are likely motivated
It lays the foundation for a positive candidate experience. When you start on the right foot, the rest of the process will likely run smoothly. Show your candidate pool that your company’s a great place to work at before they ever apply for a position
Instead of posting vacancies only, consider sharing behind-the-scenes footage, testimonials, useful tips, and other valuable content. It should be a two-way conversation, though. Ask the candidates for thoughts and feedback, and make sure to respond to comments, messages, and reviews.
With Employees
Engaging with current employees on social media is a powerful tool. Not only does it contribute to employee engagement and retention but also helps you attract new talent. Seeing how you interact with your workers on social media can be a dealbreaker for many candidates.
Here are 4 ideas on how to foster employee relationships online:
Encourage them to connect with the company’s profiles and repost content they like
Share news and other company updates to keep them informed
Showcase their achievements, such as anniversaries and promotions, to boost morale
Ask them to share vacancies with their network and provide referrals
It goes without saying that none of these efforts will work unless you’ve previously established a solid relationship through open communication, fair pay, equity, and other means.
Tracking Progress
Source: Cultivate Advisors
To set yourself up for success, devise a thorough social media recruiting strategy. It should be comprised of SMART goals:
Do
Don’t
Specific
Specify exactly what you want to achieve and define how
Say “I want more applicants”
Measurable
Determine what indicates progress or success and track it
Use vague language
Achievable
Make sure you can achieve the goal given the resources you have
Try to do everything at once
Relevant
Set goals that align with your company values and objective
Be inconsistent in your messaging
Time-bound
Establish a deadline for your goals to ensure accountability and motivation
Keep pushing toward a goal you might achieve someday
Monitor your progress to identify areas for improvement, then revise the strategy according to the results. With such a data-driven approach, you can always stay in the know and make informed decisions.
Use social media recruitment tools or other recruitment software available to you. They typically provide detailed analytics on the performance of your campaign, allowing you to track metrics such as the number of job applications received or the click-through rate.
Conclusion
Social media can be a powerful recruiting tool. By using it effectively, you can:
Advertise your vacancies to a wide pool of candidates
Source passive candidates
Reinforce your brand
Nurture relationships with potential candidates
Social media has changed the recruitment game. Employers who adapt to this change will likely be the ones who succeed in attracting the best candidates.
Whether you’re using social media as a recruitment tool or not, use Workello to optimize your hiring process. It’s a simple and affordableATS designed to help you navigate all stages of the recruitment funnel. With automated responses and skill assessments, you can single out the most competent candidates, while providing them with a smooth application process.
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