The Role of Social Media in Recruiting
Social recruiting can be an important tool for employers. Content can be shared to attract quality active and passive candidates, share open jobs, improve brand awareness, and help your recruiters source candidates.
Benefits of a social media recruitment campaign
The role social media plays in talent acquisition can be very broad.
- Increased awareness of your brand and company culture. Social media is a great way to get more company recognition. Candidates might not have heard of your company, or don’t know much about it. Sharing company culture, goals, career support, and employee success stories is very helpful for candidates.
- Attract active and passive candidates. Active candidates are likely using websites like LinkedIn and Facebook as a tool to search for jobs.
Adding “we’re hiring” social media posts to other sites can help attract passive candidates. Passive candidates might be scrolling through their feeds and could see a job that sparks interest or share it with someone they know. Using social channels beyond Facebook and LinkedIn is a great way to get in touch with candidates who are not actively using job boards.
- Sourcing candidates.Recruiters can use social media sites to source potential candidates. LinkedIn’s Recruiter feature is a fantastic tool for finding candidates. Although it is a paid feature, it is worth exploring, and is helpful for contacting both active and passive candidates. Social media can also be very helpful in overcoming changes in the way different generations search for jobs .
Your social media recruiting strategy – one size does not fit all
It is important to tailor content to the social media recruiting tool you are using.
- LinkedIn: A platform for professionals. You can post jobs, share links and photos from job fairs and events, and connect with candidates and companies.
- Facebook: Facebook is useful for long-form content, where you can include posts with longer descriptions, success stories, and more. It is a useful tool for sharing job postings, events like job fairs and open houses. It can also be used to join groups for job seekers in specific areas or fields. In these groups, you can share job openings and respond to comments from people looking for work.
- Instagram: It is important to remember with Instagram that short-form content for fast scrolling is what works best. A simple, eye-catching photo with a short caption will attract more people. It’s a great place to help increase brand awareness.
- Twitter (X): Twitter/X is another platform that is short-form content friendly, as characters are limited. Sharing links to a job posting or adding a photo with a short caption is the way to go.
Be sure to use hashtags to extend your reach. Including the location of the job, the industry and the words “job” or “career” in your social hiring post is beneficial for finding your ideal candidate.
Social media can be instrumental in aiding recruitment efforts and will help attract top talent. When seeking new strategies for finding active and passive candidates, it should not be overlooked. New platforms and AI help employers connect with qualified candidates, build brands, and support businesses more effectively.
