Social Media for Employers

In the past we’ve blogged about how candidates can use social media to leverage their job hunts. There’s a huge focus on this subject across the recruitment and digital industries, and there’s some great advice out there for candidates who want to dip their toes in the waters of social recruiting.

However, we’ve noticed that there is a lot less advice out there for employers who want to use social media to find ideal candidates to fill roles.

Here at Talent Direct we talk to employers of all sizes across the UK. We find that they do want to use social media in this way, but that they are struggling to do so. Many have found that building a successful social media presence can take a long time – and that they’re not yet getting the results they have hoped for.

We’ve shared some advice for employers who want to get involved in social media but are finding it difficult to do so.

Be patient

We’ve said already that building an effective presence on social media can take time. No matter what you’ve heard – social media successes rarely happen overnight. To develop sustainable success on social media for your company, you need to build gradually and predictably. Keep going and don’t lose enthusiasm.

Allocate a staff member and time

Successful social media presences are regular and dependable. Updating them isn’t something that can be done on an ad-hoc basis. Make sure that managing your online presence is a task that is set out in the job description of at least one staff member and that they are given ample time to do so.

Get the balance right

It’s vital to make sure that you are portraying your company accurately on social media. Maintain the same professional stance as you would in other marketing situations... but make sure you show the personality of your brand and humanise your presence.

Engage your audience

Social media is best thought of as a conversation. And like all conversations; it needs to be two-sided! Make sure that you are opening yourself up to dialogues, welcoming new connections and responding to comments and feedback.

Be realistic

If your company doesn’t have the time or inclination to build an effective presence, be honest about it. There are plenty of other ways to leverage social media for your company’s recruitment.

For example, here at Talent Direct we use social media to reach out to candidates and communicate with them. Along with other methods, social media helps us to cultivate our talent pool and provide quality shortlists to employers. By working with us, employers can benefit from the results we receive on social media, without having to invest time and money in building their own presence.

Are you an employer who is using social media for recruitment? We’d love to hear your tips for other employers. Why not get involved in our forum discussion on the subject?