Guide to Social Recruiting

The recruitment process has been rapidly changing over the past few years. Businesses are operating in an incredibly competitive landscape, and to be able to attract top talent means that it is crucial that businesses have a social media recruitment strategy in place.

Studies show that the average internet user is on more than 5 social media accounts. People enjoy joining these different communities to share their experiences and to connect with other people. Social media is like the new town center, a hub for social interaction. 

So what does that mean? Social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and many others can offer recruiters endless opportunities to connect with their ideal candidates. Many companies are trying to use social media to help them recruit candidates, however not many of them are doing it well. In this guide, we’ll show you the benefits of social media recruiting and the best way you can connect with your company’s perfect potential employees online. 

What is social media recruiting?

Social media recruiting is the process of using social media platforms as a database to advertise job openings. It can be used successfully in conjunction with other forms of traditional recruiting methods, however it is quickly overtaking traditional recruitment as the norm in the hiring world. 

Social media platforms can help recruiters narrow their candidate pool quickly and effectively to help them find qualified candidates. When companies are able to leverage social recruiting techniques correctly, they can get their brand message out across many different platforms while being able to show potential candidates a glimpse into their company culture. And the statistics are there to help back these claims up, in fact:

• Almost 100 percent of job seekers will use social media to help them conduct their job search.
• About 50 percent of professionals follow companies they want to work for to stay on top of any jobs that might open up. 
• And 80 percent of job seekers would rather see job opportunities posted to their Facebook feeds. 

Social media recruitment differs from traditional types of recruitment like direct recruitment, online recruitment or employee referrals, because it lets the recruiter make direct connections with active and passive job seekers. Plus you can connect with candidates by engaging with them through shared passions, values or similar networks, which is not possible through other recruitment strategies. 

Social Media Recruiting Strategies

All companies should have their own unique social media recruiting strategy to help them attract high-quality candidates. Some strategies are designed to appeal to passive candidates, and others will target active candidates. You could use one or all of the following strategies, the sky (or your budget) is the limit!

Build up your company’s online reputation. 

Before you can start your social media recruiting efforts, you need to have an online presence and build a trustworthy employer brand. You will need to build up your brand and position your company as somewhere candidates want to work. It helps to become a trusted authority in your industry. These days, millennials want to work for a company that they can have an emotional connection with, so it’s helpful to give them company values that they would be proud to back up. 

You can attract organic candidates through posting content about what it’s like to work for it. Just think about those companies out there that are consistently on everyone’s list of places they would want to work. They typically have eye-catching and unique working environments and awesome employee benefits. Are you able to offer your potential candidates these things?

The most important things to remember for your brand image are to stay consistent, keep your messaging on brand and be upfront about your values, ethics and beliefs. 

Use the right social media platforms for your company. 

While you might think it’s a good idea to cast a wide net and start out with accounts on every single social media channel, this isn’t the best use of your resources. It’s important to take the time to research your ideal candidate and predict where they are more likely to spend their time on socials. For instance, if you are looking for graphic designers they will most likely be hanging out on visual channels like Pinterest or Instagram. 

Recruiters need to understand the best places to find the best candidates for the job posting at hand. Finding them depends on being on the right platform for every role you want to fill. Keep in mind that each different platform you want to be in will need a slightly different approach, types of content, and talent acquisition strategies as well. 

For instance, on social networks like Twitter or Instagram you will want to incorporate appropriate hashtags in order to be a part of the right conversations and make it easier for your recruitment team to get in touch with possible candidates. And on Facebook, it’s more appropriate to join careers pages and job groups to make posts that call out to potential future employees.

Make the application process easy.

In an age where remote work and distributed teams are the new normal, social recruiting is one of the most powerful solutions when it comes to recruitment. Not only will it give you access to a wide range of potential applicants, but it also helps to simplify the entire process of recruiting. In order to be successful, businesses will need to monitor and update their techniques to keep up with a rapidly changing digital landscape. 

Businesses both big and small are realizing that only posting their opportunities on job ads can no longer give them the responses they need. A majority of job seekers use social platforms in their search for their next career move. This is especially true if your company uses remote workers, you will want to be able to reach candidates from across the globe. 

The most important thing you can do is make sure that your application process is as painless as possible, with as few steps as possible from social recruitment to application submission. You might be surprised that a detail as small as this can be very important, but many companies have very slow application processes, or use job portals that aren’t mobile-friendly, which can deter a lot of candidates from applying. 

Include your employees when sharing posts on your social media feeds.

Social media is meant to be used as a tool to help spread your brand’s message and extend your reach to people who might not have heard of you before. One good strategy is to get your existing employees to share and include themselves in the process. 

You can ask them to repost your content onto their social media feeds and encourage interaction from people they know. Personal recommendations are powerful things. Not only for recruitment but for those who are looking to get recruited. Plus, research shows that social media shares are one of the most efficient sources of hires. 

Use 1Huddle to Up Your Recruitment Process

At 1Huddle, we offer cloud-based employee gamification software that can easily adapt to any employee training or gamification strategy you want to implement at your workplace. You can customize your content for a seamless experience and all of your employees will be able to access their training anywhere, anytime and at the push of a button. You can use our gamification platform to measure their performance and make key decisions on where you should take your gamification strategy next. 

Do you want to learn more about how 1Huddle can help you level up your workforce? Request a demo today.