We all know that it’s a candidate’s job market. The economy is booming and competition for quality candidates is growing. If your tried and true job posting sites are no longer drawing the same quality candidates, it may be time to reassess your social media presence.

According to Betterteam, 94% of professional recruiters network and post jobs on social media, and 59% of employees say that an organization’s social media presence was part of the reason they chose their workplace.  More than just a passing trend, social media should be incorporated into your overall recruiting strategy.

Why use social media for recruiting? Lot of reasons.

  • According to a recent SHRM survey, 82% of organizations report that recruiting passive job candidates continues to be the top reason for using social media. By engaging with people who are open to new job opportunities, but not necessarily actively looking for a new job, you access a broader audience full of potential candidates. Plus, SHRM reports that using social media can decrease the time it takes to fill positions.  A bigger candidate pool and less time to fill?  Yes, please!
  • Using social media is an easy way for your organization to establish credibility as a great place to work and build an employer brand. According to Robert Half, by regularly posting content that showcases your corporate culture and values, you can paint a picture of what it’s like to work for your organization and what makes it unique. Photos of the office, employees at work and at team activities, trainings, organizational sponsorships, volunteer work, media mentions, and accolades, all give people a flavor of what day to day life looks like at your organization.
  • Social media is not only effective, it is also budget friendly. A basic social media strategy can be very low cost.  Of course, many social media sites offer pricey upgrades, but any budget can support some level of social media recruitment. Posts of candid, relatable snapshots of daily life at your organization do not need a professional photographer or videographer and can be even more significant for recruitment purposes.
  • It can serve as an additional way to evaluate potential candidates. The skills and experience on a candidate’s resume tell only part of the candidate’s story. Social media allows a recruiter to look beyond the resume to gauge the suitability of a potential candidate.

While some people have a very minimal social media presence, others choose to interact and engage more. Those who are more active social media participants tend to have more of their information readily on display for a recruiter to evaluate. According to Forbes, someone who is plugged-in and actively shares industry-related articles, interacts with relevant content, or who seeks out skill endorsements may have the potential to bring that curiosity and drive to his or her work.  On the other hand, it is important to be mindful of those who display highly negative or concerning behavior on social media; this may call their judgment into question, as well as their ability to fit in with your organization’s culture.

How to create a social media recruitment strategy

There are several factors to consider when creating an effective social media strategy for recruitment.

  • According to HireRight, it is vital to have someone who consistently uses and fully understands all social media platforms as well as the audience you want to reach. A social media expert is well versed in both trending techniques as well as niche sites outside those which are most commonly known. He or she should also be able to monitor the analytics of all social media efforts to measure success. Reach out to your organization’s marketing or communication department to see if they can dedicate the resources to incorporate recruitment into their existing social media marketing strategy.
  • Your employees can be your best brand ambassadors. To get your employees involved in your social media plan, Forbes recommends encouraging them to follow, like, and share your organization’s social media updates. Make it easy for your employees by sending out a weekly email including all shareable content including news, blogs, photos, videos, behind-the-scenes material, etc. To ensure that the most accurate and timely information will be shared, include sample posts, tweets, and hashtags. Potential candidates seeing this shared content will have more positive feelings about the organization when its own employees respect and take pride in the work that is done there.
  • Although your end goal may be to fill a job, your outreach should go beyond a sales pitch. According to Talent Economy, effective recruiters treat their practice on social media as a long play by first building trust with potential candidates. When approaching talented individuals directly online, it pays to take a personal approach by showing them you took time to look at their profile.

An email that seems copied and pasted is often overlooked and gives the impression that you’re just indiscriminately fishing for candidates. Instead, mention specifics about the individual’s background that piqued your interest, and share a compelling reason about why you are reaching out. Offer up details not only about the open position, but about the organization that might specifically appeal to the candidate as well. For example, if the candidate’s profile mentions that he or she does volunteer work, share articles or accolades about the organization’s commitment to community service or employee volunteerism.

Building relationships is the best way to cultivate interest in your organization.  After all, there are a lot of jobs out there – show them why working for your organization would mean more than just a job.

There are many advantages to using social media for recruiting. Although social media recruiting can be a great resource, it’s important to use it alongside other traditional forms of recruitment as well. The key to success is to have a strategy and continually measure what is working.