Recruitment has changed tremendously in the past decade, and social media has become a way for companies to reach a bigger crowd. Advances in technology, the Covid-19 pandemic, and a younger generation entering the workforce are all factors for the increase in social media recruitment. It has increased so much that 92% of companies are now using social media for hiring new candidates. And why wouldn’t they? 29% of job seekers use social media as their search tool, and 20% of companies say it has reduced the hiring time. The benefits go on and on, so make sure to use it to your advantage. Which is why we listed down the most important things to think about when using social media as a recruitment tool. And if you want some extra reach on your job ads, feel free to contact us. Once you share a job with us, we will post it for free in all relevant social channels and job boards!
Social media strategy
Before posting on social media, you should make sure that you have a clear goal in mind. This will help you to navigate through the process and make sure you focus on the right things. You can find lots of valuable information on your candidates through their social media platforms. And as there are dozens of platforms, it’s important to pre-define how you will utilize them. For example:
- Use LinkedIn to check candidate’s professional experience and qualifications
- Check Facebook and Instagram to see how they engage with friends and family
- And look at their Twitter to see their interests and values – and see if they match with the company culture
Once you have clarified what to look for at which platform, it’s time to define your targets. For example; each month you want to actively reach out to 50 people on LinkedIn. And the goal is that 10% will respond to the message, where 5% are positive responses. Have this target in mind, and then consider how social media recruiting can help you achieve your targets. This will then help you to select suitable platforms to reach your target groups. LinkedIn often seems like the obvious choice, but that is not always the case. When profiling your ideal candidate, it’s also important to consider which platforms they are more likely to use. If you are looking for your next marketing talent, it’s better to check more visual platforms like Instagram or Pinterest. There you can get a first glance into their creativity, and how well it matches your job description.
Online presence
A Candidate’s social media presence is as important to you as your online presence is to them. How current and future employees see your company has a strong influence on retention and employee satisfaction. That’s why it’s so important that potential candidates can find you on social media, and that they get a great first impression. Creating a company brand which is desirable and reflects your work environment is an increasing requirement for candidates. 84% of candidates are actually willing to quit their job for a company which has a good reputation. Company culture, a strong reputation and a positive online presence is therefore a key to attracting and retaining talent.
So what can you do to create an active and positive social media presence? Reflect on your brand and what you want it to represent. Then try to highlight and present the most valuable parts of your company on your social media channels. Your company culture is mostly influenced by your employees, and they are your best possible ambassadors. Share your employees stories on your social media, or allow them to share it themselves. Hopefully they will speak well of the company, refer friends, and provide fresh input to your content. By actively engaging your employees in the company voice, candidates get behind the scenes insights.
It’s important to regularly publish content on your channels to remain visible. There is nothing worse than checking a company’s Instagram and their latest post was several months old. By creating a plan for your social media you’ll be sure to stay up to date. Depending on the platform and target group, the content and frequency can vary. Either way, create content which entertains your viewers, while still working towards your recruiting targets. And don’t forget to maintain your platform data! Each platform has a search function, which will help you in optimizing your profile.
The recruiting process
Most candidates decide to not go through with the application process when it’s too lengthy and complicated. In fact, applications which take more than 15 min have a 365% reduction in completion rates! Keeping it simple and easily navigated is therefore an important factor in your process, because without applications the recruiting process stands still. From clicking on the social recruiting page, there should be as little steps as possible to the end of the process. As obvious this might seem, most companies fail to realize their slow, buggy, non-mobile friendly processes.
And what also might seem obvious is to link your application processes directly to your social media channels. But it’s important to remember that you will require different styles of communication on your different channels. During the entire social media recruiting process, candidates will expect communication they are used to from social media. It needs to be quick and direct, but also adapted to fit both the platform and your company culture. Create guidelines for how your employees should address candidates on the different channels. For example, addressing someone on Twitter should differ from how you address someone on LinkedIn.
We understand that it can be a lot of work managing so many different platforms. Moyyn is an AI based recruiting platform that will match your company to highly skilled professionals across the globe. Access our talent pool of more than 30000 candidates or let us and our AI do the matchmaking for you! Once you share a job with us, we will post it for free in all relevant social channels and job boards like LinkedIn, Indeed, XING, Glassdoor, etc. Companies pay only after a successful hire or on a subscription basis. Moyyn also has flexible pricing models for young start-ups struggling to get the right talent for their growth. Know more about how you can get candidates easily for the most in-demand positions here.