How Social Media Can Complement Your Recruitment Strategy

In 2022’s job market, it’s crucial to use every available strategy to help source qualified, reliable candidates. You may be asking yourself, “Should I be using social media for my company’s recruitment?” To cut to the chase - yes! When managed creatively and consistently, social media platforms complement more traditional recruitment solutions and when they work together, they are incredibly powerful.

Now, how does one go about putting social media recruitment strategies into action?

First decide which social media platforms to utilize. Each social media platform allows you to connect with different types and ages of users. For example, Facebook’s users tend to skew older than TikTok’s, and Instagram falls somewhere in the middle. It’s also important to recognize the differences between platforms and adjust your content and strategies accordingly. Instagram is a highly visual platform since posts have to be either photos or videos, whereas Facebook content may be more text heavy. LinkedIn content tends to be more professionally focused, and Twitter’s content tends to be related to current events, news, and pop culture. Social media users may not all be actively job seeking, but you can still reach passive job seekers through these platforms. After all, passive job seekers probably aren’t scrolling through job boards daily, but they’re most likely checking social media.

Once you’ve chosen your platforms and understand their uses, begin creating consistent content. As a starting point, content can be broken into two categories:

1. Recruitment content: Create posts that directly promote available positions or hiring events within your company. Be sure to include the link to the job application or event registration page within the post! That way, interested users can click through right away to learn more, begin their applications, or RSVP to the event. 

In addition to sharing recruitment content directly through your brand’s social media pages, encourage your current employees to help spread the word about available positions as well! Harnessing the power of your existing employees can help reach more people and may lead to great referral-based hires.

2. Branding content: Create authentic posts that are more casual and on-trend but still relate to your brand. For example, you can document a day in the life at the office or share fun behind the scenes footage. Additionally, brands that strike while the iron’s hot and jump on current social media trends in a timely manner can gain traction and may even go viral. Be mindful though, as posting trend-based material too late can result in content quickly becoming stale or seeming out of touch. While this type of content may not generate direct interest in open positions, it can communicate your company’s culture, increase positive perceptions of the brand, and ultimately help make your company be seen as a desirable place to work. 

Ultimately, a combination of multiple platforms and tailored strategies can help you grow your brand’s social media presence, relate with a diverse audience in a positive way, and promote available positions within your organization