To help you source the best pool of applicants, we asked strategists and recruiting experts for their best recommendations. From extending beyond just LinkedIn to taking advantage of Facebook job posts, there are several strategies that may help you recruit good quality passive candidates from channels like Instagram and Twitter.
Here are eight ways social media empowers your recruiting efforts.
Go Beyond LinkedIn
“Social media proved to be a blessing for recruiting passive candidates.
Our company was looking for an SMM, and we wanted to find someone who would fit the company culture well. I had been using LinkedIn to find people, but I wanted to expand my search.
I saw someone on Reddit who was perfect for the position. She was very active on all of our social platforms and even commented on some of our posts. We brought her on board quickly because we had already established a relationship with her through social media.
Another time, we found the perfect salesperson for our company on Facebook. He was active on the platform and even posted about how he wanted to move from his current position at another company. We contacted him and hired him within a week of seeing his post.
For companies, my advice is to be authentic and helpful and don’t forget about social media platforms other than LinkedIn.”
Shaun Connell, Founder, Writing Tips Institute
Share Funny Videos for Serious Topics
“Most people have the wrong idea about what’s involved in manufacturing jobs. If I say “I work in manufacturing,” you probably immediately think of a dark, dirty, and dangerous work environment. But this is clearly incorrect for many manufacturers who are actually well-lit, clean, and safe.
That is why we started putting together a series of videos for one of our manufacturing clients, called “Fun Facts with Pete.” By highlighting various facts about the organization through the host, Pete, we could break this assumption.
Trust me, the facts we highlighted in the videos weren’t “fun” by any stretch of the imagination. But by embracing the facts as if they were actually fun, we made the videos entertaining—all while educating the public about this employer.
As a result, we’ve attracted hundreds of new clicks and amazing engagement on social media from passive candidates.”
Justin Vajko, Principal & Chief Strategy Guy, Dialog
Generate Excitement With Office Olympics
“We had a huge week-long office Olympics a few years ago. It was very sophisticated and included a large-screen TV with a tournament-style bracket and the rankings of every two-person team.
We paired a sales employee with an operations employee to mix the departments together and boost company bonding. We had three competitions each day for a week and the entire company loved it. Events included the longest putt challenge, a bean bag tournament, frisbee can, foosball, and many more fun events.
Our social media team took professional photos during the events and posted them on our platforms, but the employees were having so much fun they posted on their social media about all the fun.
Curious friends asked a few of our employees about what they were doing, and we ended up hiring six people for positions based on all the excitement that was generated by the Office Olympics. It was a great way to show off the company and spark interest.”
Seth Newman, Director, SportingSmiles
Use Video and Be “Real”
“Candidates today are looking to connect with people who they feel they can relate to, and that goes back to your leaders and the overall perception of the people that work at that company.
My company has been publishing content on YouTube for over two years, and we’ve had two amazing employees come from those efforts simply because they stumbled upon the channel, followed us, and then came to know our team on LinkedIn and other places.
In one interview, one of our newest hires said, “I saw your post on LinkedIn about spilling coffee on your shirt and I just thought you were so down to earth and relatable.”
It’s true—you’re being viewed on social media 24/7 and you can either learn to connect with candidates passively or leave them wondering. It can be a powerful tool to set the culture and the tone and attract them by simply doing what you do really well.”
Ali Schwanke, CEO & B2B Marketing Strategist, Simple Strat
Build Interest Through Content
“Social media has been such a pivotal tool over the course of my management career. In terms of recruiting, I’ve been able to use platforms to connect, inform, and advertise businesses all in one shot.
Currently, my firm has seen success in hiring passive candidates through our blogs and LinkedIn posts. We were able to create a genuine interest in our company values through content.”
Jade Hynes, HR Consultant, Red Clover
From personalized solutions, to delightful digital experiences and effective content management, we’ve got you covered.
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Grow a Personal Brand
“I’ve been using LinkedIn to source candidates for years and always ignored their advice of building a personal brand, thinking that it was time-consuming with little results, but I was wrong!
Over the past four months, I have been posting content on LinkedIn that applies to marketing, so this could be advice on how to progress your career in marketing, popular candidate questions, sharing popular marketing memes, and of course job roles I’m currently working on.
The result? An increase of passive candidates accepting my connection requests and starting conversations with me.
Obviously, not all candidates are interested in finding a role, some are more interested in career advice, but I have been able to place some passive candidates into roles. Before building my personal brand, there were a lot fewer people engaging with me, even in response to candidate outreach for roles.”
Heather Scott, Independent Recruiter, Into Marketing
Take Advantage of Search Filters and Remember to be Personal
“I’ve hired hundreds of people through social media in my 17-year recruitment career. The roles varied from individual contributors to VP-level roles in engineering, marketing, sales, finance, and HR.
I’ve primarily used LinkedIn to recruit and for anyone looking to hire passive candidates, here are a couple of tips:
1) Use Advanced Search filters to find the right candidates. Since there are so many people on LinkedIn, recruiters can use filters to find potential candidates. You can search by location, current, and past company, years of experience, and several keywords that help you zero-in on candidates who check all the boxes.
2) Reach out with a personal touch. Experienced and talented people hear from a lot of recruiters on LinkedIn. Don’t copy and paste the same message to everyone you try to connect with. Instead, mention what caught your attention and makes you think they would be a good fit for your company.”
Margaret Buj, Interview Coach & Sr. Talent Acquisition Partner, Mixmax
Try Out Facebook Job Posts
“Ling’s been using Facebook ads as a passive recruiting tool for quite some time now.
Over the years, we’ve refined the process to capture interest, accept applications, and then put potential employees through a step-by-step application and hiring process.
We also encourage our existing team to share the job posts to their personal social media profiles to further expand our passive recruiting efforts. Facebook has worked well to target demographics and interests in our field. Although not perfect, it has attracted many of our top talents who remain with us today.”
Jarir Mallah, HR Specialist, Ling App
To learn more about using social media to reach a large number of active and passive candidates, schedule a demo today! And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to see how Joveo can help you get the most out of your recruitment advertising.
