5 Social Recruiting Mistakes — and How to Avoid Them

ERIN VAN HANDEL
HNI Marketing Coordinator

Social recruiting is using social networks such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook to discover and woo new talent for your firm. But social recruiting is more than tweeting “We’re hiring!” It’s about interaction and filling your talent pipeline with candidates before you post a job.

Some organizations get ahead of themselves when it comes to social recruiting, or they get intimidated and fail to start. Let’s get back to basics: Successful social recruiting takes planning and time, two things any firm can commit.

Here’s a look at five common social recruiting mistakes (and how to fix them):

1.) Underplay Your Career Page

The No. 1 destination for job seekers should be your website’s career page. If your company were a department store, the career page would be the main display that entices shoppers (job seekers) to step inside. Channels such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook come second to your career page, because it’s the single best place to share what your brand is all about.

2.) Neglect Your Employment Brand

The highest level of social recruiting is employment brand. Your brand appeals to more than job seekers; it tells the world your purpose and how you do business. The best way to express your brand is through shareable content: employee stories, video testimonials, event photos, and social responsibility efforts. Authentic content begs for interaction on social platforms.

3.) Fail to Have a Dedicated Social Manager

Without a person dedicated to social media, how can you be sure job seekers are treated as customers? Social media frequently is turned over to an intern (who leaves at the end of the summer) or is a stretch goal for an existing employee (who meets the goal and then backs off). A dedicated social manager can keep interaction consistent and customer service flowing.

4.) Jump into Social Recruiting without a Strategy

Many organizations jump on the next hot social platform because they fear getting left behind. But the first step to social recruiting success actually is: slow down! Conduct a social media audit and develop an action plan. Get a committed social manager, set a content calendar, and watch your audience. Work your plan now for decision-making data later.

5.) Forget to Measure Activity

With hope, you’ve got an action plan (see No. 4) that guides social recruiting efforts. But if you don’t have measurements for your activity, you don’t know if you’re going forward. The four key metrics are:

Reach: audience members who want your messages
Engagement: audience interactions
Amplification: audience sharing with others
Conversion: completing a desired action (in the case of social recruiting, making a hire)

The short story is your brand is the backbone of social recruiting. A strong brand and lively online presence draw in exceptional candidates. Let your culture shine through in social recruiting to attract vibrant, like-minded talent.