To attract the best talent on the market, you need to sell your company. And recruitment is a two-way street. As A-list candidates check out your employer brand, social media typically is their first point of contact.
In a recent Jobvite survey of 1,800 recruiting and HR pros, 93 percent of respondents said they use or plan to use social media to boost their hiring efforts. When asked which venues they felt were most important for drawing in desired candidates, 35 percent cited social media platforms, compared to 29 percent who listed their company websites and only 17 percent who listed job fairs.
With the right social media strategy, you can build your brand, market your business-critical openings, and zero in on your most promising prospects.
Understand the unique features of each online platform.
Each online community has its own target audiences and rules of engagement. Customize your content so it is relevant to the specific site readership.
- LinkedIn remains the leading social platform for building professional relationships.
- Facebook is friendly and more casual, and can be a strong venue for active candidate engagement.
- Twitter offers quick, concise exchanges as you maintain ongoing dialogue with your talent pool.
- Research and include other platforms such as Instagram, You Tube, Flickr and Pinterest, using the best approach for each hiring situation.
Include your entire organization in your online efforts.
Your current employees are your best brand ambassadors. They are prime messengers for your online branding and talent acquisition initiatives.
- Encourage your current team to share blogs, postings and other good news with their own connections.
- Social media referral programs allow your best employees to help you recruit talented friends who are already pre-qualified based on their established relationship. The Society for Human Resource Management has noted that employee referral program lower overall cost per hire, speed up time to hire, improve long-term retention rates, and boost morale.
Keep an eye on your competition.
Monitor your competition’s online hiring activity. After all, you are probably wooing the same candidates.
- Use Google Alerts, Glassdoor, Twitter, Indeed.com and LinkedIn.
- Watch closely to see relevant comments, as well as track new hires made by your competitors.
- Research salary data to stay at the forefront of your industry.
Maintain a strong commitment to your social media presence.
Dedicate the right quantity and quality of staffing to provide social medial strategy, execution and analytics.
- An additional tip: Don’t overlook the legalities. Create a social media policy with the help of an attorney. On a related note, always let candidates know that you will be reviewing publicly posted content.
The recruitment and social media experts at PrideStaff Modesto can partner with you as you develop and implement the most effective hiring strategy to optimize your brand and drive your business forward. Contact us today to learn more.
