Looking for a simple and effective way to gain more qualified applicants for the positions you have to fill? Try social media. Social media recruiting is not new, yet it is not frequently used as a recruiting method by many recruiting agencies. Why not?
Some recruiting agencies prefer to do things in a more old school, personal way. Recruiters take the time to talk to each applicant on the phone or send them an email every time they contact them. Yet this can take hours out of every day. What if you can still provide that personal touch and even increase the amount of candidates you can connect with, all while reducing the amount of time spent on routine communication tasks? Imagine what your recruiting staff can do with that extra time every day!
A Little Bit of Automation All Month Long
Social media messages can be automated so that they go out at different organic times throughout the day, making your recruiting page look professional and engaging. With an automated solution, you can create a series of messages at the beginning of the month or week and schedule them to post on different days. You can even set certain messages to be repeated once every day or few days. It's also very easy to create and edit messages so you can change the information as new positions open up or positions get filled.
Attract a Wider Talent Pool with Social Media Recruiting
First, you need to gain more exposure for your recruiting page on social media. Potential applicants may not even know that your recruiting agency exists, so you need to build your audience and increase your visibility. How do you increase your social media audience?
In order to grow the number of people (and potential applicants) who will see your messages on social media, you need to promote your page. Advertise your social media pages on your website and on any print advertisements that you run. Encourage current clients and employees who have found work through your recruiting agency to share your page with other people or organizations who might be interested.
Post Success Stories on Your Social Media Pages
Sometimes getting new applicants or clients interested is as simple as sharing the stories of people who have used your recruiting agency and loved the results. Hearing it from actual clients or applicants who are now employed makes the message seem more real and legitimate. Including a picture or, even better, a video testimonial, is a great way to engage visitors and spark their interest. A big part of social recruiting is building credibility and engagement.
Post Positions and Accept Applications on Your Pages
Provide links to job descriptions on your social media pages and make it easy for applicants to submit their information. By including a basic online form on your pages, you are more likely to gain a wider range of applicants. By posting positions, you can get them shared, liked and retweeted, increasing the amount of exposure they receive.
Increase the Speed of Filling Positions
Recruiting is competitive and if you're late on the draw your prime applicant may have already been scooped up. By posting a position on social media as soon as it becomes available, you make it much more likely that a motivated candidate who is searching for the perfect position will find it quickly.
Review Report Data to Optimize Your Marketing
If you're using an automated social media management solution (and you most likely are), you will have access to a goldmine of data. You can see how many people viewed each of your posts, which posts had the most interaction and much more. Analyzing this data will allow you to improve your social media posting because you will know what works and what doesn't.
Edge Out the Competition
Is your competition using social media to help their recruiting process? If so, they are finding more potential candidates than you. If not, you will have a definite edge simply because you will have a larger pool from which to draw applicants. Your messages will also be shared and your page will attract new applicants.
Build Your Online Reputation
What smart client or applicant doesn't check out a recruiting agency's website and social media pages before deciding whether or not to go with them? Not having an engaging social media page (or not having one at all... oh the horror!) can make potential clients or applicants think your recruiting agency doesn't care, is out of date, not engaged, not a legitimate business or is too busy and overwhelmed to run successfully. Whether your social media page is awesome or awful, it can make a huge difference to a visitor.
Want to see the difference automation can make for your recruiting agency? Check out the SimplyCast 360 platform and request an interactive demo to see what it can do.
