As of December 2012, Facebook, the largest social media network, passed the billion mark with 1.06 billion monthly active users. This includes 618 million daily active users and 680 million users of Facebook’s mobile service. With a potential candidate pool this large, it is obvious you cannot ignore Facebook recruiting in your overall social recruitment strategy.
Great candidates are taking to Facebook every day to find out more about equally great companies and connect with top employers. Ignoring this space in your social recruitment plans is clearly not an option.
When it comes to social recruitment, there is no magic button, no matter how big a candidate pool. Without a smart recruitment software, a social presence could sometimes do more harm than good. You need to ensure that your recruitment philosophy and organizational messaging are reflected in your company’s Facebook page and eventually in your Facebook recruiting.
So before you optimize your company Facebook page, one of 50 million on the site, here are some things to keep in mind when starting with Facebook recruiting as part of your recruitment efforts:
One of the best ways to connect with the top talent that your company wants to attract is to position yourself as a thought leader in the industry space. By sharing interesting content and relevant news, you will attract candidates with a true interest in your career sector.
While you might be using Facebook recruiting as an extension of your recruitment software, not everything has to be about your job postings. Instead of only taking to the social space when there is a job you need to fill, use this recruitment software to connect with thought leaders in your field.
Take beauty product retailer Clarisonic for instance. The retail giant uses its Facebook page to connect with customers, post bargains, and share thought leadership on beauty and trends. Unlike many other corporate career pages, Clarisonic connects with customers and potential candidates by sharing events and even choosing a fan of the month.
Like Clarisonic, if you share interesting articles, thought leadership, and news with those following your company page they will want to know more about your company at large. Do not, however, blindly post article links. This is unlikely to result in your company recruiting the best candidates, and might even end up turning more candidates away from your organization.
Instead, put the article in the framework of current trends and prompt discussion about industry issues. By engaging your candidate pool, you will be able to evaluate top thinkers in your field while simultaneously building personal connections with the talent you need to apply to job postings.
However, sharing can be a double-edged sword. Share too little and you are unlikely to achieve your recruitment goals. Share too much, and top talent will run away from your company.
Try to remember you have no idea if your top talent’s news feed is extremely active or more slow-paced. If your talent is more choosy about who they follow, too many updates or job postings will completely dominate their feed. Instead of using social media to form connections with great candidates, over sharing will only result in driving away the candidates you need.
Social media is not only a great platform for recruiting the best, it is also a top-notch platform for building your company brand. Interested applicants want to know what your company culture is truly like, and social media can offer great insights.
Use your Facebook page strategically to share what life is really like working in your organization. This way, when you use your recruitment software to push out your job postings, interested candidates have a better idea whether they will be a good match for your company culture.
Take pictures at your next office party, and share them on your company page. Get current employees involved on your page, and encourage them to refer great people. Use your social media channels to brand your company as a top-notch place to work, where employees have opportunities for personal and professional growth.
While humor can be a tricky line to navigate, remember it is not a crime to have a little fun. Just look at the Facebook page for men’s deodorant Old Spice. Using humor, including funny commercials and YouTube videos, Old Spice has been able to effectively revamp their brand identity using social media. You might not be able to get the Old Spice guy to promote your company on a horse, but do not be afraid to have fun with your company brand. So share the funny industry-specific Internet meme or Harlem Shake video you found as part of your Facebook recruiting campaign.
Facebook is a huge social network, as we have seen, and can be a great place for recruiting top talent. But remember every social media network comes with inherent strengths and weaknesses. Facebook recruiting could be a great asset to your hiring strategy. However, understanding the key traits of the network will help you get even more out of your Facebook recruiting activities.
As you evaluate candidate profiles as part of your Facebook recruiting effort, remember that this should not be the only avenue you use to find information about a candidate. A resume submitted via your recruitment software might tell you more about the candidate’s qualifications. In addition, a LinkedIn profile can tell you about their relevant work experience as well.
In today’s socially-connected world, recruiting the best people and building an attractive company brand means taking advantage of social media recruitment strategies. Facebook is a giant in the social media sphere and some form of Facebook recruiting will be an ongoing part of your hiring strategy. Avoid making simple recruitment mistakes and instead focus on connecting with the best candidates.
What are your Facebook best practices? Share in the comments!
Photo by Greg Bulla on Unsplash