Social media is a very sharp knife that can be used to do all sorts of work – good, bad, or legendary. Well, hiring people to do great quality work for some company is also possible on social media. Social Recruiting is the buzzword used for the practice.
What Is Social Recruiting?
The process of recruiting candidates through social media is known as Social Recruiting. Over the past few years, the use of social media to attract and convert talents has been one of the biggest trends in the recruitment industry. Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, job portals, etc., are some of the common platforms used by the recruiters.
According to a Kepios analysis, we have half a billion more social media users than we had last year. In context, in the last 365 days, around 17 new users started using social media every second. This growing ubiquity of social media has forced HR departments to form functional hiring strategies for these platforms. Thus, social recruiting has now become a formal part of every organizations’ strategies.
If used to its full potential, social recruiting has the power to let employers reach a wider pool of talented candidates. The talent acquisition strategy of the company decides how broad the mix of potential candidates they’ll get. Hiring from social media is working magnificently because that’s where everyone is.
How Does Social Recruiting Work?
Social recruiting is no rocket science. You can’t navigate a system as vast as social media without the help of some tools. These tools are available in all categories – from rudimentary to advanced. Some of these tools do a lot more than just giving personal information about a potential candidate. There are many recruiting agency software that can narrow the searches to make the employer’s life easy.
One of the major steps in the process of hiring through social media is identifying the potential candidates. Various algorithmic-based technologies can use data in the form of job descriptions to find candidates on social media who meet the requirements. The software can rank the potential candidate in the desired order. Then, it’s up to the employer to contact the candidate and see if he/she is interested in the opportunity.
After identifying potential candidates, it is essential to reach out to them in the required fashion. Features of different social media platforms can be used to gain more targets. Posting images of employees on social media can act as a catalyst in encouraging people to join your organization.
Social Recruiting – The Catalyst For Your Business
The technology at the core of social media – mainly the advanced searching power, personalized suggestions, and filters – also gives it an edge over the traditional ways of recruiting. Some of the benefits of social hiring are:
Ability to reach passive candidates
There are people in the market who do not look actively for a job, and hence, they are not present on job boards and sites. However, social media shows them cool things the employer’s company is up to and excites them to be a part of their beautiful journey.
Gaining more referrals
With social recruiting, employees can refer candidates in a much better way. Just one click – and detailed information about the candidate can be shared.
Targeting perfectly matched candidates
HR does not need to wait for people to apply. They can message a suitable candidate and build an online relationship to get the candidate on board.
Chance to showcase company’s culture
One can show a unique culture to the viewers out there. This will not only help in the employer’s branding but will also generate leads for the hiring process.
Save a lot of money
The amount of money it takes in the hiring process is quite a lot. Even after paying for ads, there is no guarantee about the quality of candidates. Social recruiting can act as a guardian angel in this case.
Social Testimonials – the Rubber Stamp of Approval
Social recruiting does not necessarily mean that one needs to browse and filter candidates all the time. Making a good social presence also plays a crucial part in deciding the quality of candidates one might get. To seal the deal, social testimonials are one of those things that people often need. In a world full of fake news and mistrust, these testimonials are essential for employers and candidates to build a good relationship.
Social testimonials come with many advantages for both the candidate and employer. To start with, reputation has a huge place in any business and these testimonials build trust and credibility.
According to a study, 95% of people make influenced purchasing decisions based on the reviews. So, social testimonials can also act as social proof for the brand. Moreover, social testimonials can humanize and increase the rate of conversions.
Social testimonials can be used in many ways to form a more trustable image of the brand. One of the most common ways is to use it on the homepage of your website. Using it on the website can create a reliable first impression.
The best place to exert these social proofs is social media. Sharing the testimonial that can tap the pressure points of your audience can bring great results. Moreover, when amalgamated with video demonstrations, testimonials can boost brand engagement too.
When done well, they can turn out to be a lifesaver too.
Choose the Right Social Media Platform
For a majority of recruiters, LinkedIn is an unbeatable platform. A survey by social talent showed that only 2% of total recruiters do not use LinkedIn for hiring candidates. However, everyone seeking a job does not need to use LinkedIn. The stat only shows that recruiters value LinkedIn as a resource.
Job seekers use a plethora of social media platforms. They are not active on large sites like Facebook and Instagram only. They use many other platforms that fulfill their professional needs. So, it’s up to the recruiter to find the right balance between the social media platforms to reach more skilful candidates.
Social media is a place where one can find workers – potential workers – who can be a part of the success story of the organization.
Final Thoughts
At this stage, there shall be no doubt about how important social recruiting is for businesses. It is relevant in the modern recruitment industry, and it’s going to stay so for a long time. The changes in the technology sector will affect how social media hiring works, but at the core, it’ll stay the same.
Testimonials are the vital tools that lay the foundation of trust, credibility, and social proof for the audience. Choosing the right social media and spending time liberally can boost conversions. Social media is at its peak, and it surely is the right time to use it for recruiting.