5 Ways That Social Media Reaches The Candidate Pool

by EdgeLink on Mar 12, 2013 in Candidate Networking, IT Recruiters, Start-up Hiring Strategy

One of the biggest challenges IT recruiters face is sourcing the right candidates for recruitment. The days when a simple job posting attracted the best candidate are likely behind us, as the candidates you actually want typically don’t respond to job board postings. To get at this evasive talent pool, many companies have turned to social media as the medium of choice. It’s a more passive but generally much more effective way to attract the crowd you’re seeking. Although social media marketing is ubiquitous, especially within the recruiting space, it’s effective in reaching the right candidate pool.

For an active sales or recruiting organization, the lure of social media can be impossible to resist, resulting in social strategies that are ill-equipped and generally ineffective. Here are 5 ways that effective social media strategies can reach the targeted candidate pool:

LinkedIn. Building a company group for your organization on LinkedIn is a great start, and any professional organization reliant on any type of sales and recruiting should be a member. Additionally, each employee should brush up his or her profile to highlight key skills, expertise, and to ensure consistency across the company. Prospective candidates who view profiles within your company should be impressed and educated, as well as excited about potential opportunities.
Groups on LinkedIn. Different than building a company group, participating in relevant industry groups on LinkedIn is an excellent way to build your own credibility, knowledge, and relevance. In the process, you’re also exposing yourself to an entire new group of individuals that could be prospective candidates.
Facebook Profile. Getting your company out on Facebook brings you up to date with the rest of the digital social world. As with LinkedIn, creating a group for your company is essential to promote your organization not only to your current employees, but to the friends and family connected to that employee. Facebook, while purely social and lacking in the professional, is still an excellent medium that reaches beyond the boundaries of LinkedIn. Facebook allows your company to create a fun and flexible image that excites and entices a different network of followers.
Twitter. Following LinkedIn and Facebook, another effective social media strategy is to create a Twitter account. Ensure that your employees follow the company on Twitter, giving them the opportunity to re-tweet company information out to their networks.
Build a Content Marketing Strategy. When you have your presence set on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, build up your internal content to ensure you’re socializing insightful and relevant information to your audience. Post your blogs onto Facebook and LinkedIn, and tweet your press releases to stay visible. Tracking downloads and page visits can help identify new candidate prospects and even new clients.

As a company may be used to cold calling off seemingly never-ending lists or posting contract opportunities onto job boards, the more passive nature of social media recruiting may be off-putting at first. The difference in recruiting via social media is that you’re typically giving the candidate something first, garnering interest in your company before you approach them. These methods can effectively target a more evasive candidate base, improving your overall recruiting strategy.