Online job avenues have brought jobs seekers and employers together. This article outlines how social media channels can help employers attract talent, screen potential employees and hire them. 

The advancement of technology has given us myriad tools to enhance the quality and speed of work, life, and knowledge accumulation. One such tool is social media, which is today’s version of the watering hole, where people spend more time connecting with one another than on the ground in real life. An activity which began as an outlet for entertainment and personal connections has taken a larger than life form, catering to both personal and professional requirements. Basically, if you wish to stay relevant and in the know, being on social media is a must.

In all probability, your company might already have a presence on one or more of the social media sites to have its finger on the pulse of its consumers and the general public and promote its brand and services. However, if you are not utilising this valuable facility to scour for talent and hire them, then you are missing out on a very effective tool for recruitment. As per a CareerBuilder survey, approximately 70% of companies were using social media to screen potential recruits in 2017.

Finding and hiring talent online via various sites requires planning, creativity, keen perception, and regularity. Following the below given pointers will help you leverage the benefits of being on social media to attract the right talent for your company.

1. Harness Professional Sites: One of the most popular and well-connected sites for professionals and job seekers is LinkedIn. Any company worth its salt must make sure to have an account on this site. Create a profile that is attractive to both potential employees and search engines. Begin by writing a concise yet strong introduction to your company in the space provided above “see more” on the page. This is what will be reflected in the search results, so you will want it to be SEO-friendly with relevant keywords that act as a guide map to your LinkedIn page for job seekers through which more than 90% recruiters try to fill job openings! LinkedIn has proven to be a valuable site to attract talent with resumes that are befitting the profile you are seeking to hire.

2. Screen Potential Employees: Members of the Forbes Agency Council recommend using social media to monitor the potential candidates you have shortlisted. Check out their presence, behaviour, and quality of writing from posts on their timelines. This will give you an insight into their thought process and can also alert you about the possibility of a threat or harm to your brand or service.

3. Perform Personality Evaluation: Hiring a candidate for their expertise isn’t enough; knowing the person is equally essential for the health of your organisation and business. The timelines of the potential candidates are like a window into their personalities. This is more relevant for hiring for creative positions, as contrasting and innovative opinions and ideas lead to the formation of a creative team producing original and impactful concepts. This approach is endorsed by Carlos Machicao, of Wild Pixel Media, who admits using social media with target tools to find different archetypes as part of their recruiting process.

4. Widen Your Reach: Limiting yourself to one site will also limit your options for finding the right candidate. Broaden the reach by posting the job opening simultaneously on various social media sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, alongside your own website and emailing your periodical newsletter. Many social media sites have comprehensive advertising packages which help in increasing their reach to the specific demographic you are aiming for, making the promotion streamlined yet widespread. After all, a survey conducted by Monster revealed that almost 65 percent of respondents were keen about a new job opportunity if a personal connection referred it on their social network.

5. Outline Personal Experiences: The best aspect of social media sites is their versatility, and that too, at no added cost. Request your present employees to talk about the company, sharing their journey and experiences with your organisation. There is no stronger endorsement and attraction for potential candidates than the existing employees attesting to the company they work for and are happy to share their experience. Remember that just as you, as an employer, want to know the personality and character of a candidate before hiring them, an applicant also needs to be sure about the company they are considering to join. Testimonials play an important role in spreading the good word about your company.

6. Employ Appropriate Social Media Channels: Merely posting about a job opening is not enough, especially with the easy availability of the myriad methods of promotion that different sites feature. For example, Twitter can be used to educate and promote in concise form, Facebook for cultural development, and you can host live chats on Facebook Live. Instagram highlights and promotes the reach of keywords with the help of hashtags and presents a visual view of information. You can post videos, advertisements, and also launch your products or announcements on Instagram, promoting them via hashtags and Instagram reels and stories.

∙ Try out Snapchat’s geofilters for large conferences especially where one can find key talent meeting each other, suggests Nyma Quidwai, of Blue Water Ads. Facebook and Twitter are proving to be secret weapons of recruitment, specifically for the Indian market. With more than 23 million Twitter accounts in India, it is an open social media hub where you can actively connect, promote, and engage with potential and interested candidates. Make sure to connect with your target talent pool and that they follow you. Building a following on Twitter is what makes the site useful for you.

∙ Use Twitter’s advanced search feature to look for people; search for trending hashtags and topics; and connect your company or brand with them for wider coverage.

∙ You can also employ third-party tools that helps find Twitter bios. A quick way to search for the specific talent you are looking to hire.

7. Keep it interesting and engaging: One of the most popular sites now is Instagram, which has helped many organisations to brand and differentiate themselves as an employer. Conversations about organisational culture, events, and experiences on your Instagram account will not only attract interested parties, but will also pique their interest in becoming a part of your vibrant office culture. Include photographs and short videos of company events, team-building exercises, celebrations, and colleagues simply hanging out after work or even during office hours and breaks. Make sure to announce intra-office competitions, achievements, and rewards on the relevant social media sites. The more footsteps your account garners, the wider reach and promotion it will earn automatically due to the algorithms of these sites. You can also introduce a promotional campaign consisting of teasers and quizzes. People love intrigue and enjoy solving them, even if there is no reward involved.

8. Content Matters: Marketing via content has grown exponentially in the past few years. Employ various content marketing methods to attract potential employees with the help of different techniques. Whether you are hiring at present or not, it is a prudent decision to create content that will attract potential recruits as you will already be on their radar when it is time to hire. The above point, where sharing of company activities and testimonials primarily depends on content, clearly shows that well-created content will make your posts more attractive.

9. Basic Do’s and Don’ts: Becoming technology and social media savvy is essential to navigate your way through the tools on hand for the benefit of your company. It would be a good idea to hire or appoint a person who is well versed in the system. Alternatively, you can take one of the many available social media certification courses, which also teach you about building and attracting brand loyalty and guide you through the process of creating an effective social media marketing strategy.

∙ Have a discussion with your marketing and promotions department and draw up precise instructions to be followed by your social media person.

∙ Make sure your account is open to the public with the comments section accessible to them.

∙ You can also share your company’s location to establish a sense of trust. A verifiable on-ground location helps dispel doubts about a company.

∙ Before opening your account to the public, do a practise test run.

∙ Broadcast and keep an eye out for queries and make sure to address them.

∙ Monitor your accounts with the help of many tools like Hootsuite, which help you monitor your social media presence, its reach, and any glitches or problems.

∙ Keep an eye out for both active and passive candidates. Many passive candidates

Traditionally, companies would need to factor in an amount in the annual financial budget for advertising, classified ads, and man hours that went into screening and interviewing potential employees, wasting crucial work hours that could have otherwise been invested in productive work. But now times have changed. A study by the Aberdeen Group revealed that a whopping 73 percent of job seekers aged between 18 and 34 got their last job through social media channels! Job boards are not reliable anymore. But one can certainly do with expert recruiting consultants like 2COMS to get an edge over competition and find regular gigs.

Technological advancement has not only done away with this cost and time-spent but has also presented you with multiple avenues to utilise for a multitude of benefits to your company and that too, at a very economical cost. You do not need to approach different newspapers to feature in their classified sections now. All you need to do is create a well-worded post that can be simultaneously posted on multiple social media sites without any added cost.