Social Media Recruiting: The Question Isn't "If" but "How Well" You Do It!

When Social Media platforms started popping up about two decades ago it didn’t take long for recruiters to see the potential. 20 years later for many recruiters, recruiting via social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and more, has become a vital part of their strategy. According to a recent content stadium survey, only 4% of recruitment teams don’t currently use Social Media!

“We don’t have a choice on whether we DO social media, the question is how well we do it.” – Erik Qualman, Digital Leadership Speaker

When it comes to recruiting, especially in our current market, where there’s two open positions open for every job seeker, you need to go where the people (a.k.a. candidates) are.

4.62 billion people are using social media – that is more than half the world’s population with an average daily usage of 2 hours and 29 minutes, according to research from Smart Insights from July 2022. In recent years video has become the most popular content on Social Media platforms. Videos longer than a minute achieved the highest interactions on Facebook according to Socialbakers data.

Posting your job openings on Social Media – organically or paid – has several advantages.

“Active candidates are more likely to see and act on paid media. Passive candidates need more proof. A strong social strategy allows your company to reach existing as well as new potential candidates while also driving steady sustainable engagement to reinforce your company brand recognition, company and job recall, as well as referrals. Investing in organic and paid social strategies ensures that your company is reaching the best active and passive talent available.” – Allison Padgett, Director Digital Marketing at NAS

Paid Strategies

Reaching the Passive Job Seeker

While running paid search campaigns targets candidates that are actively searching for a new job, posting your job offer on social media reaches the larger audience of passive job seekers; candidates that are currently working in a similar position but are open to a change.

Targeting by Interests and Behaviors

Targeting your audience on social media platforms works differently than paid search campaigns. Candidates are not targeted by keywords but by interests and likes they express – by “liking”, commenting or sharing content – on social media and on other websites.

Organic Strategies

Taking Advantage of Personal Referrals

Your audience on social media grows exponentially if you consider a potential candidates’ friends and family that are also using social media and might see your posting and share it with their network which could contain your potential candidate. They might be even more intrigued if their close friends or family shared it with them.

Social sharing buttons have been around almost as long as Social Media platforms themselves. NAS integrates 3 of the most popular social sharing buttons (Facebook, twitter and LinkedIn) onto every job posting so that users can easily share your jobs within their social network. By doing so, your job postings appear on social media platforms tied to a person’s face (or profile picture) – a person that your potential candidate knows and trusts.

Give Your Company a Face

Social media strategies shouldn’t be limited to your job postings. On platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn you can showcase “life at your company” by posting pictures and statements from employees, celebrations, new hires, tours of the workplace, etc. – painting a wholesome, authentic picture of your company and the values it stands for. Keep in mind that users are following you on more than one platform. It’s important to make sure to present a coherent message and tone throughout all platforms.

“Branding and messaging is an important focus to keep consistent across all social media platforms. Make sure your online presence reflects your company and attracts the right candidates. With the right branding shown on the right social media platform, you will attract the right hire!” – Kristen Young, Paid Media Specialist at NAS

Turn Followers into Candidates

Growing your follower base on social media platforms allows you to build up a pool of passive job seekers. Once a user follows you, they are set up for multiple future touchpoints with your job postings or content that you share on those platforms. Even if they are not a potential candidate from the start, they might become one further down the line.

A healthy mix of organic and paid social media strategies that support your overall recruiting efforts can help you get candidates in the door that you would not have reached otherwise! NAS offers several levels of social media partnerships as well as a complimentary social media assessment. Get in touch to start a conversation on how we can partner together to enhance your Social Media strategy.