Social Media in Recruitment
The Power of Social Media as a Recruitment Tool
Once upon a time, the thought of social media - sharing your thoughts and day to day life through an online platform - would have seemed bizarre. These days, however, it is more obscure for a person to have no social presence online at all, especially since the pandemic when social media has been fundamental in keeping connected. The same goes for businesses.
Can a business be successful without moving with these times and creating an online face for their brand? Social Media has come to influence all aspects of life, with the vast majority of us walking around with the world in our pockets. Therefore, it must be an integral part of any business plan.
Social Recruitment
The most obvious thought when it comes to recruitment and social media is to advertise job openings and opportunities. By using social networking platforms to advertise vacancies, you are reaching out to a much broader audience. Statistics show that a huge 99% of people aged 16-24 are using at least one form of social media. By utilising these platforms for the advertisement of openings, you will be able to attract more young talent.
Another benefit of advertising in this way is that you will be more likely to attract the passive candidates. By this, we mean those that may not be actively searching for a new position, but if the right opportunity presents itself to them, they may consider a change. Attracting such candidates may require a much more tactful approach, but with the aid of social media, agencies are much more able to reach this audience.
Building Your Brand
More important than Social Recruitment, however, is the scope social media provides to build your brand's online presence. Sourcing candidates and employers is a short-term gain, but utilising your platforms to build your brand will reap future benefits.
A good, strong social media presence will make your business more attractive to future leads and candidates. As well as the "usual" platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram, businesses are also using newer platforms such as TikTok and Clubhouse and are even branching out into podcasts. At Red, we’ve recently branched out and created our own TikTok account and, one reel down, we’re thoroughly enjoying this new way of interacting with potential candidates, clients, and other recruitment businesses.
How to Create an Effective Social Presence
Building your brand through social media is key, so here are some top tips on how to do this:
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Connect with influencers. Find the profiles with an existing influence within the industry and engage with their content. This will help you be seen within those circles of interest, build your online presence and boost your credibility.
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Share your own content. Creating original content will give your audience something to engage with and share further with their following. This could be blog posts, infographics or short videos.
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Help. Make your presence useful, interact with people and offer advice and informative content. Be conversational within your platform.
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Keep active. Make sure you keep the content coming, stay active on your socials. An inactive account can be more harmful to your brand than having no account whatsoever.
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Jump on the trends. Keep an eye on what is trending, what others are doing and sharing.
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Master one platform first. Don't feel you need to create completely separate content for each individual platform. Master one and use this content on the others with just some minor tweaks.
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Add a personal touch. People trust people. So don't shy away from sharing the faces behind your business. Being personable will encourage trust in your brand.
With the increasingly digital society, social media is becoming a vital part of any business's marketing strategy. It is changing the way recruitment agencies communicate with employees and job seekers, and learning how to utilise this tool will undoubtedly help your business thrive within the market.