Whether it be LinkedIn, Instagram, or another platform, social media is a strong tool for hiring top talent. Sometimes basic strategies just don’t cut it, and you have to get creative. Here are some unique ways to use social media to your advantage when recruiting new employees!
Highlight Your Unique Personality
Highlight your organization’s unique personality and culture on relevant social media platforms. One reason people use social media is to connect with others, including brands. Personalized and relatable content and communication on your organization’s social media accounts can be a powerful tool in creating an emotional connection to a brand. Engage with other accounts and apply personalization there, too. Consider adding a customized note to a LinkedIn invitation; like and comment on other appropriate posts; and sprinkle in engaging details and articles, when applicable.
Lauren Cohen, Farmers Insurance
Leverage All Team Members
At Spear, we leverage all of our team members to help spread the word. Each time an opportunity opens up, the Talent Acquisition team creates a social media post specific to that role. We then send it to all members of the hiring team and their departments, and we encourage them to post to their LinkedIn and Twitter accounts. We also put links to each job in our weekly newsletter so everyone can share the posting on their social media accounts. My tip? Make it as easy as possible for people to share!
Beth Gross, Spear Education
Promote Your Culture First
Using social media for job recruiting should go beyond a “now hiring” post on your Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn pages. Create a buzz around your company before you ever have an open position. You should share content on these platforms that shows that your company is a great place to work, so you can organically attract candidates. Then, when a job opening does come along, you should already have several candidates who have reached out beforehand.
Megan Chiamos, 365 Cannabis
Stay True to Your Values
In the age of social networking, it is easy to get lost in the noise. To recruit key talent, keep your brand’s social media messaging authentic to its values and goals. Not only do you want to recruit the right competency fit, but it’s also crucial to attract people who culturally align with your business. Be clear and concise about your organization’s vision on social platforms, and the right talent will follow.
Jenae Nichols, Y Scouts
Build Trust
When using social media to recruit, specifically LinkedIn, chances are you are going to come across several passive candidates, or people who aren’t actively looking for a job. In these instances, don’t be afraid to reach out to a candidate who has the qualifications you are looking for, even if their LinkedIn states they are currently employed. The worst they can do is ignore or decline your offer, and the best that can happen is that you find an experienced, qualified new hire.
Peter Babichenko, Sahara Case
Be Active. Be Consistent.
LinkedIn is my social channel of choice when it comes to both reactive and proactive recruiting. The most valuable takeaway for employers- become active and maintain consistent engagement. Employers that are engaged and consistently provide industry-relevant content, promote thought leadership, and industry expertise. Rather than ONLY promote hiring needs, get creative and drive candidates to apply. This will save time and a ton of back-and-forth legwork. It also gives employers easy access to a wider talent pool and fills roles quickly. Last but not least, remember that candidate experience is crucial, and ANY interaction a prospective candidate has with your company will reflect on your company culture.
Austin TeNgaio, Talent Acquisition
Focus on People
Our digital pr agency actively uses Instagram to attract new candidates. If you visit our Instagram page, you’ll notice that it’s all about our people. We often post employee spotlights, celebrate anniversaries, and share our team outings to provide a glimpse into our culture. The best part about this is that it works! Most of the candidates we interview mention our Instagram account and say that one of the reasons they would love to join our team is our company culture.
Grecia Olachea, Markitors
Don’t Limit Yourself to One Platform
Post your listings on different group boards on LinkedIn that are relevant to the position. This helps improve the viewership of your listing. Also, ask people in your network to share your posting.
Lloyd Hopkins, Million Dollar Teacher Project
Moving Past Job Boards
In a new age of social media and the world of recruiting, job boards are not the only form of recruiting and applying for jobs. Let’s face it: they aren’t what they used to be. Platforms like CareerBuilder and Monster, which have been around for 30 years, have both filed for bankruptcy after years of being popular ways to apply for jobs in your area. Now, many young people haven’t even heard of them.
This new era doesn’t make job boards less important, just slightly less relevant. While job boards still gain some traction, hopeful job-seekers are more likely to be checking job boards like LinkedIn specifically for their AI tools, skill assessments, and other features. Social media is also used to connect with employers on X, or even check out employer branding content on TikTok.
The Beauty of a Developed Career Page
Career pages are a great way for people looking for a job to see what’s available and learn more about the company culture. You can’t learn everything about what a company is like, how they vibe together in the office, and what they value based on a basic LinkedIn job description. Career pages are a direct way for researchers to discover more about you, which is why keeping them updated, competitive, and appealing is important.
What are the benefits of working for your company? How are your employees shown their value? Are you inclusive? Do you have employee resource groups? These are all things that can make it into your career page.
Employee Referral Programs
Employee referral programs are a way for recruiters to find possible hires by using their current employees. By asking employees to refer individuals in their career network, recruiters are more likely to find like-minded and hardworking people to join their team. For this to work, you need a few key incentives:
Reward your employees with a bonus or something similar. Maybe you decide to shout them out on social media or some other sort of recognition. This can be a great way to incentivize your employees to take the time to recommend someone from their network.
Make your program ongoing and mention it often. If you don’t mention it enough, your employees won’t think to bring up possible candidates or take it seriously. If it becomes a frequent conversation topic and a part of the weekly workflow, you’re more likely to have positive results to boast about on your LinkedIn!
To learn more about career and workplace tips as well as top employers to work for in Arizona, visit BestCompaniesAZ and discover your new dream career.
