How to Use Social Media to Recruit

Wondering how to use social media to recruit? Well, social networks are effective platforms for candidate sourcing.

In the past decade, more employers are turning to social media for talent acquisition. Also referred to as social hiring or social media hiring, social recruiting is the process of advertising open positions, sourcing for the best talent, and hiring through social platforms.

A notable benefit of social hiring is that it allows recruiters to reach both active and passive job seekers. Moreover, social media hiring is a more affordable recruitment method compared to other talent acquisition methods.

And if you want to know what companies use social media for recruitment, you’ll be glad to know that top companies such as Verizon, NJ Transit, UPS jobs, Spotify, and Zappos have mastered the art of social media recruitment.

To help you craft an effective social media recruitment strategy, here’s a detailed look at social hiring and some of the best practices for hiring employees through social media.

Table of Contents

What Is Social Media Recruiting?

The recruiting landscape continues to change as companies adopt new ways of screening and hiring candidates. According to a recent study, 73% of people aged between 18 and 34 found their jobs through a social network.

Social media recruiting refers to the process of sourcing and hiring candidates through social media channels. It involves finding high-quality candidates and building connections with them. Social media channels such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter offer recruiters an opportunity to source for candidates who may not be found using other recruitment methods.

Other reasons why employers use social media for recruitment include:

To reach passive potential candidates
Recruiters get an opportunity to showcase their companies culture and values
Hire high-quality candidates
Connect with candidates who are seeking jobs in a specific industry
Employers get an opportunity to enhance their brand awareness
Candidates can communicate with potential employers
Enables recruiters to narrow their candidate pool and find qualified candidates quickly
Recruiters can get free information on the background of the candidate
Social media hiring is cheap and a time saver

What Are Popular Platforms for Social Media Recruiting?

So now that you know the benefits of social media hiring, you may be asking yourself, which social network is most commonly used for external recruiting or which social hiring site should you use for your company?

To answer these questions, let’s look at a few social media channels that are used for recruitment.

· LinkedIn – More than 89% of all recruiters report having hired someone through LinkedIn. LinkedIn has more than 800 million users and 58 million registered companies, making it the world’s largest professional social networking channel. It’s also the most popular professional social media channel, which is why most companies and individuals use it to post and look for job opportunities. The platform is used for professional relationship building, which is perfect for recruiters looking to find quality candidates. LinkedIn also allows companies to create pages showcasing their work culture and products. Besides, you can post jobs on the platform and also gain access to an ideal candidate account for free.

· Facebook – Facebook has more than 2 billion users making it the largest social network. Although it’s not a professional social platform like LinkedIn, one of the popular activities on the channel is job seeking and hiring. Another good thing about Facebook is that it’s home to people of different ages, making it a suitable platform for employers looking to hire varied employees. Besides, Facebook is a global platform meaning that one can get candidates from different locations. Recruiters can also use Facebook ads or post job openings on industries group pages for a wider and more targeted reach.

· Twitter – The third top social recruiting site on this list is Twitter. This microblogging site allows you to filter your candidates based on their interests and values. You also get to examine the personalities of candidates, making it easier for you to decide if they’re a good fit for your company. When posting jobs on Twitter, remember to do it consistently, as content has a short life span on the site.

· Instagram – Are you looking to fill a creative role? Then, the best place to find creative talent is on Instagram. This visual platform is all about sharing creative visuals and graphics. Besides, most Instagram users are young professionals making it suitable for hiring young talent. Don’t forget to use hashtags on this social network to promote jobs.

· TikTok – TikTok is another social media channel that is very popular with the younger demographic. It’s a great place to post job openings if you want to hire new graduates. You can also use this site to post short videos that show candidates what it’s like to work for your company.

· Reddit – Reddit is made up of smaller communities referred to as subreddits. The communities are categorized in terms of topics. This makes the platform a great place to target job seekers interested in a particular topic. For instance, if you’re looking to fill a customer service role, you can post the opening in the /r/customer Service subreddit.

· YouTube – YouTube is a great channel to showcase your company’s values and culture. As part of your social media recruiting strategy, you can share short employee-focused recruiting videos to attract the right talent. You can also share employee-generated videos to connect with qualified candidates.

How to Recruit Employees on Social Media

If you’re stuck on how to recruit employees on social media, here are four steps that can get you started.

· Set Clear Recruitment Goals

You must know what you want to achieve with social recruiting. Make a detailed plan on how to achieve the goals and come up with ways of determining if the strategy you’re using is working.

· Choose the Right Platforms

Conduct thorough research and identify which social media platforms your ideal candidate is likely to hang out on. For instance, if you’re looking to fill the position of a copywriter or photographer, you’re likely to find such candidates on visual platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube.

Don’t forget to target niche social platforms such as GitHub, Reddit, and StackOverflow, depending on the role you want to fill.

· Update Your Profile

Ensure that the social profiles you’re using reflect your company values and culture. Encourage your current employees to optimize their profiles too, and share links to your company’s career page.

Don’t forget to build a social following by creating a social media presence that represents your brand’s voice and values. This can help attract the right talent, and it also gives candidates a glimpse of your company culture.

· Involve Your Employees

Most of your current employees are probably active social media users. Ask them to share the job openings with their connections and be good ambassadors for your brand. According to a survey from Monster, 65% of people would consider a new job opening if they learned of it from a person in their social network.

Tips to Make Recruiting on Social Media Effective

If you want your social media recruitment strategy to be successful, here are tips that can help.

Use catchy and inviting visuals and captions
Make the application process easy and clear
Try using paid ads for better targeting
Answer questions and engage with your social audience
Create candidate personas to find the ideal candidate for the job
Use social media job advanced features such as Facebook job posts, TikTok Resumes, and Twitter and LinkedIn people advanced search
Join social communities in your industry
Measure the success of your social media recruiting strategy

Conclusion

In closing, whether you’re looking to fill junior positions or find qualified candidates for senior job openings, the above social media recruitment tips can help you source the right talent.

Hopefully, this blog post has answered most of your social recruitment questions, including “can employers use social media to hire and fire?”

We would like to hear from you. Talk to us and let us know which of the above social recruiting practices you’re using in your organization and if they’re working.