Social Media Recruiting

A Comprehensive Guide to help your hire best talent via Social Media.

What is Social Media Recruiting?

What is Social Recruiting / What is Social Media Recruitment / What is Social Media Recruiting Definition?

Social media recruiting is using social media platforms, tools, and technologies to scan and filter the best talent for your job postings.

Recruiting through social media involves recruiters proactively reaching out to career aspirants via their social media profiles and connecting with them. It helps them to understand their educational backgrounds, passion, as well as future career goals better. With the rise in usage of mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones, social media recruiting is progressively catching up with talent acquisition experts as well.

Why is social media important for recruiting?

What is the importance of social media recruiting?

Social media is a great recruitment tool. Social media recruiting speeds up the recruitment process and shortens the hiring time. This will automatically give businesses a competitive edge in securing the best talent. You can advertise your job openings on your company’s social media pages. Furthermore, you can promote the same in various social media groups and forums.

Recruiters, today, are considering candidates’ social media accounts for knowing candidates better. They are connecting with these prospective candidates on social media and are engaging them with their talent brand. They are using candidate information available on social media for the screening process. In addition to this, they are also observing the behavior of these candidates on social media. This helps them in knowing whether the candidate would be a perfect fit for their company.

With social recruiting, you can target a passive talent pool by casting a wider net on social media platforms. It is a cost-effective solution and also facilitates a quick screening of candidates.

Here are some noteworthy statistics about social media recruiting. These statistics will help you understand how social media has changed recruitment for many companies across the globe.

70% of recruiting managers

70% of recruiting managers say they have successfully hired candidates using social media.

84% of organizations

84% of organizations use social media while recruiting.

82% of passive job candidates

82% of passive job candidates are recruited by organizations that use social media for recruitment.

79% of job seeker

79% of job seekers use social media when conducting their job search.

85% of employers

85% of employers said social media helps them find and engage passive job seekers.

“Over nine in ten candidates are happy to be solicited for jobs via LinkedIn. And about 80% of candidates would apply for a relevant job that appears in their profile feed. Social media has a significant impact on job seekers in shaping impressions of a potential employer.”, says Robert Walter, Author of Using Social Media in the Recruitment Process Whitepaper.

Similarly, an SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) survey states, “Recruiting passive candidates continues to be the top reason organizations use social media for recruitment.” This survey also highlights how social media helps in the recruitment process.

Benefits of Social Media Recruiting

Hiring through social media has many advantages. Although the benefits of using social media for recruitment are many, we have listed down a few of them for you.

Social Media Recruiting reduces the applicant screening time.

The traditional recruiting process involves a series of procedures, making it a lengthy one. You can reduce this time to a .quarter via social media recruiting. How?

Social media profiles provide a glimpse of the potential candidate’s persona. The topics they are vocal about, the content they share, and how they interact with the online audience reflect the candidate’s personality. This factor aids in the hiring process by reducing the amount of time spent in a face-to-face interview or scanning through the resume document.

Social media recruiting reduces the applicant screening time

Social recruiting increases visibility.

Job boards, although frequented by many applicants every day, fail to outdo the number of users active on various social media platforms. Hence, when you share your job ad on social media portals like Facebook, LinkedIn, etc., there are higher chance that it will be viewed by many job seekers.

The ‘share’ feature available on social media platforms makes it easier to share the job ad. So, your job listing reaches more people in less time. Since more people view the post, the chances of getting an immediate response also increase.

Social recruiting increases visibility

Social media recruitment is cost-effective.

As compared to a print ad, posting your job requirements on social media platforms is easy and involves nominal or zero charges. Also, it helps candidates search for a job by filtering the job type, location, and job title.

If posted on your business page, it helps you gain more followers and applicants in one go. Simply put, social media recruiting targets job seekers and performs marketing functions at no extra cost. A modern, cost-effective method to take forward.

Social media recruitment is cost-effective

Hiring on social media facilitates easy background checks.

Besides effortless social media screening, you can conduct easy background checks on applicants via social media profiles. LinkedIn, for instance, is a professional network and offers insight into a candidate’s work history and skill set.

It also lets employers check out the candidate’s skills and recommend them to future hiring managers. Similarly, having an active Twitter account lets you know how opinionated your candidates are. This is a key factor that can influence the hiring decision of recruiters to a large extent.

Hiring on social media facilitates easy background checks

Social media recruiting adds a personal touch.

Recruiting via social media platforms lets you go through a candidate’s profile and know about their personal and professional interests. Based on this, you can then personalize the job offer. This assures the potential employee that you have invested your time in the hiring process.

Social media recruiting adds a personal touch

Social media helps connect with passive candidates.

There are candidates who have job skills but are not seeking any job opportunities at the moment. These kinds can be categorized as passive candidates. Social media recruiting can help you find candidates that are best suited for the job but are inactive on job search portals. You can maintain a database of all passive candidates you come across during the recruitment process and approach them at a later stage or when need be.

Social media helps connect with passive candidates

Though social media recruiting has its share of advantages, it also has some disadvantages. Here are some of the cons of social media recruiting.

Social media recruiting encroaches on a candidate's privacy

Social media recruiting encroaches on a candidate's privacy.

Although employers can filter applicants via their social media accounts, most applicants do not like the idea of it. These applicants treat their social media accounts as their personal space and share content only for entertainment. Employers viewing this kind of content are likely to be seen as privacy invaders. Also, one cannot judge a candidate’s suitability for the job on the basis of their personal matter.

Social media recruiting encroaches on a candidates privacy

It increases the tendency of incorrect information and compliance issues.

Since most employees use their social media accounts for personal use rather than professional interests, there are likely to be some loopholes. For instance, a candidate who posts regularly is likely to be preferred over the one that is inconsistent. Simply based on the fact that he/she has a growing social media presence. However, this point alone cannot justify the candidate’s suitability for the job role.

Likewise, a candidate actively participating in online political debates cannot be disregarded for his/her political views. But most often, employers tend to develop biases as a result of candidates’ online behavior.
In the same way, you cannot be certain that the information available online about the candidate is true and holds weightage. Most candidates tend to hide details that can hinder the recruitment process. So, not only the information can be incomplete but unreliable as well.

Social media recruiting gives rise to legal liabilities

Social media recruiting gives rise to legal liabilities.

Certain information that is available online is protected by law and cannot be utilized for personal or professional gain. For instance, the candidate’s caste and religious background, and gender preferences cannot be considered by reviewing job suitability. Whether or not you find the information accidentally, it can land you in legal trouble.

Social networking behavior may not reflect work ethics

Social networking behavior may not reflect work ethics.

A decent number of people usually use their social media accounts to reflect their passion or hobby. Moreover, they are likely to interact with people online in a casual manner. People tend to change their persona in different setups and with different people around. So drawing conclusions based on a candidate’s social media presence alone can serve as a disadvantage.

What is a social media recruitment strategy?

Social media recruiting is gaining importance every passing day. Job seekers now have multiple options to choose from and tend to pick recruiters based on their social standing. To ensure your recruiting efforts get noticed on social media channels, all you need is an effective social media recruitment strategy.

Social media recruitment strategy is a recruitment strategy that leverages social media platforms to promote your employer branding and attract active and passive candidates to your company.

Give your recruiting efforts the much-needed boost with this social media recruitment strategy.

Advertise your jobs on your company’s social media pages. Your candidates are most active on social media. And by posting your jobs on social media, you are automatically reaching out to them. In addition to this, you can even share these jobs in some active job seekers groups and expand your reach.

Here are the steps that you can follow to build an effective social media recruiting strategy.

Build your presence

Build your presence

Start networking

Start networking

Use hashtags

Use hashtags

Plan the right content

Plan the right content

Be proactive

Be proactive

#1. Build your presence on social media channels.

Job seekers and people on the internet look for an emotional connection. Companies that share the same beliefs and ethics as their followers are likely to attract more attention. This makes social media networks a great platform to build your presence and identity.

Since people tend to work with companies that they connect with, state what your brand stands for. Use social media as a space to put across your thoughts and beliefs while keeping your profile industry-specific. Portray your brand in the best light possible to get the most engagement.

Build your presence on social media networks - Step #1 of Social Media Recruiting Strategy

#2. Network with right and diverse people.

Once you have grown a follower base, the next step is to network correctly. For this, avoid sending generic messages to all. Customize your message to suit each job seeker you approach. Appeal to their interest by taking some time to review their profiles and professional accomplishments. Let your message include what is in store for them in return for their contribution.

Social media and its unique features can make your recruitment process work to your advantage. Use social media networks to include a diverse employee base or use it to filter your search to find the candidates that best suit your job requirements.

Network with right and diverse startegy - Step #2 of Social Media Recruiting Strategy

#3. Get trending with hashtags

Hashtags are powerful social media tools that can double your reach immensely. But, the trick lies in identifying the ones used by job seekers across different social media platforms. You need to look for a mix of both generic and industry-specific hashtags to increase your scope. It is important to find hashtags that are industry-specific and job-relevant. If you do not find any relevant ones, create your own and get it trending.

Using a decent number of hashtags can double your post reach in no time at all. However, remember to not go overboard while including hashtags as that can get your post marked as spam. Meaningful content, along with the right set of hashtags, can be a game-changer. Make sure your hashtags are relevant and content engaging. To make your brand go global and your recruiting methods a lift, let your hashtags be creative, quirky and targeted.

Get trending with hashtags - Step #3 of Social Media Recruiting Strategy

#4. Speak, both business and fun

Your recruiting efforts need not be strictly professional or all boring. To maximize your reach, and avoid intimidating people, make your employees a part of your social media networks. Invite and encourage your employees to share their work photos, behind the scenes, or videos of them talking about their work journey. This way, potential hires will get comfortable with the idea of working for you. All in all, use social media to show the fun side of your company culture.

Speak, both business and fun - Step #4 of Social Media Recruiting Strategy

#5. Be creative and proactive

The more creative your approach to recruiting, the more potential hires you will connect with. Use social media tools and features to your advantage. For instance, consider posting fun 2-3 minute videos of what makes your brand different from the others or what you offer as a working space. Do not wait until people approach you; instead, make the first move by letting them know what it is like to work with you.

Also, keep in mind that you need to have quicker response times and a faster turnaround of information. Get back to your candidates as soon as possible and keep them updated about their recruitment status. This will ensure a great candidate experience.

Be creative and proactive - Step #5 of Social Media Recruiting Strategy

Social media can be a great platform to connect with a large number of job seekers. It can be an extension of your brand personality and a reflection of your brand story. However, understand that each social network is different and a one-size-fits-all approach might not work.

To make the most of social media, research before you get started. Focus on the quality of content you post and master the social media game gradually.

What Social Media Recruitment Challenges do Hiring Teams Face?

Social media recruitment ensures excellent reach for your job roles and helps you hire the best talent faster. Though social recruitment seems easy to get started with, here are some of the challenges that employers all around the world face when it comes to social media recruitment.

Irrelevant or underqualified applicants

Irrelevant or underqualified applicants.

Most employers feel that though recruiting on social media ensures an outstanding reach for the jobs, the quality of candidate applications suffers. They receive many candidate applications that are irrelevant or underqualified.

The best approach towards this would be to focus on your target audience. You should write clear job descriptions stating the job requirements. Using an AI-powered tool that can screen the candidates and suggest you the best-fit candidates for your job roles would be an excellent solution.

Local desired talent not found

Local/desired talent not found.

The extensive reach of social media can at times be non-effective. There have been occurrences that employers have received applications from everywhere but not found local talent or the talent they were looking for.

An ideal approach to this social recruiting challenge would be to hire a distributed team across multiple locations. You could also provide relocation assistance if needed. Furthermore, you can also offer the hired candidates work-from-home opportunities.

Ghosting applicants

Ghosting applicants.

Employers are saying that there have been frequent interview no-shows when they were being contacted via social media. Furthermore, they are also saying that there has not been proper communication with the candidates when contacted over social media.

What you need to understand is that you need to have an efficient communication plan. You need to communicate with your candidates more often. A good idea here would be to keep them engaged in your hiring process at all times.

Fierce competition for talented professionals

Fierce competition for talented professionals.

With the recruitment process being all candidate-centric, there are many companies out there like yours that are looking for qualified candidates. They are competing for talent just like you.

The best approach would be to build your company as a brand. Your employer brand should convey your values, your mission, and company culture. You can also write catchy job ads and engage your candidates with your brand. Your candidates need to know what exactly it is like to work for you.

No or low promotional budget

No or low promotional budget.

Many employers are of the opinion that job promotion on social media is a costly affair. Ads are costly and they do not guarantee desired conversions as well.

You can promote your jobs on social media organically by sharing them in various groups and forums. You can ask your employees to promote your jobs by setting up employee referral programs and offering them rewards.

Social Media Recruiting Best Practices

To facilitate the talent acquisition process, here are some social media recruiting practices that you need to know.

1. Know your audience

Pay attention to candidates’ networking habits. Know which media platforms are frequented the most and the amount of time spent. Analyzing this behavior plays an important role in any marketing strategy. This means to build your niche understanding the engagement habit is of uttermost importance. Unless you are aware of your target audience, your recruitment efforts will be futile.

2. Know the functionalities of each social media platforms

Compatibility between the job post and media channels will further enrich the recruiting process. To help you achieve this, familiarize yourself with the different social media platforms. For instance, LinkedIn job posts need to be more polished and professional as opposed to the ones on Facebook and Instagram. In the same way, a visually appealing Instagram job ad cannot be duplicated on Twitter. To avoid looking unaware and unprofessional, it is vital to know the functionality of each platform.

Tailoring your ad to suit each media channel will not only drive traffic but will also yield applications. Alternatively, you can take a different approach and drive traffic on different channels at the same time. For instance, you can post job openings on LinkedIn and fun content about your company culture on Instagram.

3. Personalize your job ad and appeal to audiences interest

To avoid sounding repetitive and monotonous, include a friendly, warm, and personalized message confirming the receipt of the applications. Doing so lets the candidates know that you have taken the time to review their profiles.

Furthermore, adding a customized message speaks of your employer branding. On the flip side, using a generic message may seem more of a sales pitch than a job proposal. Similarly, choose job descriptions that include job-specific skills and requirements to avoid unwarranted applications. This will also help you in shortlisting your applicants better.

Catch the candidates’ attention by making a job ad that is visually appealing. Use colors that portray a positive and happy work environment. Also, do not miss adding your company logo, job details, and application link. While at it, ensure not to overdo or clutter the graphics. Make it simple, colorful, and informative

4. Be inclusive

Avoid using gender-biased words or a tone that is discriminatory. Apart from landing you into legal trouble, it also portrays your company culture. Taking this route is likely to turn away applicants. So when targeting potential job seekers, use words that sound supportive, nurturing, and have a neutral tone.

5. Make existing employees a part of the recruiting process

To be trending and visible on social media, your post needs to be shared by a large number of people. To do so, it is always a good idea to involve your existing employees in your hiring process. Ensure that your existing team members share the job ad on their social media accounts to increase visibility. Alternatively, you can create a 1-2 min video of employees sharing their work experience. This will surely aid in getting more and reliable candidates.

You can get started with an employee referral program and ask your existing employees to recommend candidates to you. As your employees are aware of your company culture and work environment, they would be in a better position to promote your company to a select group of applicants.

Best Social networking Sites used for Recruitment

Here is a comprehensive list of the best social media recruitment sites.

Facebook

Facebook is one of the largest networks of people connected with one another. You will find people aged between 16 – 65 years connected to each other on Facebook making it a densely populated social media platform.

Although Facebook is a personal network, it surely helps the recruiter to find suitable candidates faster. Here, you can find both active and passive candidates for your job roles. Thus, helping you to fill in your open vacancies faster. Using your company’s Facebook page, you can post your job on Facebook by defining all the job requirements according to your needs. You can install a careers tab on your Facebook page and have all your active job postings listed in one place. Your followers as well as job seekers can send in their applications in just a few clicks.

Ensure that your job advertisement is clear and concise. It should help the potential applicant to get a clear idea about the job position they are applying for. Facebook is one of the best social media platforms that are a boon for the Human Resources Department.

Facebook - #1 Best Social Networking Site for Recruitment

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a professional network that has always been popular in the corporate world. It is one of the best platforms for recruiting candidates.

Every candidate’s profile on LinkedIn acts as his/her resume. It comprises all the details such as educational qualifications, location, current as well as past work experience, and a lot more. This helps recruiters in making better hiring decisions.

Advertising your job posting on LinkedIn will attract both active as well as passive candidates who are searching for jobs. All you need to do is create your company’s official page on LinkedIn and build a strong employer brand for your organization. It is reported that 89% of talent from LinkedIn can be reached by the recruiter to make them accept a job offer more quickly.

You can choose your desired most qualified talent by sourcing the candidate from this professional platform. Many recruitment software today is giving an extraordinary feature to source impressive candidate profiles for building your talent pool. In addition to this, you can use filters such as location, past experience, current position, and various other factors.

LinkedIn also helps you deliver a great candidate experience. You can add a personalized note while sending connection requests to potential candidates. Ensure that your message is creative enough to attract and engage job seekers. Since people visit LinkedIn on a daily basis to find job opportunities, you will definitely find the most qualified candidate for your roles on this professional network.

LinkedIn - #2 Best Social Networking Site for Recruitment

Twitter

Twitter is a social networking platform where you can share your thoughts with your network. This microblogging platform is used to discover new people and broadcast small messages all over the world. It is one such network that allows you to be personal and professional at the same time. Twitter can help you to promote your jobs and reach a larger audience. Thus, making it a useful social media recruitment tool for recruiters and hiring managers.

You can search for prospective candidates and visit their profiles to know their personalities and how well they can fit in your organization. You can also perform basic background checks using Twitter.

Like other social media platforms, you can find active as well as passive candidates without any hassles on Twitter. Posting jobs on Twitter is cheaper than most other social media platforms. Twitter allows you to advertise your job openings for free.

Twitter - #3 Best Social Networking Site for Recruitment

Instagram

Instagram is a platform where people share artistic photos and videos with their followers. This visual sharing social media network is generally used to find creative and young candidates for your job openings.

Sharing your job post on your company’s Instagram profile is very easy. You can create a job and share your custom job advertising link on Instagram via a post or a story. In addition to this, you can also boost your job-related posts on Instagram so that it reaches out to the maximum number of potential candidates.

Furthermore, you can leverage the Instagram Stories and Reels feature to attract the desired candidates. Instagram also provides you with IGTV, which you can use to promote your employer brand. This social networking platform is being used by millennials extensively. Thus, it is a good source to tap into millennial talent.

Instagram - #4 Best Social Networking Site for Recruitment

Best Social Media Recruiting Examples

Marriott

Multinational hospitality company, Marriott International manages numerous chains of hotels and resorts across various countries of the world. They have rightly leveraged their Facebook page to advertise and promote their job openings to the target audience.

They have started on the right foot, by creating a separate page exclusively for careers and job opportunities. The team is publishing a variety of content that includes images, image albums, and videos to promote their jobs. They have shot an amazing introductory video which they share along with their job openings. Furthermore, they have also make utmost use of the Facebook platform to share the employee’s journey on their page.

Marriott International Facebook page speaks about Marriott as an employer of choice. In addition to the job openings, they give us a glimpse into their work environment and employee engagement practices. They organize fun events, games, happening parties, etc. for the team. Similarly, they also organize animal shelter visits, blood donation camps, and other events to contribute towards the betterment of our society.

Marriott

Zappos

Zappos is an eCommerce platform selling clothing apparel and footwear from thousands of brands across the world. Zappos has been very consistent with its social media recruiting efforts on LinkedIn.

They walk us through their employer brand, their goals and beliefs, and their company culture via their LinkedIn page. In addition to regularly updating their job vacancies, Zappos also speaks about their lively office, the employees, and their work culture on their LinkedIn page. The funny and quirky captions that they use certainly reflect their fun environment.

Zappos

Canva

Canva is an online designing tool that helps you create artistic graphic designs in just a few clicks. The Canva team is extremely good at marketing their jobs and building their employer brand. They are leveraging Twitter to attract and engage top talent to your jobs.

Just like their website careers page, Canva has designed its Twitter page beautifully. In addition to the job openings, Canva team shares a lot of other posts that would make anyone want to work with them. Canva shares their ever-growing success stories on their Twitter page regularly. Furthermore, they tweet about the product updates to let the viewers know that they are rapidly growing. Educative blogs, special quotes, festivity wishes, exciting quizzes, and whatnot. Canva’s Twitter page is a treasure of fun activities.

Canva

Tinder

Everyone today knows about Tinder, the app that revolutionized the dating process. But very few know that they are slaying at their social recruiting efforts.

While advertising their jobs on Instagram, Tinder gives the candidates a quick glance at their rich company culture. A happy team is one that has happy employees. And Tinder’s Instagram page showcases how happy their team is. It depicts the amazing lives of the Tinder team. They organize fun-filled events, parties, and many more fun activities. Showcasing their company culture and work environment is a great way of attracting talent that Tinder practices.

Tinder

Best Social Media Recruiting Tools

Here are some productivity tools to simplify and streamline your social media recruiting process.

Jobsoid

Jobsoid

Jobsoid is an all-in-one recruitment software that allows you to post and advertise your jobs on leading social media platforms in just a few clicks.

Mention

Mention

Mention is an easy-to-use social media and web monitoring tool. This tool will provide you with real-time alerts when anybody mentions your brand. Thus, helping you deliver a great candidate experience and build your brand.

Buffer

Buffer

Buffer is a social media post scheduling tool that helps you schedule your posts to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. You can also gain insights into your post performance and engagement with the help of this platform.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics

Google Analytics lets you track your website traffic. It gives you real-time insights to understand your website visitors better.

Canva

Canva

An online designing tool that helps you design impressive images for social media posts. It comes up with numerous template kits that you can use to create a beautiful design.

Social Media Recruiting Tips

Here are some social media recruiting tips that will surely help you create a lasting impression on your candidates.

  • Create a separate account especially for hiring purposes. This account could be used for connecting with potential candidates and sharing information about your company’s work culture, the benefits you offer, and other details. It will give a better impression about your company to the candidates.
  • Optimize your Company LinkedIn page for Search. Make sure it has interesting news updates, links to blogs and articles, etc. This will help your candidates to research better and know your company before applying for a job role. Your social media page talks about company culture and the work environment.
  • Promote your company culture via a soft approach. In addition to promoting your job openings, use these social networks to promote your company culture, work environment, and the perks you offer. A blog post or short video about a day in your office will certainly attract a lot of candidates.
  • Portray your existing employees as your brand ambassadors. You can share some employee reviews on your social media channels. You can also share the photos of the latest events and opportunities to excel for brilliant minds. Furthermore. your prospective candidates will be able to relate to your talent brand better.
  • Ask your employees to reshare your content on their personal social profiles. Candidates today often look at your employees’ reviews and their thoughts before sending in their applications. In this way, your posts will also reach out to a larger audience.
  • Dive into one of the best professional networks in the world, LinkedIn to source potential candidates and add them to your talent pool. You can capture all the required details and engage them in your recruitment process accordingly.
  • Keep an eye out for queries and company mentions. Sometimes, job seekers have questions or queries regarding your job openings. Ensuring that their queries are resolved on time is a step towards delivering a good candidate experience.
  • Do not restrict your content on social media pages to job openings, company culture, or perks and benefits. You should share intriguing content like company events, behind-the-scenes videos, hosting live sessions, employee takeovers, fun giveaways, and lots of other types of content.

FAQs about Social Media Recruitment

You can advertise your job openings on your company's social media pages. This will ensure your jobs reach your followers. Furthermore, you can leverage social media to build and promote your employer branding.

Having a social recruitment strategy is a must for every growing team. You can start with hiring on social media right at the beginning of your recruitment process.

Here are the ideal time durations for job posting on social media. These times will ensure that your jobs reach out to the maximum number of candidates.
- Facebook -> Weekdays (6 - 8 am and 2-5 pm)
- LinkedIn -> Weekdays (7 - 8.30 am and 5-6 pm)
- Twitter -> Weekends 1 -3 pm

Yes, indeed they are. Social recruiting is for businesses of any kind- small, mid-size as well as larger corporations.

Not really, you can use social media to promote your jobs organically. If you have a budget for advertising, you can promote your jobs via sponsored ads.

Get Started with Social Media Recruiting!

It is never too late to get started with social media recruiting. Jobsoid, a cloud-based recruitment software, is integrated with major social media platforms for a seamless job posting experience.

Sign up for a Free Trial today and leverage social media to hire the best talent for your job roles.

Create Free Account
Jobsoid - The Best Tool for Social Media Recruiting