4 Strategies to Maximize Your Social Recruiting

In today’s technologically advanced society, everyone seems to be plugged into the internet in some form or fashion. Social media outlets have become a prominent part of life, and used properly, it can be an invaluable tool in finding and hiring top notch talent.

Unfortunately, the meteoric rise of social media and the constant changes and updates to the various social media platforms have daunted many hiring teams. While platforms and providers may change, the truth of the matter is that social media isn’t going anywhere.

A 2013 survey by Staff.com found that 14.4 million job seekers have used social media to find openings, and that 29% of them use social media as their primary search method. If anything social media’s adoption and integration into our lives will only grow. As a recruiter or human resources professional, you simply can’t ignore social media’s presence and reach.

Social Recruiting Trends

• 73% successfully hired candidate found through social media
• 93% of companies use LinkedIn
• 66% of companies use Facebook
• 54% of companies use Twitter
• 40% report using at least three social media outlets
• 31% of companies using social media to recruit saw an increase in employee referrals

To make sure you get the most out of your social media opportunities, keep the following items in mind.

1. Start Now

There’s no time like the present to begin using social media in your hiring endeavors. There is a learning curve, but it doesn’t need to scare you. In the realm of social media, doing something, even if it’s not perfect, is better than nothing. At the very least, you’ll generate a presence, which will help increase awareness and build a following.

As you become more familiar with social media outlets and their capabilities, you’ll be able to reach out immediately to interested candidates!

2. The Right Tool for the Right Job

There are a number of social media services out there today. To the uninitiated, they may seem like duplications of the same thing, but each one is used differently. While social job seekers use Facebook to share perspectives on a company, most turn to LinkedIn to find current job openings. Twitter is where people look to have a conversation regarding specific companies or openings.

Understanding how people use social media will help you effectively craft and share targeted messages to the individuals you’d like to attract to your company.

3. Market Yourself

Though they call it social media, it’s as much a marketing opportunity as it is a social experience. You have to make sure that your social recruiting communications accurately reflect your company and your brand. In a 2013 HireRight survey, more than half of the respondents did not have clear employment branding messages.

On the other hand, job seekers typically spend only 30 seconds reviewing a social recruiting post, and 75% of them said that the look and feel—the branding—of the post significantly influences their decision to apply.

Establish a set of social brand standards for your recruiting posts and be consistent with them. Make sure that all of your communications work together to strengthen your brand message, not just for recruiting but for your company as a whole.

3. Be Dedicated

ADD is a hallmark of the social media space—remember job seekers only spend 30 seconds reviewing a social recruiting post. Social media has trained users to scroll and skim, and they have to thanks to the tremendous volume of material that gets posted on a daily basis. The time that you have a job seeker’s attention is a precious commodity, and you have to make the most of it. Don’t force job seekers to sift through product ads and information to find open positions.

The best way to do this is separate your social recruiting messages from your company’s primary social media accounts. Create and maintain dedicated social media accounts within your hiring department. This will help centralize your message and give job seekers exactly what they want.

There are many nuances to successfully leveraging social media in your recruiting process, but following these basics will help you get started on the right path.

Sources:
http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/social-media-recruiting_b50575
http://theundercoverrecruiter.com/road-to-talent/