The complete guide to recruiting through social media

Are you looking for a way to improve your social recruiting strategies? Check out these tips to help you use social media effectively to find the best candidates for your open positions.

Social media has become one of the main ways that people communicate in this modern age. For recruiters, this means there’s another way to reach out to potential job candidates—through their Facebook and Twitter accounts. Hiring through social media takes some creativity, but it can be done effectively if you know what you’re doing. In this guide, you’ll learn how to create recruitment-focused profiles, when to go for the direct approach and when to use indirect techniques, how to turn followers into job candidates, and much more.

First, let’s start with some basics. What is social recruiting?

Social recruiting is the process of using social media platforms to identify and attract prospective candidates for open positions within an organization. In other words, social recruiting is using social media for recruiting. This can be done in a number of ways, but some of the most common methods include: – Posting job descriptions or ads on social media – Searching for potential candidates on social media – Connecting with candidates on social media – Using social media to promote your employer brand

Benefits of social recruiting

Many benefits come with social recruiting, both for employers and job seekers.

Some of the benefits for employers include:

A wider pool of candidates: With social recruiting, you’re not limited to candidates who are actively seeking a new job or who are already in your network. You can reach out to a wider pool of potential candidates, including those who may not be actively looking for a new job but who would be interested in your open position.
Increased brand awareness: When you post job listings or ads on social media, you’re also increasing awareness of your employer’s brand. This can be especially beneficial if you’re looking to attract top talent.
Lower recruiting costs: Social recruiting can be a cost-effective way to find candidates since you’re not spending money on job boards or other traditional recruiting methods.

Some of the benefits for job seekers include:

Greater transparency: With social recruiting, job seekers have a better idea of what it’s like to work for a company since they can see what current and former employees are saying on social media.
Easier application process: Social recruiting can make the application process easier for job seekers since they can apply for jobs directly on social media.
Increased engagement: Social recruiting can also lead to increased engagement from employers, who are more likely to respond to candidates they’ve connected with on social media.

Tips for social recruiting

If you’re looking to use social media for recruiting, there are a few tips you should keep in mind. These tips will help you use social media effectively to find the best candidates for your open positions.

Use the right platform: Not all social media platforms are created equal. When you’re choosing a platform for social recruiting, it’s important to select a platform that’s popular with the type of candidate you’re looking for. For example, if you’re looking for candidates in the creative industry, you might want to focus on Instagram or Pinterest. If you’re looking for candidates in the tech industry, you might want to focus on Twitter or LinkedIn.
Post engaging content: Once you’ve selected a platform, it’s important to post engaging content that will capture the attention of your target candidates. This content could include job descriptions, employer branding content, or even just posts about your company culture.
Use hashtags: Hashtags are a great way to reach a wider audience on social media, and they can be especially helpful when you’re recruiting. When you use hashtags, be sure to use relevant, industry-specific hashtags. For example, if you’re recruiting for a position in the marketing industry, you might use hashtags like #marketingjobs or #marketingcareers.
Connect with candidates: In addition to posting job listings or ads, you should also focus on connecting with potential candidates on social media. This can be done by following candidates, commenting on their posts, or even direct messaging them.
Promote your employer brand: social media is a great way to promote your employer brand and attract top talent. To do this, you should focus on creating and sharing content that showcases your company’s culture, values, and mission.

How to build a strong employer brand on social media?

Employer branding is a vital part of any successful social recruiting strategy. Employers with strong employer brands attract more qualified applicants for their open positions, so it’s important that employers use social media to build and maintain their reputation as an attractive place to work. Here are a few strategies for building your employer’s brand on social media:

Encourage employees to post content about the company such as photos from company events or pictures from inside the office space. When posting content about the company, employees should be sure to include a hashtag or mention the company’s Twitter handle (@companyname).
Posts made by the organization will show up in Twitter search results and may even appear on the organization’s profile page if users click follow.
Create compelling job ads using social media tools like Hootsuite or Social Recruiter Pro. These tools allow you to post jobs across multiple social networks simultaneously while also tracking applicant activity across each network. It’s best practice to include hashtags in these posts too!

Which social media platforms to use, and how?

While some platforms can be used for recruitment, it’s not necessary to use social media for recruitment purposes. For example, Twitter may not be the best platform for you, even if you’re in a tech field. If your target audience is heavy on senior-level employees or executives, and those people tend to have less activity on Twitter than on other networks, it might not be a good fit.

Similarly, Facebook might be great for one employer and a terrible choice for another; the same applies to Instagram and other networks. Listing these options will help your reader choose the platforms that work best for them. When choosing which social media platforms to use, consider what type of company you are looking to recruit for, who your candidates are (current and potential), and how they would most likely interact with your social channels. Then think about what kind of messages you want candidates to see when they visit the profiles you create – does each profile need its own strategy?

In the following list, we break down social media by primary focus (job search or company brand) so that recruiters can find their favorite networks easily.

Job search: Indeed, LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Craigslist, Facebook, Twitter.

Company brand: ,Instagram ,Snapchat ,YouTube ,Twitter ,Facebook ,LinkedIn

How to use influencers in your job ads?

At taltop, we can see which influencers have helped get people hired for certain jobs, which allows us to create lists of influencers that job candidates might find helpful. If you’re looking for a great way to bring on a strong social presence and generate interest in your job listings from qualified candidates, you must understand what works (and what doesn’t) in social recruiting.

After all, there are plenty of tools at your disposal. It just depends on how you use them—and how well you understand social recruiting strategies.

Adding Videos to Jobs Ads

You’re probably familiar with social recruiting tools like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. But you might not know that video is a hot new trend in social recruiting. Videos make your job ads stand out—people are more likely to engage with them than plain text. Plus, they can help you build brand awareness and increase your followers. Videos give people a reason to follow you on social media. They allow recruiters to connect with candidates and hopefully make an emotional connection. If you’re already posting videos on those networks, great! If not, it’s time you gave it a try. Here’s how to do it right:

Start by creating a strong video. This is your chance to show off your company culture and what it’s like to work there. Keep it short, around 30-60 seconds.
Use visuals to represent your company culture. This could be anything from shots of your office to footage of employees working or enjoying company outings.
Add a call to action. At the end of the video, tell viewers how to apply for the job. You might want to include a link to your careers page or a specific job listing.
Post the video on your social media channels. Make sure to use relevant hashtags so people can easily find your video.
Tips for promoting your video:
- Share the video on multiple channels (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.)
- Use paid advertising to boost the reach of your video
- Use descriptive and keyword-rich titles and descriptions
- Create transcripts of your videos so people can read them
- Add captions to your videos so people can watch them without sound

With a little effort, you can add videos to your job ads and increase your visibility on social media.

The Right Tone for Social Recruiting

Social media allows you to convey your company’s culture, not just your jobs. By integrating an element of social networking into your recruitment strategy, you’ll allow job seekers to get a feel for how they might fit in at your company. Try hashtags and check-ins on sites like Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. But don’t forget a good photo is key; even if it’s of a donut break room!

Highlight personality and encourage engagement by sharing candid photos from team events or sharing employee insights about what it’s like working at your company. Remember that social media isn’t for only one audience—candidates should be able to connect with who you are as a brand, too.

Using Pinterest Effectively

Social network Pinterest is based around pinning images from around the web. If you post a job listing, don’t link directly to your career page—pin it! Pin a descriptive image about what makes your company such a great place to work and pin another image with a link to more info about the position.

Job seekers will be able to get an idea of what working at your company looks like and where they can learn more. That way, when they apply for jobs or reach out via social networks, they’re starting on solid ground. For instance, if they pin a photo of your happy employees at their desks and one of your office building, other people who follow them might comment “Is this company hiring?” You’ll never know how many potential candidates you’ve reached this way.

Social Recruiting Tips for Linkedin

Whether you’re just getting started with social recruiting or you’ve had some success, Linkedin is a great place to expand your network. Keep these tips in mind and add them to your social-recruiting process to find qualified candidates on Linkedin!

Take advantage of people who have left jobs recently by using the search function to filter by people who are no longer employed at the company you are interested in. These people might be looking for a new opportunity but haven’t updated their profiles yet, so it will show up under ‘members not currently working at this company.
Research specific positions by checking out the open job postings for those positions and filtering by location. You can also search for the company you’re interested in hiring from, then filter by ‘people who work here to see if any employees from that company list their LinkedIn account as their employer profile.
Use Boolean searches on Google and other search engines to find profiles of people who fit the criteria you are looking for, such as “site:linkedin.com inurl:in OR intitle:profile” to find people who have their location set to ‘India’ or have the word ‘profile’ in their title.
Connect with as many 2nd and 3rd-degree connections as possible to expand your network.
Use keywords in your profile to make it easier for people to find you when they are searching for someone with your skills and experience.
Join relevant groups on LinkedIn and participate in discussions to get your name out there and connect with potential candidates.
Try searching for specific groups that your target candidates might be a part of, such as alumni groups from their college or university.
Use InMail to contact potential candidates directly on LinkedIn.

Understanding Hashtags

Hashtags are social-media-specific keywords that you can use to group content. Hashtags on Twitter and Facebook have become synonymous with real-time tracking of specific events. This is just one reason hashtags have become a powerful social-recruiting tool. Hashtags are easy and effective, and you can use them from start to finish in your social-recruiting strategy—especially when combined with other free online resources (like Social Recruiter).

Here’s how to do it. First, search for relevant hashtags on Twitter and Facebook by using the search function at the top of the site or by going to www.hashtagify.me for ideas about what others are using. Next, compose a post or update with the hashtag(s) and appropriate content that fits within that category; then share it across all your social networks (i.e., LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook).

You’ll want to make sure the content is fresh so consider uploading photos, videos, or even testimonials from employees who participate in those activities. Social-recruiting tools like Social Recruiter also let you know which posts generate more engagement so you can find which topics work best for your company’s audience

Recruiting on Reddit and Quora

Reddit and Quora are great places to look for social media talent. These sites can help you find current professionals looking for a change of scenery as well as up-and-coming young professionals who are excited about getting started in social media. Recruiting on Reddit is especially effective if you’re looking for technical skills, like developers and coders; some subreddits cater specifically to technical skills. You can also use any specific job title as a search term in your preferred platform to find potential applicants who have posted their resumes or used certain keywords on their profiles.

For example, if you’re hiring a senior director of marketing, try senior director of marketing as a search term on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. If you’re hiring a graphic designer, try the same keyword plus graphic design as a search term on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Posting company job listings to these platforms is also an excellent way to get potential employees’ attention without paying money for expensive ads or sponsored posts. You might not get responses from every post but it’s worth it when someone does respond – the opportunity could be perfect!

Posting Job Ads at the Right Time of Day/Week/Month

Do you know when your target candidates are most active on social media? If not, you’re probably posting your job ads at the wrong time. Using tools like Hootsuite or Twitter’s built-in analytics dashboard, you can find out when your audience is most active on a given social network. Use that data to determine when it makes sense to post job ads and other company updates.

In many cases, companies see higher click-through rates and more applications if they post during off-peak hours. A good rule of thumb is to look for times of day where response rates are less than 10 percent. You might also want to post an ad around lunchtime or in the late afternoon when people are looking for jobs while they take a break from work. Remember that these guidelines may vary depending on industry and location.

For example, an education institution might see better results by posting at 8 am every weekday morning because teachers will be checking their feeds before school starts. Likewise, restaurants in New York City might benefit from posting during peak dining hours rather than off-peak because so many of their potential employees will be taking breaks from work between 5 pm and 8 pm each evening.

Leverage Social Media to Your Advantage

Social media has become one of the main ways that people communicate, which means there’s a lot of potential for recruiters to reach out to potential job candidates through Facebook and Twitter. It’s important to remember that social media is a two-way street—candidates should be able to connect with who you are as a brand, too. Try using hashtags, check-ins, videos, and other creative content to make your job postings stand out. With a little effort, you can use social media to your advantage and find great candidates for your open positions.