There’s no denying that social media recruiting is a necessary component of today’s HR manager’s recruiting strategy. The good news is that HR managers don’t need to become social media experts to use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google effectively to attract and win better candidates.
Here are four “hacks,” or efficient growth strategies, that any HR manager can employ today, event if they’re not particularly tech-savvy.
Hack #1: Automate Job Postings on Twitter
You don’t need to spend every free moment posting jobs on Twitter to appear active and create a regular stream of interesting job post tweets. Ever wonder how the brands that you follow find the time to tweet 6 or more times per day? These brands are using a social media hack called automation–and you can use this hack too, even if you’re new to Twitter.
Here at LocalWork.com, we love Buffer, a free Google Chrome browser extension that allows you to schedule upcoming tweets for the next few days or weeks and drip them to your following at specified intervals. You can select the number of tweets you’d like to post each day and the times of your choosing. The free version of the software allows you to schedule up to 10 posts per day and provides insightful analytics about how many people saw or engaged with each tweet so you can hone your messaging and posting times to reach the largest audience.
Jobvite is an applicant tracking system (ATS) that not only allows you to schedule automated tweets (as well as LinkedIn and Facebook posts), but also lets you leverage your employees’ social media profiles to push job opportunities out through their accounts as well, if they consent.
Hack #2: Turn Facebook Fans into Applicants
Does your company have a following on Facebook? You may consider your company’s Facebook presence to merely be a marketing tool for promoting products and services, but you can leverage your Facebook account to attract great candidates who already love your brand.
If your company doesn’t have a Facebook presence, or only has a handful of followers, start building a loyal fan following by posting fun and interesting content 2-3 times per week. Don’t limit your posts to job opportunities; try posting photos of fun experiences in your office, link to interesting articles your reading, or promote discounts, deals, or special access that fans want.
As you build your following, ask your fans to share about job posts with their friends who might be a good fit. This strategy makes your fan the hero and gives you a large reach without a lot of effort!
Hack Tip: Post pictures of company activities (celebrating your great culture) and tag current employees in those posts. The friends of your employees will see these images in their newsfeed. Great way to boost your following and promote your great culture.
Hack #3: Copy Competitor’s LinkedIn Profiles
Over 95% of recruiters have a LinkedIn presence and feel comfortable using LinkedIn for their recruiting efforts, as it has many familiar elements that resemble job postings and resumes. However, some organizations struggle with presenting their company in an attractive, dynamic way on their Company Profile Page. Since LinkedIn is the most popular social network for job seekers to use for job search activities, it’s important that companies position themselves for success on the site with a complete and engaging profile.
If you’re looking for a place to start, why not check out the LinkedIn Company Profiles of your competitors in the industry? Conduct your own best practices review and familiarize yourself with other businesses who are doing LinkedIn well. Take the best elements from their profiles and make them your own by adding your own voice, images, and value propositions.
Researching competitors profiles also helps you recognize areas where your organization and company culture have a competitive advantage over others. Highlight your differences to attract talent that’s a good cultural fit with your existing team.
Hack #4: Set Up Google Alerts to Monitor the Social World
Do you know what the world wide web is saying about your brand on a daily basis? You can’t possibly keep up with all the conversations that might be happening online about your brand across a multitude of platforms, but Google can! Google’s free Google Alerts service.
To set up a Google Alerts for your brand:
1. Navigate to https://www.google.com/alerts
2. Type in your company name.
3. Under Sources, select all of the options listed underneath Automatic (Blogs, News, Web, etc.).
4. Under How Many, select Everything.
5. Select your preferences for How often, Language, Region, How many, and Deliver to.
6. Click Create Alert.
You will now receive regular alerts when your company name is mentioned online.