Social media is a critical part of our lives today. It has gained a lot of popularity over the recent years and is used extensively by us in our professional and personal lives. However, making the most of the social networks is not something that everyone can do. With increased involvement in social media, businesses are now turning to this beloved medium for their recruitment needs as well. To get social recruitment right, there are many things to take care of.
Research has suggested that over 73% of the job seekers between the ages of 18 to 34 years have found their job through social media. This is a huge number. Despite the adoption of social media on large scale, we are still making a lot of mistakes when it comes to recruiting through social media. Getting it right with social media requires you to devote your time and efforts strategically so that you have a response coverage 24/7. Below are a few things that you should take care of in social recruiting.
This is the most important of the initial steps. Before you invest your time and efforts in social recruiting, you might be interested in knowing whether your target audience will be able to receive your message via this medium or not. You have to be every specific about choosing a medium that will actually take your message to your desired audience. Don’t just get started on social media only because your competitor companies are using it. Do an analysis of your requirement and act accordingly. Sometimes personal networks of your employees bring in the best results.
While the most popular social media today are Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, but you have to be sure if this is what you need. You have to look beyond these channels to see if other social media may have what you need. For example, if you are looking for IT persons, you are more likely to find the best talent in the industry on the social media platforms like GitHub and Stack Overflow. If you want to get the best results, go for the websites that bring the candidate data at one place. Every channel has its own culture and when you opt for one, you should keep this in mind. The type of messaging and content vary platform to platform. Choose a channel that will give your message a maximum penetration and help you achieve your goal.
Don’t just use the social media to publicize vacancies. Make the most of it. One of the benefits of social media is cultivating a two-way relationship. Make your talent feel involved by keeping in touch with them and informing them about the work environment of your organization. Understand the fact that social media is a medium to authentically promote your brand. You should give your potential employees a real flavor of your work and not give away any false information.
Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is software that helps you keep track of your applicants before, during and after the recruitment process. If you need to run a social media recruiting campaign, you need to have clear data in order measure effectiveness. Research has suggested that all the traffic to your website and ATS needs to be monitored. This can be achieved by traceable links or pages which can be later monitored by analytics. Modern cloud-based recruitment software includes this functionality by default. Be clear that tracking here doesn’t only confines to applicant number but also extends to follower activity, engagement, and other statistics.
Make sure your organization sends a consistent message from all departments. This means while you are promoting your business, your sale or some other department should give your consumers some bitter experience. A candidate’s perception of your company will also be influenced by his experience as a consumer.
Modern recruitment software should include a functionality that can help the employers gain insight into social media platforms that will help them recruit the best talent in the industry. Send your best message across most suitable social media and keep track of everything.
About the Author: A specialization in HR and a flair for marketing lend Kelly Barcelos a competitive edge when it comes to creating content for an Applicant Tracking System provider. She works full time for Jobsoid creating and promoting content that effectively addresses the problems facing modern-day hiring managers through the advantages that accompany an ATS.