The Do’s and Don’ts of Social Recruitment

By: Together Abroad 19-03-2019 3:46 PM
Categories: * Daily employment news, ** HR daily news, ** HR Trends in Recruitment, Business news,

The Do’s and Don’ts of Social Recruitment

According to the Arberdeen group, 73% of millennials found their last job through a social media site. The use of social platforms as a talent database or advertising platform is a shift in the employment landscape that takes advantage of online engagement to actively seek out top talent through building company brand awareness and online reputation. Having a company with a large online presence that clearly communicates its values significantly reduces the time it takes to fill in vacancies.

With 75% of potential hires not actively searching for a new role, it is up to companies to take full advantage of social media as a means of employment outreach to acquire the best talent. While using social media, there are certain strategies to keep in mind and certain pitfalls to be cautious of.

Do create an engaging brand

Whether you post on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter, the key to building a reputable brand is consistency and captivating content. When browsing through LinkedIn, one will often find an abundance of articles written by company employees. These articles can provide insights into the activities of a company or on industry trends, helping to paint a clearer picture of a company’s activities, values, and interests. Coca-Cola has dominated the social media space through LinkedIn, posting over 2000 stories since its launch. The company has painted itself as a socially responsible business while releasing engaging content about the company’s activities and goals.

Building an engaging brand is the first step in the recruitment process, where gathering a large audience or following guarantees your content will be shared across social media platforms, further increasing your reach and influence.

Do build a reputation as an employer

Having a large following is one thing, but if the main goal is to hire top talent, a company must ensure that it builds a reputation as an accommodating employer that candidates will want to work for. Coca-Cola, for example, may have an impressive LinkedIn following, but it is not one of the top ten companies employees want to work for.

Although the top 10 companies to work for vary across different countries due to a variety of factors, two companies consistently appear on a number of lists; Amazon and Alphabet – Google’s parent company. Looking at Amazon's LinkedIn posts, it is apparent why candidates are seeking employment at their offices around the globe. Many posts highlight their work ethics and even present posts introducing individual team members with their own testimonials highlighting what they enjoy about working at Amazon. Giving your audience a positive insight into the experiences and opportunities of working at your company is a sure way to encourage top talent to apply.

Do analyse audience trends

Knowing your audience is the key to successfully managing any social media account. With social media also comes a wide range of online tools to monitor and analyse your user metrics; including Google analytics, Sprout Social and even one built into LinkedIn itself. Any strong online campaign needs a careful analysis of its successes and failures to understand your audience better. A fashion brand or property firm will likely put out different content that reflects their audience’s interests.

This strategy goes beyond monitoring views, as essential as they are, tools such as LinkedIn analytics lets one monitor engagement via comments, shares, and clicks. Demographics are also essential in providing a better idea of any specific target audience and which groups a particular brand may resonate with more. Knowing how to present your company as an ideal place to work can also come in the form of different strategies, whether it is publishing employee testimonies, writing about company perks and opportunities or simply allowing employees to write articles on their areas of interest. Using analysis to test a variety of strategies before settling on the most successful one is something any company has to take advantage of when attempting to stand out in an increasingly competitive employment landscape.

Don’t solely focus on potential applicants

While it is important to build a reputation that targets potential employees, this can be counter-intuitive when trying to create an overall strong online presence. A better way of running an online campaign is to view everyone in your audience as a potential employee that deserves equal attention and engagement. This can mean answering questions and replying to comments across social platforms to maximise engagement with everyone.

Using social media solely to advertise and promote job openings may also come across as disingenuous to your brand and will turn people away who see your brand as a temporary recruitment campaign. Engaging with a broader audience on a deeper level will ensure greater success in the long run and will help to keep a company in the spotlight, inevitably attracting top talent as its reputation grows.

Don’t make it all about your brand

At first glance, this advice may seem counterintuitive, but similar to making a social recruitment strategy solely about hiring potential candidates, focusing too much on a brand can come off as disingenuous. Behaving more like a real person is more likely to receive genuine reactions, which is why brands like Amazon and Coca-Cola take the time to create stories and narratives that resonate more naturally with their audiences. Similarly, many other brands post about areas of interest such as technology firms posting on the latest innovations in the world beyond their brand and commenting on other tech news.

Posts from a social media account can also showcase a wide range of voices by allowing a number of employees to make their own posts. Again, this taps into the human element of social media by treating each team member as an individual and allowing them to engage with followers on that same meaningful level.

For professional advice on branding, check out these irresistible offers.

Written by Edward Mah Edward Mah for Together Abroad.

This article is restricted. You have to be logged in to be able to add further reactions.

For an expat moving to the Netherlands, getting the right direction is very important. It's important that one knows which steps and direction to take. Linda is an exceptionally talent counselor, her advice has helped me land a job within a week of coming to the Netherlands. I am grateful for her mentoring and look forward to a great working relationship in the future.

Dr. Hrishiraj S | Clinical Research & Affairs Manager

Together Abroad provided expert advice on personal branding including developing a top-notch, market-aware CV, highly tailored job applications, and approach strategies with potential employers in the Netherlands. Furthermore, I found them be highly knowledgeable in key related fields such as recruitment strategy, immigration law, contracts, labor agreements, and (un)employment benefits. I would recommend Together Abroad to anyone who needs professional help with transitioning to a new career.

A. Aboufirass | Structural Engeer

Linda is a big mind. She thinks about things that the rest normally overlook. The insight she has about the dutch job market can only be achieved through years of experience and persistence.

Her business savvy is complemented by her mastery of understanding the client's needs and requirements. For my career I could say, she was the “Mary Poppins”, who guided me through thick and thin and helped me to land a career in the Netherlands

S. Bhattacharjee | FP&A Manager

If you are going to enlist the services of a "Career Coach" look no further. The only person you want in your corner is Linda van Orsouw. As an expat, you absolutely want to work with a highly skilled and knowledgeable professional who knows their way around the Dutch career/employment/job market. Linda assisted me in writing and positioning my CV, helped me organize and prioritize my list of opportunities, coached me through mock interviews and was there when I got offered a senior position only 2 months later. When asked I will only refer to Linda and "Togetherabroad".

Mr. C. Joubert
Lead Workplace Strategy Consultant 

 

New item