Making the most of your employer brand on social media
The heart of recruitment is still rooted in human connection and interaction, despite being increasingly based online. Initial conversations are frequently taking place over digital mediums such as LinkedIn InMail and messenger apps. However, the emphasis is still on people themselves. If anything, using social media in recruitment can make this connection even easier.
Thanks to social platforms and individual profiles, qualified candidates can now be contacted and sourced with relative ease. At the click of a button, a recruiter can access a candidate’s entire work history and qualifications. Similarly, the candidate can access the employer’s social media profile. So, if your company is scanning candidates profiles, you can be confident they’re doing the same to your company.
The moral of the story
Apart from your company’s website, your social media is the best representation of your company a candidate will find. According to research, 59% of candidates use social media to research companies they are interested in. So, not only should it accurately represent your company, but it should also do an excellent job of communicating your employer brand and company culture.
Your social media pages are essentially a recruitment marketing tool. In this candidate-driven market, no company can expect to neglect their online presence and not feel the consequences when it comes to recruitment. Active candidates have plenty of choices when it comes to their next role. Passive candidates need to be persuaded to leave their current position for something else.
So, your social media presence should be treated as a representation of your company’s values. If utilised well, it should place your company ahead of the competition.
How should you use social media?
The benefit of social media is that it’s a relatively affordable way to communicate with candidates. One post can reach a vast amount of people.
So, it’s crucial that your company has something to say that makes you stand out from the crowd. The message your social media puts across can be the defining factor that secures you an interview with a candidate or not. Therefore, it’s important that your company has a clearly defined employee value proposition and tone of voice.
This means that when utilising social media to promote your employer brand, you need to write as though you are speaking directly to candidates. This is just one of the ways in which you can utilise social media as a tool for connecting with talent. After all, communication isn’t just about direct messaging. Sometimes, communication is subtle.
For example, when celebrating an employee’s birthday within the office, use your social media to document the day. This can indirectly communicate to potential applicants your company’s commitment to celebrating and valuing each employee. Instagram is a fantastic tool for delivering a fly-on-the-wall perspective into your company culture. As they say, a picture can speak a thousand words.
The art of social media is in keeping your message beneath the surface
If candidates can see through your words, they are less likely to pay attention. However, if they are genuinely intrigued and interested in your content, they will ultimately take in your message.
So, social media can be used as a great way to build up a relationship with potential talent and earn their trust. If you practice what you preach in your employee value proposition, then your social media should be a place to document and celebrate this.
For example, sharing the progress of your staff members is a great way to tell prospective candidates that the same opportunities could be available to them.
Then, when it comes to posting your job openings on social media, your audience should already be on the lookout for opportunities within your company. By doing the majority of the work before a vacancy goes live you can help to make sure that the right people see your job postings.
How often should you use social media for recruitment attraction?
Recruitment attraction campaigns should not just start and end with specific vacancies. Rather, recruitment attraction is a constant campaign. Developing a trusting relationship with potential talent takes time and consistency. One post here and there won’t cut it. Instead, make recruitment attraction a consistent part of your social media strategy.
So, don’t just wait to chat directly to candidates and applicants. Make connecting with all potential talent a priority. After all, great talent is worth the time and effort. According to research, “almost half of recruiters utilising social media recruiting strategies report improvement in both the quantity and quality of candidates.”
If you invest in a consistent social media recruitment strategy that portrays what your company has to offer, you will inevitably attract the right people. Talent attraction requires a recruitment strategy that goes above and beyond a job advertisement. Every post counts, so get started now.
To inspire you, here are some examples of other companies who utilise their social media platforms for recruitment attraction:
Marriott
Microsoft
Salesforce
Dell
