Are you harnessing the power of social media to attract top talent to your team? If you aren’t yet, there are some good reasons as to why you might want to consider it!
Social media is a powerful tool that has the potential to reach a large audience, including those in your industry looking for work. Among many other benefits that social media has, it’s also a great way to market your company as a wonderful place to work, which in turn, can attract the right people to join your team. A true “win-win”!
Today, we’ll be sharing our favourite tips on how to utilize your social platforms to attract top talent. Whether you’re a small business or a growing company, we’re sure these tips will help you attract the perfect unicorn candidate for your next open role!
First Thing’s First: Know Your Audience
Before we jump into today’s tips, we’re first going to address one of the key factors in harnessing the full potential of social media: your audience!
Here are a couple questions to get you thinking:
- Who are you trying to attract to your growing company? Think about your company culture and what would make a candidate a good add to your team.
- What role are you hiring for and, consequently, what are the typical demographics of someone applying for that role – what kinds of things are they interested in, what social platforms or groups might they be a part of? Think beyond the “traditional” to attract more underrepresented groups to your listings.
These insights will help guide your understanding of who your audience is and how you’d like to target them with your social media content.
Additionally, it’s important to do some research and note which social platforms are most commonly used by the audience you want to attract. In the case of attracting top talent, that might involve using LinkedIn, Twitter, or Instagram. This aspect goes hand in hand with understanding who your audience is – once you know this, you’ll be able to identify which platforms they use the most. This will allow you to direct your content towards the people you’re most interested in targeting.
5 Ways to Harness your Social Media to Attract Top Talent
1. Be authentic!
Being authentic on social media is a great way to connect with your audience and showcase your company’s culture. Work culture is important for many people researching companies they’d like to work for, so letting your company’s true colours shine on social media will act as a window for job seekers into what work life is like at your organization!
There are many ways to be authentic on social media. Posts could include what employees can expect from your workplace, such as fun events, holidays, office pets, welcome packages, and special treats; behind-the-scenes shots; user generated content (UGC) from current employees; or even showing off your office space (one of our personal favourites!).
Overall, using social media to display your company culture is a stellar way to stand out and attract top talent who genuinely wants to work with you.
2. Highlight your values.
This one might seem obvious, but it’s important! Highlighting your company’s values on social media attracts the right “culture-adds” to your team because those are the people who will truly connect with your company’s values and what you stand for.
The key to highlighting your values on social media is having clear and consistent messaging. Ensure that what drives your company is clear in your posts and maintain consistent brand messaging across all social platforms to avoid any confusion. This will help you stand out from your competitors AND attract candidates that share similar values!
3. Post your job ads on your socials and make them engaging, visual, and accessible!
Ever heard of the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words”? It’s true! Job ads that have a visual component, such as a graphic or photo, are much more likely to draw in top talent compared to traditional job ads. Images show job seekers what it’s like to work with you rather than just telling them. Making a visual for a job ad can be as simple as using an image with a “We’re Hiring” text overlay! Entice job seekers away from traditional companies to take a leap of faith into an exciting new opportunity!
Another key aspect to note when posting job ads on social media to attract top talent is to make them accessible. Often, opportunities are missed because links don’t work or the job posting is outdated. Make it easy for candidates to apply to your position by ensuring that all links work and job postings are up to date!
Bonus Tip: Instagram doesn’t make links clickable in captions! Our favourite way for linking to external sites on Instagram is using a linktr.ee account and redirecting traffic in the caption with a “#linkinbio” call to action! It’s quick to set up and all your links are kept in one place, making it easily accessible. If you’re linking to job ads on Instagram, it’s the way to go!
4. Your current employees are your brand ambassadors!
Let your brand speak for itself through your employees. “Employee spotlights” can show how your employees have grown in their roles and the success that they’ve had! Employee quotes, growth stories, and experiences with your company are great ways to show potential future employees what it’s like to work for you.
By highlighting your current employees and sharing their unique stories on your social media profiles, it both entices top talent and provides an opportunity to show your employees your appreciation towards them. It shows how your company invests in its employees and genuinely cares about their growth journeys. This will attract top talent naturally – who wouldn’t want to work for a company that fosters personal and professional growth?
5. Showcase your company’s impact.
Last but certainly not least, showcase how your company makes an impact! Whether that involves sharing customer stories, client testimonials, or highlighting tangible results – show potential candidates that your company makes a difference and has a positive impact on its community. Show them WHY they would want to work for you!
Additional Resources
Looking for more information on attracting top talent? Give these blog posts a read!
Check out our resources page for downloadable tools to help you attract top talent!
Not sure what your next steps are? In need of a bit of support? Whether it’s employer branding, HR support, or in-sourced recruiting – we’ve got you covered! Contact us at [email protected] and let us know how we can help!