Traditional job ads, whilst performing a functional task, are increasingly being usurped by listings placed by social HR techniques. Social recruiting gives employers a human face and voice, allowing them to engage directly with potential candidates throughout the process.
It has been found that up to 60% of job seekers expect a company to interact with its followers and fans, whereas 20% of recruiters agree that it takes up less time and resource to hire via social media than traditionally.
But how can companies harness the power of social media to attract the very best talent? Here are a few pointers for getting the most out of social media recruitment.
Portray company culture on your website
The first key consideration when aiming to attract talent via social channels is to ensure that your website is as user-friendly as possible. If you can engage candidates straight away in the digital environment then you're onto the right path. Include plenty of information on company culture, perhaps including videos filmed around the office, quality photographs and employee testimonials on what they like about the way things are done.
General social recruitment tips for Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn
First and foremost, you need to use the company Facebook page to cultivate a strong relationship with fans and potential candidates. Make it easy for them to share job postings with friends and encourage existing employees to seek social media referrals from co-workers.
In addition to being active on Facebook, your company should have a strong presence on LinkedIn, the social platform designed specifically with manpower in mind. LinkedIn is the world's largest professional network and that makes it the best social channel where to search for specific skills, previous experience and recommendations, as well as for approaching candidates directly.
Twitter can also be a valuable social recruitment tool that can be used for sparking conversation with candidates and job seekers. Aside from posting vacancies, you can share Vines showcasing your office or featuring your team at work, and wish luck to candidates who are close to being interviewed for one of your opening positions.
Rather than tweeting from the brand account, have influential members of the organisation tweet from personal accounts instead, as candidates are far likelier to follow them. When sharing a new vacancy, use hashtags such as #Itjobs or #FinanceJobs in your tweets so jobseekers can find your postings easily, and don't forget to include your city!
Using Facebook and YouTube for branding
As well as being very important for recruitment, Facebook has the potential to be used for branding your organisation. Even though most companies will set up a Facebook Page where they can share information about their products/services, it is also posible to integrate recruitment apps in order to allow visitors and fans to browse job opportunities.
In addition to this, some companies such as Ernst & Young have separately branded careers pages where they share current job openings, portray their company culture and engage with graduates and young professionals.
YouTube could actually be an even stronger tool for branding. Everybody consumes content here and a huge variety of large brands have their own channels. Once you've built up a good following, you can upload videos of employees being interviewed so that prospective candidates can get to know what it's like to work for your company before they apply. Make sure you're tailoring your video content to the kind of talent that you want to attract!
The importance of a strong LinkedIn page
As mentioned previously, LinkedIn is all about individuals recording their skills, experience and workplace credentials. Whilst professionals use the platform to tell the world about their attributes, companies can use the site to lure talent.
The number one tip for a successful recruiting experience on LinkedIn is to create a company page where employees can connect with one another, painting a picture of personality, values and putting you forward as an industry leader. The best talent will then want to make connections with your staff as a way of getting their 'foot in the door'.
The HR recruiting game has changed
With all the tools available today, the recruitment process has grown to a point in which it's no longer about chasing candidates but is instead about attracting the right talent. By investing your time in developing a strong digital presence, you will make your company visible to job seekers who might be looking exactly for what you're offering.
What's your experience with social recruiting? Do you have any more tips you could share with the community?