Why is Social Media Important in Recruitment Industry?

Is social media all about personal networking and connecting with your family and friends? Not anymore as social media networks are being actively used by organizations too. Today, organizations, big and small, are focusing on building their online reputation and engagement with their online audience. Social media has become an essential tool not only to connect with your customer base but also your prospective employees. Social media has powerful influence on lives of people and employers are trying to leverage this influence to their advantage.  Several researched have been conducted on this topic and it has been revealed that in 2013, 93 percent employers already use or plan to use social media in their recruitment process.

Why Use Social Media for Recruiting

Social networking platforms have millions of users worldwide, with Facebook boasting over 1.1 billion users and Twitter over 500 million users. Research also states that 21 percent job seekers found jobs using social media. Thus, it has become a powerful tool to communicate as it brings people together and helps build relationships. There are various benefits of using social media in your recruitment process, the major ones include –

• Social media platforms increase awareness of your brand in active as well as passive candidates. It also allows the company to communicate with the candidates regarding latest openings and opportunities.
• Social media platforms allow employers to establish their reputation as an employer of choice thus gaining an edge over their competitors. It also lets prospective candidates gain insight into culture of the company.
• By advertising an ad on social media, employers can not only gain attention of job seekers but also those who are not looking for a job.
• As most companies are using social media these days, including your competitors, it has been seen that candidates sourced through social media are more competent.

Tips to Use Social Media for Recruitment

There is a common misconception among employers that social media in recruitment is all about publicizing their vacancies. Here are few tips to properly use social media channels for their hiring process –

• Select and prioritize the social media platforms you plan to use. While LinkedIn is considered to be the best network for professional communications, Facebook and Twitter are also helpful in reaching candidates. Remember, the type of message and format of communication will vary from one social platform to other.
• Develop a mission to create two-way relationships with your audience using social networks. From attracting potential talent to providing an insight into company culture, use social media platforms to create engagement with audience.
• Evangelize the mission, objectives and goals of your organization using social media platform.
• Monitor your conversations across social media channels to monitor performance of your social media efforts. It will also give you an idea of what methods work best in hiring talent, thus giving better returns to your social media efforts. Monitor effectiveness of your campaigns to gauge the influence of social media on your overall hiring strategy.

Social media has become the ideal way to attract high quality and competent candidates to join your organization. Utilize the power of social media to empower your organization with the best talent in the industry.