Is social media a part of your recruitment strategy? Are you utilising both organic posting and sponsored content? If your answer to either questions is no, or you’re aware that your social media efforts could do with a bit more attention, it’s time to make that change.
Whether we like it or not, coronavirus has forced us to spend more of our lives online. It’s how we communicate with family and friends, many of us are now working remotely, it’s how we stay up to date with what’s going on and if we’re completely honest, it helps break the isolation boredom. It’s estimated that we’re spending 20% more time on apps during lockdown and social media use increased by 18% in the UK in the space of a week.
The COVID-19 crisis means that there is no better time for recruiters and businesses to engage with audiences on social media platforms. It’s the ideal time to utilise these digital platforms and to integrate them into your recruitment strategy as it’s likely that now we’ve seen the impact social media can have, it will revolutionise recruitment and marketing after the coronavirus pandemic has passed.
But how can you use both organic and paid social media to your advantage during in these troubling times and attract the best talent for when you’re ready to hire?
Celebrate Your Company Culture
Showcase who you are and what makes you great. You may not be in the office right now, as many companies have had to adopt a remote working strategy, but that doesn’t mean you can’t show what you’re like as an employer. In fact, it means you can get creative with your social media strategy. Ask your employees to showcase their home office setups, their pets and anything fun that can bring a bit of personality to your brand. While the office space may be out of bounds for a while, it’s an excellent opportunity to show off the brilliant people that make your business what it is. After all, it’s the colleagues that make work truly enjoyable.
You can also use social media in your recruitment strategy to show off the benefits your company offers. If you’re already working remotely with no hiccups during a crisis, this shows candidates that flexibility is a real possibility when they work with you. If you organise virtual wellness sessions for your employees, it shows you care about the mental and physical health of your staff. Plus, what’s stopping you telling people the benefits, you offer your employees while more people are online? Maybe it’s time to make a dedicated careers page so you can promote these benefits to an engaged audience.
Showcase your Caring Side
If there’s one thing this pandemic has shown us, it’s that kindness goes a long way. As an employer, helping your employees or local organisations is something you should be doing anyway. However, by sharing this on your social media, you’ll enhance your employer brand hugely. Candidates value a conscientious and caring employer, especially in these times, so if you are one make it known. If you’re manufacturing PPE for key workers, donating food packages to those in need or helping people to feel less lonely, it’s worth mentioning on social media because you could see a phenomenal response.
This doesn’t mean you should get involved in charitable efforts for the sake of social media, but it’s great to get some recognition for the work you are doing. You’ll attract like-minded people, and more importantly, studies show employees are more satisfied at work when they believe they have a positive impact on the world.
Utilise cost-effective advertising
One of the enormous advantages of social media is the vast potential reach for a low cost. Advertising on social media is surprisingly affordable, and while we’re all inside spending more time online, the number of people you can reach is even greater. The average cost per click on Facebook ads is around $1.68, which compared to traditional recruitment marketing, is very reasonable. This means you can spread the message about your employer brand, advertise urgent vacancies or encourage candidates to register interest with you.
With the targeting capabilities that all social media advertising has, you’ll be able to limit who sees your ads. This means that you get a better ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) because you’re only reaching people who are interested in your business, likely to apply and have the relevant skills. You can target those with necessary qualifications, interests and even in a commutable location if remote working isn’t possible for you; this means your ad spend isn’t wasted on unsuitable people.
Build a talent pool
Using social media to advertise yourself as an employer, whether it’s for a specific vacancy or not, allows you to build a diverse and multi-skilled talent pool. This means that when hiring eventually returns to your agenda you’ll have a collection of interested and talented people ready to hire; speeding up the recruitment process so business can return to normal and reducing your recruitment costs.
You could run a campaign which raises awareness about you as an employer and encourages interested candidates to register their details for when roles become available. Having email addresses means you can enhance the candidate experience by keeping in touch, offering constant updates and new roles to an interested audience.
You could also use social media to build a talent community on Facebook by promoting a dedicated careers page. People who want to work for you but haven’t seen a suitable vacancy can like the page to stay updated. Social media makes communication between your business and candidates quick and easy, enhancing the candidate experience.
Attract candidates that aren’t even looking
With social media advertising, you can attract passive candidates as social media is where many people spend their free time. Again, due to COVID-19 , more and more people are spending their evenings checking social media feeds. If you had a creative recruitment campaign, you could spark their imagination and help them consider a career with you.
Many people are currently unhappy with how their employer has reacted to the coronavirus crisis; while others are likely feeling a need to help and pursue a career with more purpose. If you can provide a solution to any of these things, the COVID-19 lockdown is the ideal time to promote it. You may attract talent that didn’t even know they wanted a change in career but will help to push your business forward.
So, there you have it, adding both paid and organic social media into your recruitment strategy now could help you when hiring after the COVID-19 crisis. You can use social media advertising to reach wider audiences and build a talent pool ready for when hiring is a priority but also use organic social media to build up your reputation as a great employer with a heart.
The Talent Works team are experts in recruitment marketing campaigns and social media. We’ve run successful candidate attraction campaigns for clients globally, whether it’s promoting recruitment events, building engaged talent pools or recruiting for specific roles, even the most niche, urgently. If you’d like help implementing a successful social media strategy to fill your recruitment needs, contact us today.
