9 Best Social Media Recruiting Strategies

Social media has redefined the recruiting landscape. Gone are the days of recruiters placing ads in the classifieds or job search forums. The online realm has shifted to social media, with applicants turning to their socials to see who’s hiring and whose team they want to join.

Social media recruiting strategies are tried-and-true methods of quickly tapping into a vast — potentially global — pool of job seekers.

However, it’s not just companies that have a vast pool of potential hires—your candidates also have an immense number of options.

For a recruiter, it means you will face more competition than ever. Standing out means knowing the best strategies to attract top-tier talent.

Luckily, there are strategies to enhance and focus your social media recruiting techniques.

Read on to find out our top recruitment tips and why this kind of recruiting strategy is something you cannot pass up.

What Is Social Media Recruiting?

This term refers to any recruiting strategy that uses social media to reach potential candidates. It’s a simple, affordable, and quick way of accessing a large pool of potential employees.

Platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook are examples of social media platforms that recruiters might use, as well as job sites such as LinkedIn, Indeed, and Xing.

The recruitment itself is a proactive method as opposed to a passive one. Creating a job board or portal for applicants to find is a passive recruiting strategy. Contacting potential employees directly with links to a job application is an example of a more active approach.

It doesn’t mean that both methods aren’t helpful when hiring for a position. Indeed, with social media recruiting, both measures are essential for attracting top talent.

A company might post a job description on a given recruitment platform, which is a passive method. But then their recruiter can seek profiles on that platform that match the job description. The latter is actively recruiting.

How Effective Is Social Media Recruiting?

The advantage of social media recruiting is immediately apparent for both recruiter and applicant.

For companies, social media enables the effective utilization of existing internet platforms to access potential employees quickly.

For applicants, it’s a more convenient way of expanding their options. They can look for work online on their computer or phone. Statistics find that most mobile job seekers in the United States find their next job in the comfort of their own bed.

Statistically, social media strategies are an essential part of modern recruitment. Career Arc reports that 86% of job seekers use social media in their search. Younger people spend more time on social media than ever, and older generations continue to embrace these services further. It means there is a massive net of job seekers that grows larger every day.

9 Best Social Media Recruiting Strategies

1. Establish an Online Reputation

One passive recruiting method involves building an online brand reputation that draws people to your company. Your online visibility will increase traffic to your company and interest candidates on the hunt for new work.

Increasingly, younger people want to find work representing their values. Gen Z and millennials tend to focus on more than just working benefits. They don’t want to work for a faceless company but an organization that embodies their values.

To promote yourself on social media, you will need to reach people on an emotional level. Lean into your company’s established principles, ethics, and distinct voice. It can help guide you to a social media presence that matters to your potential employees.

2. Connect With Suitable Applicants 

More traffic does not always mean more value. This lesson is one that many companies learn quickly on social media.

Your social media platforms of choice are a quick way to access many potential hires. However, focusing on connecting with them will ensure you access valuable candidates.

Could you be hitting the wrong demographics? Social media users are aware of online presences that feel generic or vague, and navigating the algorithms that fuel your chosen platform is essential to succeed.

Always remain hyper-focused on your company’s industry. Connect with respected and verified experts in that field and ensure that your communication is personable and not generic.

Transparency about your company and the job will ease applicants’ concerns about whether they are the right fit for you and vice versa. Always be upfront about geographical factors (on-location or remote), salary, and expertise needed to perform the job.

3. Your Employees Can Help Too

Getting noticed on social media is about maximizing your message and reach. You hope your company employees are all potential allies in your shared cause. If you are already transparent about your companies values, they are most likely on board with promoting your company.

However, this strategy requires a few careful considerations. If your company doesn’t already have a solid reputation, followers, and established personality, this may not move the needle as much as you have hoped. Know your message first, and ensure that your employees are on board with it before passing it onto them.

Your employees work for you because they share your company’s values, and you want your audience to know that. Careful decision-making about how frequently you implement this strategy is vital to ensure that their re-posts and promotions do not feel forced or generic.

Have an idea of who to ask to help out, when to ask them and how you would like them to help you first, and you are bound to succeed!

4. Always Update Your LinkedIn Profile

With the amount of internet traffic the average user experiences daily, you must focus your content on reaching as many people as possible interested in what you have to offer. LinkedIn is an excellent platform for this precisely because it centers on job seekers.

However, to make the most of your company profile, you have to do more than create an online identity. You need to associate the company with the kinds of topics and viral messages that will interest the talent you want to attract—and lead them to you.

Hashtags and keywords are a perfect opportunity to do this. You can use these in posts to build your company or associate it with other relevant trending topics.

However, know what hashtags you are using and what they mean before doing so. Hashtags can be notoriously tricky. What might seem like the perfect message for your company may be related to something irrelevant or potentially offensive—do your research!

When creating hashtags, explore similar messages and be sure your messages come across as natural and authentic instead of sounding forced. With most things on social media, subtlety and authenticity go further than content dumps or blatant self-promotion.

What you post says a lot about who you are as a company, which could affect candidates looking for quality companies for their next job!

5. Utilize a Wide-Net of Social Media Platforms

Different social media platforms perform very different roles in a user’s life. Understand how each of them works and what content a user will expect. Otherwise, you run the risk of your job description underperforming or not getting attention.

Try looking at each platform’s average age group, values, and existing content. The data will indicate what kind of audience you are likely to find online.

Some platforms are more casual, which you may use to focus more on your companies voice and values. You can leave the business-related platforms for your job-related posting.

6. Video Streaming Options

Many business leaders love video streaming, and it makes sense. Videos are an excellent way to promote the company and encourage a closer relationship with followers. There is no more direct way of expressing your companies personality than connecting them with an actual human.

Finding the right speakers, tailoring your content, and recording results may take some time. However, in a more internet-focused society than ever, the human factor to your company is a must to build brand trust.

It’s not just the human factor, either. Video marketing is 600% more effective than print or mail marketing.

Hold open Q&As, interviews, or a behind-the-scenes look at your company at work. It will do more than spread a positive message. Seeing how your company operates is an excellent advertisement for potential employees who want to work there.

7. Advertising on Social Media

Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn have integrated easy-to-use advertising features. These ensure their members can make the most out of their profiles and access the right demographics for their content.

These functions are easy enough to use. However, determining the returns for your paid advertisements takes time.

Your platform will help provide data for engagement and conversions. Using this, you can adapt your campaign to ensure that your advertisement reaches the potential candidates you want to hire.

8. Check Your Applicants’ Profiles

A social media profile may not necessarily give you all the information you would get from background checks. Still, savvy recruiters can use them to ascertain vital information about who the candidate is as a person.

Are they professional? Do they have values you want in a potential employee? These are questions to ask yourself before moving forward with your applicant.

Ensure that your search is limited—we all have an electronic footprint and are entitled to privacy. Keep your search focused on very public factors and avoid looking too closely.

Building a list of potential employees that fit your company is not always smooth. However, searching candidates’ profiles can ensure you only invest in recruiting high-quality applicants who represent your company’s values.

9. Keep Your Candidates involved

You don’t need to have jobs to post to keep potential candidates involved with your company. It’s also the perfect place to grow your company following.

Try keeping followers informed on internal news, company goals, and relevant updates on your industry. Make your company’s profile an essential follow for any potential applicant. That way, you already have a thriving network when it comes time to look for new employees.

Conclusion

Social media recruiting lets you access a vast pool of applicants. But when you have built up an extensive list of candidates, you will need to start refining it.

Background checks save you time and hassle down the line so that you don’t end up with under qualified or dishonest applicants.

At ScoutLogic, we provide employers with background check solutions the easy way. Focus on your candidates with peace of mind, knowing that your designated scout has already vetted them and cleared their profile as a suitable fit for the job.

Want to know more? Find out everything you need to know with a free assessment today!

David Garcia

David Garcia, co-founder and CEO of Scout Logic, is an industry leader in the bulk background check world. With his strategic acumen and expertise in the HR sphere, specifically in hiring, recruiting, legal compliance, background checks, and resume screening, he’s an invaluable asset and consultant.

David's counsel extends across the boards of ScoutLogic, YipitData, and Supplier.io, drawing from his impactful stints on the boards of Infutor and Avetta. With an extensive 25-year journey, he champions unparalleled B2B commercial leadership within data & analytics, significantly shaping the HR landscape.