By Dmitry Dragilev Today, more than 2.62 billion people use social media platforms. Facebook is the third most-visited website in the world, and every minute, Twitter users send out 473,400 tweets.
We’ve gone from asking, “Can I get your number?” to “Can you add me on Facebook?”
Social media has drastically changed the way we communicate, make purchases, market, and even the way we hire.
In the past, recruiting meant using high-priced headhunting firms or relying on newspaper listings. Today you can do it all yourself, right from your computer, phone, or tablet.
Social media is one of the most powerful recruitment tools at your disposal. Not only can social make recruitment faster and easier, but it can also be far more effective at helping you find the right candidates–even if they live on the other side of the world.
Ready to put your social platform to work recruiting the best team members? Here are five unique ways to leverage your social platforms to attract top industry talent.
1. Establish Your Brand as an Industry Leader Through Content
If you want to attract the best of the best, your company needs to be viewed as a leader in your industry. Or at least an up-and-coming startup producing great content based on what your customers search are seeking.
In addition to building trust with customers, being an industry leader also attracts talented workers who want to join a trusted, growing team.
To do this, you need to publish great, high-quality content and share it on social media consistently.
Now, what do we mean by ‘great’ content?
- Great content does not mean pushing out more content than every other brand.
- Great content does not mean publishing low-quality blog posts and calling it a day.
- It does not mean doing the same thing everyone else is doing.
Great content is innovative, in-depth, relevant, and, above all, useful.
Here is an example of truly great content that stands out. This article from Buzzsprout, a podcasting tool, focuses on solving pain points and being an industry leader on podcast tutorials:
The post is more than 5,000 words long and covers literally everything a podcaster could want to know about Apple’s podcasting categories and how to choose the correct one.
Longer doesn’t always mean better, though.
Here are a few other ways to ensure your content stands out and builds your brand as a leader, not a follower:
- It was updated this year to add recent changes, so it remains relevant.
- It includes screenshots that show, not just tell.
- The post contains headings and bullet points to break up the content and make it easier to read.
- They answer frequently asked questions related to the topic, which makes it a valuable resource.
When your content is ready, it’s time to share it to social with a hook that encourages users to click to read the post. This is a strategy that travel bloggers Adventure For Less use:
Here is another example of high-quality content, from hair care company LUS Brands. Their all-in-one curly hair styling products have earned a bit of a cult following. Much of their content is in video format, showing the different techniques customers use to apply the product.
But, they also create guides to answer some of the most-asked questions about curly hair.
This post is about how to increase volume in curly hair. LUS shared the post to Facebook and used questions to increase engagement with the post.
The blog post is in-depth and includes before and after photos, headings to break up content and make it easier to read, and even a video showing how to use the methods mentioned in the post.
But, here is where LUS really stands out: they don’t just share the post to social media and carry on, they stick around in the comments to interact with their followers and answer questions.
Beyond just comments, LUS also uses business texting strategies on Facebook Messenger to contact individuals who comment. Via more personalized text they can create deeper relationships that stick.
Chris Brisson from SalesMsg, a two way business texting software used by CrossFit, Comcast, Ritz Carlton and many other brands puts it the following way:
“Texting is by far the best way for a business to reach it’s customers right now at this point in time. Email and social are just too noisy, all of us are receiving way too many messages to stay on top of all of them. The same goes for phone calls. Texting is the only channel with is still relatively quiet. Our customers are seeing an amazing engagement.”
Whatever it is, whether it’s LUS’s messages on social or through SMS texts they are helpful and thorough, which establishes their brand as a reliable resource for everything related to curly hair.
As a result of the quality of the content LUS shares, as well as their dedication to engaging with their customer base, they have developed an incredibly devoted fan base who rave about their products.
In fact, a good portion of their social media posts are reviews from happy customers who share their videos and photos.
And this near-rabid brand dedication spills over into their recruitment efforts. When LUS is ready to hire a new team member, they go to their audience first.
Check out this Facebook post about a recent job opening.
They outline the type of work required, of course, and where the position is located. But they also mention their ideal candidate is someone who already understands their brand and is dedicated to helping people.
Establishing who they are as a brand through content and social media engagement helps LUS attract candidates who fit into their culture–which is arguably more important than hiring anyone who happens to have the right degree or experience.
2. Create Social Graphics That Grab Attention
The power of social media is undeniable. Selling on Instagram DM is undeniably popular, 80% of the 1 million people who are on Instagram follow at least one brand.
Eighty-one million people have Facebook accounts. Ninety-five million photos and videos are shared on Instagram every day.
Social media is loud and getting more crowded by the day.
So, how do you help your recruitment posts stand out in the ever-growing world of social media?
In addition to creating in-depth, high-quality content, you also need to use images that beg a second glance.
Images are incredibly powerful. In fact, posts that include images earn 650 percent higher engagement than text-only posts. If you want people to notice your recruitment posts, you need to use high-quality images.
Luckily, there are plenty of social media tools which help you create visuals that can help.
For example, photo editing tools like Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro can help you create amazing photos that grab attention. Graphic design programs like Vectr and Snappa can help even beginners create high-quality graphics.
Here are a few examples of brands using amazing graphics and photos to help their recruitment efforts.
Bacancy Technology uses bright colors and icons to keep the content organized, while still covering all the requirements.
XING uses a compelling picture of their offices to entice candidates to come work for them.
Those big, beautiful images stand out, especially compared to text-only or link-only posts, like these:
3. Share Behind-the-Scenes Info to Attract Prospective Hires
The average worker often spends more time with their coworkers than they do with their own family. Workers are no longer content to work for companies that do not value them as people as well as employees.
Think about the most popular companies in the world, such as Facebook and Google. These companies aren’t just known for their products; they are idolized for their working conditions.
Google, for example, has 4.4 stars on Glassdoor and was ranked as one of the best places to work for the last 11 years running.
The company offers perks like onsite medical care, generous parental leave, arcade games, free meals, onsite gyms, and even masseuses right on campus.
Now, not every company makes billions of dollars like Google. However, you can share your unique culture and how you value your employees. Maybe you host a Halloween decorating contest, have a potluck, or throw a spectacular Christmas party.
Sharing the culture of your company by posting behind-the-scenes peeks to social media establishes your company as a place where people want to work.
Here is how Alden Tseng from Wayfindr a software company focused on streamlining the job application process puts it:
“As a business you want to attract the best talent yet it’s tough in this day and age when the world is the noisiest it has ever been. Sharing something unique and our of ordinary on social which attracts the eye balls of prospective applicants for a job is the best way to find your future employees. Think of your social channels as a recruitment platform, you’ll approach your posts there much differently.”
Lendio, a small business loan company, shared this post to LinkedIn, showcasing their newest hires. The new employees strike silly poses to celebrate their first full week on the job.
Post like these help to establish their brand and show Lendio is a fun place to work, which is attractive for prospective hires.
Thruline, a marketing agency for higher education institutions, shared this post of their employees after a game of “Live Healthy” bingo, where staff won prizes like company swag, healthy snacks, water bottles, and work out gear.
Showcase your company at its best by sharing celebratory events, new hires, milestones reached, and charitable activities, such as fundraisers. This will give prospective candidates an idea of what it would be like to work for you, and get them excited to join your team.
4. Share Job Listings in Targeted Social Circles
In marketing, targeting is used to reach specific groups of prospective customers who might be interested in your product.
For example, when marketers create Facebook ads, they don’t just target every Facebook user. Instead, they use the Facebook ads manager to target users by age, location, gender, and a variety of other factors.
You wouldn’t want to market your miracle baby product to teens who don’t have kids, right? You’d want to target people who have kids or who are thinking about having kids.
This same strategy works on landing pages. For example, Housecall Pro, a software used by home service companies such as plumbers, HVAC technicians, and cleaning companies, uses targeting by creating custom landing pages for each customer segment.
They use language directed specifically at plumbers and share reviews from actual plumbers. It is the same software used by every other customer, but this page focuses specifically on the benefits for plumbers.
But, you ask, how can targeting help you with your recruitment efforts?
Just like targeting makes marketing efforts more effective, it can also make your recruitment efforts more effective by reducing the amount of time spent filtering applications that don’t fit your needs.
Instead of just sharing your posting to your LinkedIn profile, for example, look for groups where the people you want to hire might be gathered together.
If you were a marketing company, instead of posting a copywriter job listing to your main LinkedIn profile, you might choose to post it to the Freelance Copywriting group, where more than 3,000 copywriters hang out.
You are far more likely to find a copywriter who fits your needs in a group of copywriters, right?
In LinkedIn, targeted groups are quite easy to find by searching a key term.
On Facebook, however, finding the right group can be a bit more complex because group names might be less keyword-related.
Instead of searching for the position you are hiring for, try searching for business groups related to your industry.
For example, a search of marketing groups on facebook brings up a wide range of groups related to running a marketing business, including a group specifically for listing jobs.
Just be sure to use the “Groups” search filter, as outlined in the image above.
What about Twitter? Well, Twitter doesn’t have groups, of course, but they do have hashtags. Using tags like #hiring #copywriter can ensure people searching for jobs in that field can find your post.
5. Consider Creating Recruitment Profiles on Social Media
If your company is large or growing fast, consider creating recruitment-only social profiles.
If you only hire a few times a year, then this strategy might not be for you. However, these profiles can be used to share job listings and sneak peek into the lives of employees and the culture of your business, which can help attract the type of workers who appreciate the culture of your business.
One of the best ways to grow followers on your profile is by using social media scheduling app which allows you to schedule future posts and updates all in one shot so that you could be sleeping and posting updates at any time of the day. This type of activity gets you into a mindset and rhythm of always posting fresh content even if you do not have any new openings to share.
For example, Microsoft created a profile called Microsoft Life, where they share profiles of employees, updates to their campus, as well as articles and interviews with Microsoft employees.
Creating a page just for your recruitment efforts makes it easy to share content in one place, instead of spreading it out over your brand profiles.
Which platform should you use to create your recruitment profile? Go where your target hires are hanging out. If they use Instagram more than Facebook, then you will want to share information about your culture and positions on Instagram.
Conclusion
Social media is a powerful marketing tool, but it can also be a powerful way to attract top talent in your industry. By sharing content that stands out, giving prospective employees insight into your culture, and sharing posts in targeted groups, you can reduce the amount of time it takes to recruit and pre-screen applicants that are more likely to bring the attitude, talent, and experience you need.
How did you find your last hire? Would these strategies help you make your next recruitment efforts more efficient?
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Digital Editor