Social Media is now a vital aspect of business growth. It is something that all businesses should aim to utilise correctly. But it’s not all about fancy graphics and cool videos. Effective use of social media can help attract talent to your business. It can sell your business as an attractive and fun place to work, whilst also displaying your knowledge and development opportunities. Anyway, enough about our own marketing strategy. Let’s dive into why you should prioritise social media.
The Role of Social Media in Recruitment
The reach you can attain on social media nowadays is huge. Within seconds you can be connecting with someone on the other side of the world to you. There will be millions of active users on social media platforms right now as we speak. Therefore, making it the perfect place to share your job vacancies. For smaller organisations, you will be aiming for more local candidates. Whereas the larger organisation may look out with the country they are situated in for their candidate.
There is now targeted advertising software in place that means you can focus directly on candidates within a certain area or specific job title. These features are more often than not paid features. They can be useful and cuts out a lot of admin time going through unsuitable candidates. If you have a budget specific for recruitment and / or social media, then this is worth considering.
As already discussed, you can have a conversation within seconds on social media (if you have a half-decent signal!). Therefore, making it the ideal platform for communicating with potential candidates on. This is especially useful if you are looking for a quick and easy recruitment process, with the aim to hire someone as quick as possible.
Lastly, a few of the main social media platforms now offer their own built in job platforms. Facebook and LinkedIn are two that do this well, and you can get two birds with one stone, as you can view the job vacancy and all the relevant information before then viewing their profile – all within seconds. The wonders of modern day technology!
Building Your Brand
Show off your culture by sharing photos and videos that highlight your business in a positive light. Often, an employer will check out a candidate’s social media whilst conducting due diligence. It is only fair that they can do the same to you! Candidates will be keen to see what the organisation is like, who the employees are, if they recognise any employees, what activities do the organisation put on (e.g. social events and team – building exercises), what the organisational culture is like. By the time an interview comes around, the candidates will likely already have an impression of you and your business. You should aim to ensure that all your social media posts come across positive, and that the posts fit in with your current branding. This will go a long way to attracting the correct person to your organisation.
Celebrate your employees by showcasing their successes. This will demonstrate that you are a hard-working business, with your employees at the epicentre. We celebrate employee milestones on a regular basis, for example, in the recent weeks we have had employees passing probation, employees reaching anniversary milestones and new employees joining the business. It is important to make a deal of these events, as it makes employees feel a part of the social media activity and makes them feel valued.
Always respond to comments and messages. People are going out their way to engage with you so it’s important you engage back with them. Within going into the marketing chat too much, the more engagements your post has, the higher your post will be pushed by the associated social media site. It will show that your company is an active and engaging one. In addition, other people will also be more likely to comment due to fear of missing out. If they see other connections (or people they know) commenting or sharing a post, they may be more inclined to as well. By responding to comments and messages, people are more likely to engage with you in the future as and build a connection with you.
Attract Talent
Create engaging job articles that people will want to respond to. Unsure of what that looks like? Well, we have you covered. Click this link to discover what makes a job advert a good one – https://www.thehrbooth.co.uk/blog/ask-the-expert-calum/
We post job adverts on a regular basis online, and in job groups. We aim to attract as many candidates as possible to our job adverts. We also offer a variety of jobs, so this is likely to be the case.
The job description is a chance to sell the company to the potential candidates. Your job description should clearly state the salary, the job location, the job title, and all essential responsibilities with the job. Also share information on what you offer your employees, the associated benefits, and showcase your workplace as a positive and healthy workplace environment.
Showcase yourself to be a thought leader. Share your knowledge and make your business a place where people can learn and develop. Aim to be as innovative as possible – with both your social media and business activities. You want to display that you are fun, knowledgeable, and forward thinking. This can be as simple as offering a good work – life balance, which is something that we offer, and we recommend offering where you can. This can be an attractive prospect for potential candidates and will also likely attract candidates from further afield, some who may not be able to commute five times a week, therefore making a hybrid work – life balance is a priority.
Highlight your employees at all times. Your employees are what makes your business great. Highlight their positive stories to show how great they really are. We’ve touched on this already but highlight the success stories within your business. Make your social media activity employee focused, making sure to shout about their successes, as it makes both the business and employee look good.
Engage With Your Candidates
Once your applicants have applied, always respond to them promptly. Job hunting can be difficult and stressful, and there is nothing worse than being left in the dark. Set a target for responding times to your candidates, e.g. always respond within 24 or 48 hours. Even if the response is a regret letter, it is still important to inform candidates of your decision. By showing this level of respect, it means that even unsuccessful candidates will be more inclined to apply in future.
Show an interest in all applicants. Get to know them and show off just how positive your organisational culture is. Once the hiring process reaches the interview stage, it is important to get to know the candidates well – to ensure they feel welcomed and comfortable but also to get to know if they would be a good fit for your business or not. This provides a further positive impression of your business on the candidates. By making the interview more of a two – way chat, rather than firing question after question at them, it will make the candidates more relaxed.
Stay connected with the applicants that impress you. There may be occasions when an applicant is unsuccessful, but you can see they would be a good fit for your business. Keep in touch with them in case there is an opening in the future. This is how some of our current HR Consultants ended up working at The HR Booth…
Social media is now a vital tool to help businesses grow and thrive in the modern day working world. Effective use of social media now involves a lot more than nice graphics. Aspects such as your tone, your branding, and your in – house work events. This also extends to recruitment, as social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook are vital to attracting the right candidates.
Social media provides the opportunity to connect with candidates across the country and globe. It provides a platform to share job vacancies, engage with candidates and attract a more talented level of candidate.
Built – in job platforms are vital for businesses now. Recruiters can set specific filters that will target the right candidates within the right area of business. This can save time, but the flip side is these features usually cost.
Building your brand on social media should be a priority for all organisations. It is the first port of call for any external party looking to engage with you. This can range from potential clients or potential candidates, who are trying to figure whether your business will be the correct fit. Show off your success stories and your brand values at the forefront of all social media activity.
First impressions matter, and often a candidate’s first impression of your business will be from social media. It is important to showcase your values and culture, highlighting your business in a positive light.
