The modern labor market and recruiting system are changing very fast. It takes a lot more than just posting a vacancy on a website to hire the best specialists.
Competition is growing, so companies need to expand their workforce with new and unique talent. 49% of HR professionals say their company plans to increase the use of social media for hiring and interacting with candidates.
To find the best professionals, social recruiting strategies are of great importance now. Social media recruiting requires a lot of work.
Even so, it allows companies to explore new areas of talent. In this article, we take a closer look at all aspects of social media recruiting.
What is social media recruiting?
Social media recruiting is a hiring strategy that involves using social media platforms to share job postings, search and communicate with potential job candidates.
These channels allow to reach a wider range of candidates than is possible with traditional recruiting. HR managers often use this tactic as a way to more effectively attract both active and passive job candidates.
Also, this type of recruiting strategies includes employer branding and influencer marketing. Social media helps employers spread key information about their company values and culture.
6 Benefits of using social media for recruitment
There are many advantages to using social media when sourcing candidates. For many employers, these platforms are the primary and even the only source of new talented candidates. Below, we’ve highlighted the key benefits of recruiting on social media.
1. Adaptation of recruitment efforts
To find the best marketing candidates who are best qualified for a particular position, social media platforms offer the opportunity to reach specific groups of people. HR managers can spend more time searching for the best talent by reducing the number of candidates in the first stages of the search. Each social network has its own audience, which allows to send the right information to the right job seekers.
2. Variety of content
A wide variety of content can be created for social media. It can be videos, images or simple text describing an open position. But it’s important to understand which platform is best suited for a particular type of content aimed at target candidates. The great advantage is that when creating such content, it can be reused on other social networks by properly adapting it for each platform.
3. Increased reach
To build a team of professionals it is necessary to reach out to as many potential candidates as possible. In this way, the chances of finding good employees are increased. With social media recruiting, it is possible to reach passive candidates who may not be looking for a job at the moment, but would consider a better offer. By providing them with information about the company that matches their experience and interests, you can find the highest quality job candidates.
4. Promoting the company’s brand
Studies have shown that approximately 62% of candidates research each company’s reputation through social media before applying for a job. When choosing a new job, the reputation of a company is often crucial for candidates. Social media is a great resource for promoting an employer brand. They can be used to showcase a company’s culture, values and existing employees.
5. Ability to connect with passive candidates
A large number of workers are passive candidates. For these people, traditional employee search methods will be useless. With the help of social media, HR managers can present open positions in the company to thousands of candidates who can’t be found by any other method. Social media recruiting allows to connect with the right audience on a personalized level. This will provide a more analyzed experience for job seekers.
6. Opportunity to learn more about the candidates
A resume gives a good insight into a candidate’s professionalism and experience. But unfortunately, it provides little information about who the candidate really is as a person. With the help of social media, hiring managers can learn much more information about a potential employee, including interests, hobbies, and mutual connections.
4 Best practices for social media recruitment
Depending on the audience and the personality of each candidate, recruitment practices may vary. But there are still certain rules that HR managers should keep in mind when looking for employees.
1. Choose the right social media platforms
There are a large number of different social networks on the internet. When choosing the right channel to use when it comes to onboarding new employees, it’s important to understand how it works and what the main audience is.
To find the right social network, HR managers can use analytics tools along with their usual HR management software. For example, with the help of Keyhole. This is a company that deals with automated social media analytics. They can easily track keywords, #hashtags, @accounts and URLs on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Youtube.
2. Upgrade your profiles
In the social media profiles that will be used for recruitment, it is important to include the company’s core values and culture. Creating separate profiles on different social media platforms can have a positive impact on promoting your employer brand and attracting more talent.
75% of active job seekers are likely to apply for a job if an employer actively manages their employer brand. This will help target communication to potential job seekers by showing the content they are looking for.
3. Use striking visuals and memorable captions
Jobs that will be posted on social media should be enticing and include an image or video that clearly shows who you are looking for. Since social media feeds are largely made up of images, this kind of content will generate the highest response from job seekers.
Also when posting a job opening, it’s important to keep hashtags in mind. With their help, you will be able to find the right candidates much faster.
4. Try paid advertising
Paid advertising on social media has one of the biggest advantages. Compared to other channels, social media advertising is more affordable and the targeting is much better.
It’s easy to target candidates based on their location, job titles, skills, interests, and many other criteria.
6 Platforms that are good for recruiting
In today’s world, there are more social media platforms through which any candidate can be contacted. By adapting the resume to each platform recruiters can improve search results and maximize the company’s investment.
Here’s a small list of the most popular channels that you can use to begin your search for new hires.
1. LinkedIn
This social network has about 15 million job listings. LinkedIn is the most popular destination for recruiters and candidates. This platform provides an overview of candidates’ work history, interests, and references. Potentially, you can get tons of candidates from job referrals as well.
Using LinkedIn profile tips it is possible to optimize a company’s seniority, which can further favorably influence the search for the right candidates.
Holger Sindbaek, a solopreneur and owner of WOCG, shares, “When I acquired WOCG in 2023, my first goal was to overhaul the platform’s UI/UX to serve players better. I turned to LinkedIn to find a gaming-specific design expert, and the process proved invaluable. I started by using LinkedIn’s advanced filters to target professionals with gaming UI/UX experience, narrowing my search by keywords like ‘game design’ and ‘player-centered interfaces.’
I also reviewed candidate portfolios directly through their profiles, which saved time and gave me a clear sense of their capabilities before reaching out. Detailed job descriptions highlighting the project’s unique challenges attracted candidates who aligned with my vision. Ultimately, LinkedIn made it easier to find the right hire, allowing me to fast-track improvements to the platform’s design and enhance the player experience.”
2. Instagram
Visual content has become extremely popular among Generation Z and millennials. These generations are now at the top of the workforce. It is through Instagram that many of them find companies for employment.
Create a variety of visual content you can grab the attention of your audience, which can encourage them to sign up for your company page.
3. Twitter
This social network is known for its brevity. Twitter posts are limited to 280 characters. But this is not a disadvantage as Twitter is a popular source of events and news.
To find the right candidates, look for and use relevant hashtags. This will help you join discussions and attract as many like-minded people as possible. There is also a new XHiring feature on Twitter. You can use it to simplify your job search and hiring process.
4. Facebook
According to research, 81% of job seekers want to see job postings on Facebook. With this platform, you can learn more about the personality of candidates.
Facebook provides many ways to find and connect with candidates from any distance. The site has a job board for job postings. You can join or create new Facebook groups that better match your open positions.
5. YouTube
It is the largest search engine for videos. You can optimize your video, its title and description for YouTube search. By placing paid ads on this platform and selecting the right targeting parameters, you can direct the video to your target audience.
It will appear on other users’ videos, thereby attracting the attention of potential candidates.
6. TikTok
This video platform has one billion active users. This makes it one of the most popular social networks. As with Youtube, the best way to connect with TikTok candidates is to create a video.
Bonus: Keyhole
Track your brand’s profile actively on social media using Keyhole. See who’s interacting more with your posts. You can even add individual profiles of candidates to Keyhole dashboard and see what they are up to recently.
Plus, you can manage your brand reputation as well. Your dream candidates also audit your brand pages so make sure to keep them updated while tracking your social media presence.
Conclusion
Finding candidates on social media requires more attention and work. But when approached and executed correctly, this type of hiring is a powerful advantage. It’s important to choose the right social media platforms that match your needs.
Keyhole is a multipurpose tool that allows you to instantly analyze multiple profiles, campaigns, brand mentions and influencers. This way you can simplify and speed up the process of hiring new employees through social media.
Analyze social media, optimize your campaign and research your competitors’ market. Manage the entire social media recruitment process with Keyhole.
Related Articles
How To Manage & Improve Online Brand Reputation in 2024 (Guide)
How To Master Brand Sentiment Analysis – Beginner’s Edition
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why is social media important for recruiting?
Social media is a very important tool for finding employees. They expand candidate reach, strengthen the employer brand and effectively connect different talent pools.
2. When should I use social media for recruitment?
Social media is best used when sourcing a wide range of candidates and when you want to attract passive candidates. Social media is also great for showcasing your corporate culture and employer brand.
3. Which social network is most often used for recruitment?
The most commonly used social network for employee recruitment is LinkedIn. This platform offers a professional board for recruiters and job seekers.