In recent years, we’ve seen a plethora of brick-and-mortar stores go extinct as more and more shoppers venture online. Toys R Us, J.C. Penney and Brookstone are all recent victims. Even Mattress Firm is considering filing for bankruptcy, according to Reuters. Online mattress startups have people opting for free shipping and no-hassle returns from over going to a physical store and testing mattresses out. Staying competitive requires companies to ramp up their online presence, from the retailer’s website to it’s social media platforms. This is not only true for retailers, but for recruiters too. Just like you research clients and candidates, they will be scouting out your online recruiting presence, as well.
Many recruiters consider themselves “old school” – still doing things as they did them 10, 20, 30 years ago. And while nothing can ever replace meeting a candidate face-to-face, or weekly phone calls with your clients, it’s important to keep up with the times and trends… especially when it comes to you and your firm’s online presence.
Social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram offer recruiters a huge opportunity to connect with passive candidates – many of whom would never be found through traditional sources. And posting blogs and articles to your website can establish you as a thought leader in your space.
But an online recruiting presence is useless unless you have a strategy — and spamming job ads through all your social media channels is not a good one. Here are some tips to increase your online presence:
- Post quality content and keep it relevant and consistent – if your aim on LinkedIn is to attract potential clients, don’t post only candidate-focused articles… post things that clients and potential clients will find useful, and comment on or share.
- Don’t post excessively – your followers will appreciate quality over quantity. If you are spamming their feed, they might unfollow or unsubscribe.
- Keep it professional – That doesn’t mean you can’t have a lighthearted or fun tone, but it’s important to treat it as you would any communication from your firm – free of spelling errors, grammatically correct, and consistent (if your firm is called Excalibur Recruiting International, don’t call it ERI in one post, and Excalibur in another). Clients and candidates want to associate with firms that are articulate and engaging.
- Connect – Follow influencers and thought leaders in your space. If they find your content interesting and relevant, they may retweet/share it. And, the more people that see your posts, the bigger reach you’ll have when it comes to recruiting. In addition, candidates want to work with recruiters who know what they do – if you are connected in the industry or have mutual connections, they will see that you are “in the know.”
- Interact and engage – don’t just throw up a website and let it sit – update your content often by posting new blogs, and look into improving your website’s SEO. And don’t just post on social media here and there… reply back to followers who comment on your posts or who mention you/your firm. Communication is key when attracting potential talent.
Having a strong online recruiting presence is a powerful tool and essential to success these days. Do you have a strategy?
