HR Recruiting On Social Media: Dos and Don'ts
Erica Sunarjo is a professional writer, translator, and editor with a Master’s degree in Marketing and Social Media. She writes thought-provoking articles for publications in a variety of media and is an active member of the translator community. Here, she shares her recruitment social media do's and don'ts...
"Finding and hiring the best talent means that you have to spread your search across different channels. One of these potential channels is social media. At first, this may seem like an odd combination, but a good recruiting strategy and social media can do wonders together.
“Freelance writer Erica Sunarjo showcases her recruiting social media do's and don'ts. “
When you decide that you are ready to exploit the benefits of social media for the recruiting process, there are a few valuable tips that will improve your strategy. The following dos and don'ts of recruiting on social media will drive your efforts in the right direction.
DOs
Use Different Social Media Platforms
The more channels you use, your chances of finding the ideal candidate will be higher. Diversifying the platform strategy will help you optimize your search.
Currently, some of the most popular social media channels that can help you with recruiting are LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
LinkedIn provides you a preview of candidates' achievements, Facebook gives you access to different specialized groups, and Instagram lets you present your company in the best light.
As each of these social media platforms has its purpose, combining them will bring you the best results.
Showcase Your Company’s Culture
Give potential candidates a preview of what they can expect from your company. You know, finding the right candidates is just one portion of the work. What you also need to do is to convince them that you are worthy of their time.
Don't think that candidates won't do thorough research on your company. Therefore, when they do, you should ensure that they like what they see.
If you want to present your company’s creative side you can include some fun regular posts. For example, have a “Motivation Monday” tradition when a member of the company shares what motivates them to work.
Those who have some specific routines or traditions like casual Friday should display that on social media.
Create Specific and Interesting Content
Reaching ideal candidates means that you have to prepare thought-provoking content that those candidates will find interesting.
Include status updates, leadership thoughts in key areas, your organization’s highlights and similar.
Don’t hesitate to share interesting stats, facts, and industry updates. Let the candidates learn something valuable from you.
To ensure that you publish only well-written and high-quality content find the best writing service and leave it to the experts.
Include a Video
The fact is that job posts that include a video receive 12% more views than those without a video. Additionally, videos increase the application rate by 34%.
The wide range of audience that social media provides you with will help you spread the message fast.
Some of the ways in which you can use video are:
Show how working at your company looks likes
Present the workplace
Let the users see potential future coworkers
Introduce different events in which your company participates in
A post can never help the potential candidate envision this as much as the video can.
Share Employee Referrals
According to Global Recruiting Trends, the number one channel for quality hires is employee referrals.
Well, why not use social media to showcase those referrals?
Candidates will feel more trustworthy towards your company if they see that current employees are satisfied with their job.
Share your employees' opinions on the company through casual videos or posts.
Include your employees by asking them to share company posts on their profile. Explain to them that it is in their best interest as well to find a suitable coworker. In case you hire a referral that came from their network you can reward them in some way. That can be a great motivation.
DON’Ts
Overwhelm the Followers with Posts
Consistency is important on social media but that doesn’t mean that you have to bombard the users with irrelevant content.
Relevance comes in the first place. Consequently, if you don't have anything meaningful to say, step back.
One of the ways to prevent the lack of ideas that will lead to irrelevant posts is to plan ahead. Prepare the posts in advance and use social media scheduler to save yourself some time.
Be Passive
Sitting around, posting images and GIFs, and waiting for the ideal candidate to reach out isn’t a very good strategy. A passive approach will limit your recruiting efforts. Not to mention that you won’t be fully exploiting the benefits of social media.
“Target your ideal employees by browsing through their social media profiles. When you are on this hunt for potential candidates, LinkedIn is your best bet. Considering that this is a more professional social media platform you’ll be able to see their work experience and achievements,” advises Erica Moore, an HR specialist at TheWordPoint.
Another way is to browse through Facebook groups that are relevant to what you do. For example, if you are looking for a content writer looking for groups and communities of professional writers and freelance writers.
Even Instagram can be of some help. Use hashtags to discover participants of relevant events in your industry. Through the posts, you can notice if somebody is standing out with their presence and achievements.
Send Generic Messages
Each candidate is unique as well as each different job post. Sending a generic message can seem like spam to potential candidates.
If you think they might not notice, you are wrong. They will. Since many companies have this generic approach, the candidates won't have a hard time recognizing it.
Instead, opt for personalized messages that will allow you to build a relationship with candidates.
Start with something simple like adding their name in the message and mentioning why they seem like a fit. State a certain experience that you’ve noticed or an event where they participated.
Not only will a personalized approach help you with attracting their attention but it will also generate more responses.
Some Final Thoughts
Social media recruiting can expand your reach, help you take control of the candidate search, improve your brand's image, reduce costs, and improve recruitment sourcing. As you can notice, there is more to social media recruiting than creating a profile and publishing a few posts. You need to show dedication and form a strategy if you truly want to find the ideal candidate that will contribute to your company."