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Social Media For Recruiters

IF YOU’RE IN RECRUITMENT – YOU NEED SOCIAL MEDIA!

We can confidently say how important social media is to recruiters because we were formed from the recruitment market. Green Umbrella was founded in 2010 by the owner of an independent recruitment agency whose early adoption of social media as a recruitment tool led to such growth and success over such a short period of time, that it was acquired by a national chain.

Social media has exploded in recent years. It has changed how employers and recruitment agencies search for new talent, so if you are not embracing social media marketing in your recruitment activities, then you will soon be left behind trying to play catch up.

Think we're making it up? Here are a few stats on the subject of the use of Social Media in the Recruitment process we've found in published research that has come from reliable sources:

  • 45% of HR decision-makers said they were already using social media tools in recruitment and 16% said they were planning to in future
  • Around 40% said they would make greater use of them in the future
  • Social media tools are often used as well as traditional recruitment strategies
  • There are a range of ways in which social media is used in the recruitment process including searching for potential candidates online and ‘screening' candidates by viewing their social media profiles
  • The main reasons for not using social media were a preference for more traditional forms of recruitment and concerns over privacy.
  • Businesses using social media to recruit employees has seen a significant increase in recent years: from 9 % in 2013 to 23 % in 2017
  • 72 % of large enterprises and 45% of small enterprises use social media to recruit employees

Sources: ACAS, Eurostat

So – why does social media work so well in recruitment? 

Traditionally, employers recruiting online will use their own website or perhaps online job boards to recruit.  And there’s nothing wrong with job boards at all.  They are great for matching up recruiters with people looking for jobs.

But what if the ideal candidate is not actively looking for a new position?  How do you reach passive candidates and entice them with their ideal job?  The answer is through social media.  It allows you to talk directly to people who are not job hunting but may well be tempted by the right offer.

But don’t worry if you’re not a social media expert.  Social recruiting is really just like traditional recruitment but using slightly different tools.

Recommendations

You can use your extended social networks to get great candidate and client recommendations.  A contact on Facebook might not be the greatest candidate but their friend could be. Using Linkedin and Twitter to ask for referrals can also be particularly effective.

Job Posting

If you have any sort of page or group on Linkedin or Facebook, you can advertise your jobs there.  Of course, you’ll need to make sure the page is getting some traffic first (and Green Umbrella Marketing can help you with that).  With the clever use of discussions, you can expose your vacancy to a wide audience.

Head Hunting

Don’t wait for the candidates to come to you – use social media to go out and seek them.  You can identify people with an interest in a certain area and do specific searches for individual skills.

What’s the golden rule?

If this all sounds great, then there is one key to success that we want to share with you.  It’s all about connecting with people in a meaningful way.  Be targeted, be strategic, and measure your results.

I’m interested – what do I need to consider

There are a few questions you should take time to think about to ensure you are obeying the golden rules above.  In fact, there are 15 questions you should answer.

But don’t worry.  We can take you through this process, help you answer the questions and then design and implement a social media programme for you.  And remember, we've been working with Recruiters since 2010 to improve their online presence, so there’s no-one better placed to understand your business challenges and help you move forward.

If you are in the Recruitment industry, then we strongly recommend that you consider the following before engaging in any social media activity:-

  1. Decide on your target market.  Are you targeting clients, candidates, passive candidates or other agencies?
  2. How do you build your network so that you can promote your services and vacancies to a specific target market?
  3. How will you use the tricks of the social media trade in order to maximise your online presence, and gain that all-important Google Juice that will allow you to get your agency to the top of Google?
  4. Create a social media strategy and marketing plan.
  5. Consider how much time you should devote to your social media activities.
  6. Who is responsible for social media activity in your business? Admin staff? You? What policies should you have in place for your staff?
  7. Are you using LinkedIn to its full capacity? Do you have a LinkedIn IT policy? Have you considered building Linkedin activity into your normal KPI’s?
  8. Should you be creating LinkedIn groups or Facebook groups to build credibility for your business and/or an online community for your target market.
  9. Twitter – you will need to understand the terminology in order to maximise this unique social media tool and gain credibility in the marketplace. This tool is especially useful if you are recruiting on an international basis.
  10. How will you crack the algorithms within Facebook? Do you implement a strategy for the Facebook job board? What will you write on your page and how can you create stimulating conversation and interaction with your audience? Do you have a plan for how to grow your network through both organically and through paid advertising?
  11. Understanding the 2nd biggest search engine in the UK – YouTube.  How to ensure that you are utilising this medium to full advantage.
  12. Podcasting is another way of promoting your services.  If you are providing excellent content then you will soon have endless subscribers listening to you.  Use local business, your clients and your candidates to offer input.
  13. Blogs – it's important to ensure that you consistently produce content on your website, and the best way to do this is to start blogging.  Green Umbrella will talk you through the tips and tricks as to what platforms are best to use and how to maximise your content.
  14. Developing an active listening strategy.
  15. Consider hiring a Twintern.  How will you encourage your staff to engage in all aspects of social media on behalf of your company?  How will you create a company culture on-line that is engaging and unique.

What Now?

Green Umbrella can take you through this process, help you answer the questions and then design and implement a social media strategy for you.  And remember, with a background in recruitment, there’s no-one better placed to understand your business challenges. 

CONTACT US NOW