Using Social Media in your Recruitment Strategy

Research by Careerac has found that 86% of candidates are using social media when looking for a new role and according to LinkedIn 49% of potential candidates are following companies are interested in on their social channels. By highlighting your job opportunities on social media, it can put you directly in front of an engaged audience who are actively interested in your company. This can help with some of the initial recruitment hurdles as they will understand company knowledge and fit.  

 Build and Maintain Your Employee Brand 

Posting job listings is not the only way that social media can help with your recruitment strategy. By being active on your companies’ social channels can help give your followers who may be your prospective candidates an insider glimpse of what your company does. It’s a great way to show off your company values, what you stand for and what kind of people work for you. Employee advocacy posts can boost your reputation, showing follower how they would fit in and how rewarding your organisation is.  

Gallup found that 71% of candidates say that they use referrals from current employees before deciding on a role, meaning that your social media usage could go a long way in shaping a candidate’s opinion of your company. This doesn’t just mean sharing your employees on your social but encouraging them to share company messaging on their pages also.  

This type of employee advocacy and internal culture posting can lead to a larger brand awareness, which is an essential to a wider recruiting strategy.  

Read here about how to build your employee brand. 

 Candidate Information 

While potential candidates can use social media to get bet understanding of your company, you can also use it to learn about a candidate’s professional history through LinkedIn. This can provide information beyond what a candidate may list in their CV’s, such as additional interests or volunteering experience. This gives recruiters a way to analyse the demographic data on what type of candidates are interested in open positions that companies share.  

 Networking Opportunities 

Social media gives recruiters the opportunity to connect with other professionals in their industry. This can help you receive referrals for candidates who may have the qualifications and experience necessary to fill open positions.  

 Reduce Hiring Costs 

While social platforms offer companies the option to pay for advertising and reach more people, there are ways that your company can communicate with potential candidates for minimal to no cost. Hiring managers can work alongside marketing to produce articles in which employees talk about the benefits and challenges of working at the company.  For social media to be a useful recruitment strategy there must be the right type of content that is attractive to their followers.  

How to use social media for your recruitment 

 Identify your goals. 

You must start by identifying your goals, thinking about what you wish to accomplish and how you will measure the success of the process. If you wish to improve the company’s brand awareness and present it as a fair and attractive employee, it is vital that you invest in long-term efforts such as video interviews with current employees which you can then monitor the views on.  

 Social Media Platforms for Recruitment 

Before your social media recruitment, it’s best to have a strategy in place. This means that you should know your ideal candidate profile and what platforms they’re most likely to be active on. LinkedIn is your best bet to start with as it is designed for business and professionals from there you can build out a wider strategy from Meta, TikTok to YouTube.  

 Visual Elements 

Make sure you are using an inviting and clear message to help attract potential candidates that makes them want to learn more about the job role. Using clear images that showcases the work environment for different positions can be useful in your recruitment campaign. Remember to follow company branding when creating visual elements for social media posts. Using the same fonts and colour palettes across all communication channels. This makes it easier for people to recognise your company and builds trust. 

 Use Brand Ambassadors 

You could consider using a brand ambassador to make your recruitment efforts more credible to potential candidates. The best way to approach this is to ask current employees to present available positions and discuss the benefits of working at your company. Often candidates are more likely to trust a social media post when they see the face behind the message.  

 Explain the Application Process  

Demonstrating the application process on your social media will allow you to make your recruitment process more transparent. When candidates understand each stage of the process, they can determine the time needed to prepare and complete their application.  

 Build your Employee Brand 

While posting anonymously on your company’s social media can be effective, sometimes recruitment requires a more personal touch. By growing your employee brand, you can help curate and maintain your company’s reputation. It’s important that you use your accounts regularly, demonstrate your expertise in your field and build a personal connection with candidates. 

 Social media recruitment is about knowing your ideal candidate profile, where they are most likely to be and a way to give you, a head starts in finding the right candidate for every role.  

Learn more about Hireserve social integrations here.