USING SOCIAL MEDIA TO ATTRACT TALENT

Clients have increasingly been asking us to use social media and, in particular, LinkedIn as a recruitment tool to help communicate the benefits of working with them and fill current vacancy positions. We are seeing more and more success in our clients’ use of social media when hiring the best talent.

Social media recruiting or ‘social hiring’ is the process of advertising jobs, showcasing the benefits of working with a business, engaging with potential candidates and recruiting employees through social media channels.

Interesting Statistics

According to Job Description Library:

• 91% of all employers are currently using social media as part of their hiring process
• 79% of job seekers have used social media in their job search in the last year
• 40 million people search LinkedIn for jobs every week

Recruiting can be a challenging, time-intensive and expensive exercise, so it’s worth exploring all possible options to get the most exposure to the right talent. Here are some of the benefits of why businesses should explore using social media:

• The potential to see your job is huge! With an expected 3.96 billion social media users worldwide this year, using social media to share your job posts makes them more visible and increases your chances of reaching and hiring the right people
• It’s cost-effective! If the budget is restricted, social media can be an affordable alternative or addition to other recruitment methods. Posting a LinkedIn job or setting up a Facebook advert is a cost-effective way of reaching a large audience.
• Showcase your brand! Social media allows you to share your company culture, values and vision, giving future employees an authentic insight into your business and helping them decide if that is somewhere they would like to work. Sharing employee content such as ‘a day in the life of’ or highlighting company initiatives, incentives and benefits give a potential employee a real feel for its culture and atmosphere. It also enhances brand exposure as being a ‘good employer’ and a great place to work.
• Attract candidates that weren’t looking! Social media gives you the opportunity to reach someone who has not initially applied for or even considered the role.
• Speed! If you are looking to fill a position quickly or you are working in a competitive sector where it is hard to recruit the best talent, using social media means that you can quickly put out details of the role and instantly engage with potential candidates when they express an interest.

Some Top Tips

Employers:

• Experiment with social media advertising. For LinkedIn, you can run one free job post at any time so it’s always good to start with that. You can add a daily budget to extend the reach from as little as £13 per day - paid LinkedIn job posts attract 3x more qualified applicants. Facebook, Instagram and even TikTok are other great ways to use social media to target recruits.
• Don’t forget to share content organically. Make sure you regularly create new content to showcase your business culture as well as any job opportunities and share them across your social channels.
• Get your employees to help spread the word. What other people say, especially your existing employees, has a real impact. Employees sharing jobs, company posts, and even posting their own content will help broaden your reach to the right people, making your business an attractive place to work.
• Use creative visuals. Using standout imagery and video showcasing your personality, culture and unique benefits will grab attention and expand your reach.

Potential Employees:

• Make sure your profiles state that you are actively looking. On LinkedIn you can select the ‘open to work’ option to show on your profile.
• Follow relevant companies and individuals in your sector. Join relevant LinkedIn and Facebook groups and post the type of role you are looking for.
• Start conversations. Blog about your area of work using relevant hashtags so your content is visible to potential recruiters.
• Make sure your CV is up to date. Always ask someone else to read over your CV before you submit your application. It is also worth noting when uploading a CV to LinkedIn to make sure the file name is saved with your full name as potential employers will be downloading a lot of files called ‘CV’.

Growing businesses are increasingly leveraging social media to ‘tell their story’, demonstrate why they are a great place to work and in turn reach the best talent. If you’re not already using social media to showcase your business, you could be missing out on opportunities to attract and connect with the right talent. If you need some help, get in touch for a free no-obligation initial discussion.