Social Media For Recruiting
Using Social Media For Recruiting
Social media has evolved considerably over the last few years, and its role in recruitment has undoubtedly grown. But is your business making the most of your social media channels to help you find the best talent?
The current economic situation means that candidates will likely have more than one opportunity and that companies have to work super hard to attract new staff.
However, the days of posting a link to your job on LinkedIn and getting bombarded with applications are over. Like most of the digital world, everything is geared towards delivering niche content to the most active audience. So, how can you make the most of social media for recruiting and ensure your channels are helping your business grow?
Why is social media good for recruiting?
Social media has taken on an important role in the recruitment process for most businesses. We regularly commission research and engage with our candidates to understand their processes in finding a job and what motivates them when accepting a new job.
It will not surprise you that research is at the top of their list. Before applying for any job, most candidates suggested that they review your website and the company's social channels to understand the type of business you are and to see if your values align with their own.
Having a good digital presence might not have seemed like a pressing concern in the past. Still, if, as we said, there are two competing companies with similar roles and one has worked hard to champion their employer brand, candidates will be naturally drawn to them.
How to use social media for recruiting
So, what does good social media look like when it comes to your employer brand and your recruitment processes?
Every social channel provides good insight into the success or otherwise of your channel through analytics that will furnish you with a wealth of data. An essential part of that data is the audience demographics.
Target market
So, start with your target market. Just as you will almost certainly have done for your customers, create personas for your ideal employee. This will come primarily from your job description and the company's core competencies and values. Use this insight to map out a more detailed digital picture of your ideal candidate.
What channels are they most likely to be on? What style of content will appeal to them? What groups will they be part of, and what influencers will likely impact them?
This is a crucial process to go through as, as we mentioned before, social media and the broader digital landscape have become so much more fragmented. Everyone is trying to produce content to grab the audience's attention, so targeting your messaging via the right channels and in the most appealing way will help your recruitment.
Identifying your channels
So now you know and understand the demographic breakdown of your audience, you need to appear in the right places.
Each social channel will be more or less relevant to different target markets. Don't think for a second that you can post the same content across numerous channels and it will work; it never has, and it won't now.
Each of the channels appeal to different age and gender profiles. They lend themselves to posting at different times of the day and require various formats regarding posting strategy.
LinkedIn is the favourite for recruitment, given its profile as the social network for professionals. The figures suggest there are 35 million members of LinkedIn in the UK, and the age profile won't surprise you, with 55% between the ages of 25 and 34.
The gender breakdown is 57%/43% male/female.
LinkedIn has the added advantage of being able to target any advertising you do to specific job titles, experience, company and many other features linked to employment.
You can also join relevant groups that can give you an even more targeted group to engage with.
However, it is clear that not every professional is on there and not every candidate you want to attract will be on LinkedIn. So make sure you are building a profile of your candidates and double-check LinkedIn is the right channel.
Instagram has 28.75 million users in the UK and 1.6 billion users worldwide. The UK figure actually reduced by 3 million between 2022-2023.
The demographics indicate a far more equal split in gender compared with LinkedIn.
So, how does it fit into your promotional mix to attract the right clients?
If you don't have the budget to advertise just now, then the main focus for your Instagram channel is to promote your culture and build your employer brand.
It is an ideal opportunity to paint a picture of what it's like to work with your business. Showcase the values you and your team live by and what you get up to bring a bit of fun to the working environment.
Remember, don't try to be something you're not. Instagram is a channel that benefits from authenticity.
Facebook has been through a transition and suffered from the parent effect. Once your parents find Facebook and use it, it loses appeal amongst a younger audience. Or so we thought.
Figures suggest that the most active group on Facebook remains 25-34-year-olds, and it is still a leading tool for business development and lead generation.
Like the other channels, there is a wealth of data to give you the insight you need to target your messaging towards the right personas for your business.
Like Instagram, Facebook is great for building your brand, but it also lends itself to promoting opportunities at your company. Remember, tailor the language and the imagery to match the personas you want to engage with.
The other benefit of Facebook, similar to LinkedIn, is Facebook groups that provide you with a more engaged group of people with similar interests. Avoid going in with sales messages; build up a profile amongst the group to establish some credibility, and then you can start introducing a job if it's within the group's rules.
X (Formerly Twitter)
X is definitely a personal choice. There have been a lot of changes, and while it has been a prominent channel in the past amongst some markets, there is undoubtedly a shift in opinion in terms of its effectiveness in reaching the right audiences.
It has always been a challenge to gain traction given the nature of the platform, but now, with changes to rules around official accounts and many advertisers pulling their budgets, it isn't quite the channel it once was.
However, there are still 666 million users worldwide and over 50% are between 18-34 years old. Interestingly, there is the widest gender disparity, as 67% of the audience is male.
In terms of your recruitment process, if X is a prominent channel in your sector, it will be worthwhile to maintain your profile and ensure your opportunities appear on this channel. X isn't a place to build your employer brand. It supports your thought leadership strategy and is good for building a conversation around specific topics. However, unless you consistently build a profile on X, you will be wasting time promoting your jobs here.
TikTok
TikTok exploded in popularity during the pandemic and has gone from strength to strength, churning out a host of influencers, many of whom have amassed millions of followers.
As you might expect, this channel's demographics are very focused on the younger end of the market, with over 70% under the age of 34. The gender split is pretty even, but people spend an average of over 50 minutes daily on the channel.
Like Instagram, TikTok is a great way to give some insight into the brand and what happens at your company. It lets you be quite creative with your content; hand-filmed footage is expected on this channel.
Several brands are experimenting with TikTok, and a growing number of consultants are building their profiles under hashtags like #Recruiter #Recruitment. Many users are also posting their online CVs via TikTok.
So, if you are looking for a new, innovative way to find new candidates, check out TikTok. If you are building your brand here, as with Instagram, consistency is crucial. If you only have time to post once a month, you will not see the returns you might like.
Social Media for Recruiting
There are so many approaches to this, and you could lose yourself in a host of channels. So, the key is to be very targeted with what you want to achieve. Identify exactly who you want to communicate with, build out the personas of the employees that will fit your business and then build some consistency and quality across your channels.
