How small businesses can use your social media presence to attract quality talent

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How to use your social media presence to attract quality talent

It’s official. Social media is not a fad. Turns out, people love being able to connect with people from everywhere, at any time. If you’re a business owner, you’re likely pretty stoked, too. Just think of the opportunities it’s created. You’re able to market and sell your goods and services. You can communicate with your customers and attract new ones. And you can do things more quickly than you can using traditional media.

You may not realize it, but that brand you’re promoting on Facebook or Instagram or YouTube is also an amazing tool for recruitment. And those social profiles you manage are touch points for potential candidates.

From brand fan to new employee 

If someone is following your social media accounts, there's a good chance that they align with your brand’s values and are interested in your products or services. But could they also be interested in working for you? Possibly. Passive job seekers are everywhere. You can use your social platforms to share information that would be of interest to a potential candidate, including your company culture, your team and more. The following tips, courtesy of Social Media Today, can help you get started.

1. Post cultural insights

Posting about your company culture is a great way to make your business more relatable. Emphasize your mission and values. Is there some cool business history you could share? Millennials and Generation Z are both interested in working at a company where they can feel their work (and the company that hires them) has a greater purpose. What else do you believe? Can you post about a team’s recent skills recertification workshop to emphasize your commitment to training? Or offer an update on your COVID-19 protocols to demonstrate how you’re keeping customers and workers safe? Schedule these culture posts into your regular rotation of products and services messages.

2.Post images of your workforce and workplace

Candidates are always interested in what their potential coworkers may be like. Day-in-the-life imagery and content may help them see themselves working (or not working) at your business. It’s important to be authentic. Post images that are reflective of your workforce demographic. Will viewers see people who look like them? Will they see people in managerial positions who look like them? Do workers look genuinely happy (not fake, for-the-camera happy)?

Definitely make an effort to post about workers being recognized for their achievements on the job and even in their personal lives. Give congrats to the employee who just had a baby, graduated high school or received an award from a civic association.

Need more ideas? Consider images of an on-the-job coaching session or a Zoom call with employees working from home. Feature workers interacting with customers and making your product. Include updates about company events—a team-building ropes course or a happy hour at a local brewery.

3. Employee advocacy

You’re a business on social media trying to get people to like you, support you and possibly work for you. What if there was someone else who could vouch for you? More companies are encouraging workers to contribute social content. They have authentic perspectives and work experiences to share—perhaps personal pics from a conference they attended, a thank-you post for the work anniversary gift they received or a video review that raves about the killer coffee stocked in the company kitchen. Research has shown that this can increase the credibility of your social posts and also drive employee engagement. You should create clear guidelines for employees to follow. Many companies allow workers to post company-related content to their personal social profiles and require them to use a branded hashtag, so all the posts can be tracked and reshared on the company’s official accounts.

4.Emphasize benefits

Does your company have great benefits and cool perks? They’re worth mentioning. A social post obviously isn’t the place to offer an extensive overview of your health and dental plans, but don’t rule out clever ways to convey this information. Maybe you post about free flu shots the company provides or a telemedicine service that employees can use. Do you provide paid sick leave or flexible work arrangements? Can you showcase the community volunteer work your employees do? Does your team use a cool workplace technology that’s all the rage? Is there a Bring Your Dog to Work Day? Big or small, these perks can capture the interest of people following you or scrolling your feed.

Talent acquisition is more than just securing a worker with skills. It’s about making a cultural match. Those matches might already be on your social media pages admiring your brand. You can say a lot with a couple hundred characters (with spaces) and some authentic imagery. So reach out and tell them everything they need to know.