Social media has a critical role to play in the modern recruitment landscape. Many companies have incorporated social media in their recruitment strategy as most job seekers are using social media to find their dream jobs. So, if you aren’t using social media in the recruitment process, you’re missing out so much. According to Glassdoor, 79% of job seekers use social media when conducting their job search. So, to get a good number of qualified candidates, social media should be included in your recruitment strategies.
What is Social Media Recruiting?
Social media recruiting or social hiring or social recruiting is a recruiting trend that refers to sourcing candidates through social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Job Networking Sites, Facebook, online forums, and blogs.
Social recruiting involves sourcing, attracting, and hiring active and passive candidates using social media profiles. As per a study, nearly three-quarters of employees between 18-34 found their recent job via social media.
Why is Social Media Important for Recruiting?
More than 85% percent of companies said social media helps them find and connect with passive candidates.
Every day, millions of people use social media networks. There are 2.91 billion monthly users on Facebook, 800 million members on LinkedIn, and 1.19 billion Twitter users in 2021. Hence, by avoiding these platforms, you will miss potential candidates.
These are the platforms that people spend their most time on. Moreover, social media removes the obstacles such as demographics and lets you source talent that match your open jobs from anywhere in the world.
You Can’t Avoid Social Media in Recruiting.
Recruiting trends have dramatically changed in recent years. Employer brand has become an essential factor for candidates to accept the job offer. Social recruiting is focused on marketing the job and employer brand.
Although job portals and cold emails are traditional and the best ways to recruit candidates, people are open to hearing about job positions on social media. You can reach out to active and passive candidates on LinkedIn or Facebook without any guilt. Moreover, different social media profiles help you understand more about the candidates.
Today, younger generations are less likely to stay with the company for longer. They are always looking for new, better opportunities to grow their careers. Social media hiring helps you build relationships with passive potential candidates. It allows you to show why they should consider and why you’re the right company for them. You can attract multiple candidates with the same interests through your posts.
On the contrary, not using social media in recruiting will not benefit you from the above-discussed benefits. Also, some practices can break your recruitment strategy; we’ll discuss them at the end of this article.
Tips for Using Social Media in Recruiting
Boost Recruitment Marketing Efforts
While traditional recruiting marketing strategies like cold emailing are still working, social media gives you an edge over your competitors. So, be active on all relevant social platforms to create an awareness of your employer brand.
Build your Brand
Create and boost the brand that helps you attract wider people to apply for the job in your company. Make use of social platforms to showcase your work culture, vision, and employee experience.
Grow Talent Pool for Future Hiring
The ultimate goal of your social recruiting strategy is to grow your social followers and build a network of talent for your present and future hiring. Building a talent pool helps you hire candidates in a shorter time. This also saves you huge money as you don’t need to source candidates every time there is an open position.
Engage Current Employees
One of the best ways to attract new talent is to let your current employees speak about their positive experience working with you. Ask your employees to share their feedback and anything positive they feel about you on their profiles. Today, most candidates make their joining decision based on the employees’ reviews.
Repurpose Content
Make time to be active and engaging on different social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, etc., with relevant content. You can always repurpose content to post it on different platforms. Being active on social media is not that time-consuming, trust us. All you need to have is the right strategy.
Mistakes that can Break your Recruitment Strategy
In the process of building a solid presence on social media, most employers or recruiters make the worst mistakes that can ruin your recruitment strategy. One of the most common mistakes most employers make is oversharing the posts. Aiming for quantity can degrade your quality.
- Do not overshare or degrade the quality of your brand, posting the same post numerous times.
- Do not copy your competitor’s style when creating posts or marketing your brand. Research and create your own strategy.
- Do not be creepy when you find potential candidates. Collect only the data that you think is professional and needed to engage the candidate.
Social media is a powerful tool to use in your recruitment strategy. It helps to turn your not-so-performing job posts go viral and draw numerous applications effortlessly. However, like a coin has two sides, even social media can make or break your recruiting strategy. We’ve discussed everything you should know about social hiring. I hope this article helps you take off the recruitment process and hire better and faster than your competitors.
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