There are few things less intimidating than the blank page.
That diabolical blinking cursor, bent on destroying your will—blink, blink, blink… The whiteness of the blank page is terrifying, threatening and all-consuming. But you’re a recruiter, and part of your job in today’s digital age is engaging talent via social media. You need to share content, create content, draft social posts and come up with insightful, engaging, witty and fresh ways to cultivate talent communities. Are you struggling in this arena? Have you braved the terror of an empty Word document but still looking to enhance your efforts? Defeat the blank page with the following four strategies.
Step 1: You MUST balance content sharing with content creation.
Social media is the largest curator of online content. This is a fact. We all share and re-share articles, quotes and videos, among other things we find interesting or insightful. Sharing content is a huge part of the daily grind, and it always will be. But it’s also important to get in the game with an arsenal of your own content. The majority of recruiters have LinkedIn profiles and Twitter feeds, but what about Instagram, Google+ , a company or personal blog? Further broadening social reach can illustrate your expertise, your passion for the profession, and your interest in doing more than finding applicants (even if that is your sole endeavor). Twitter and LinkedIn are great for building your brand, but if additional opportunities come available, explore them!
Step 2: Content MUST be interactive.
One of the most important (and obvious) qualities when creating social posts—they must be interactive and social-friendly. This seems obvious, but often times recruiters or companies get so caught up in pumping out job opportunities like a broken water main, they forget candidates are social creatures. Recruiters and candidates alike crave engagement, not SPAM-bot “We’re hiring!” posts. We must be interactive in the sense that content incites clicks, conversation, additional sharing and ultimately submitted job applications. Content that is applicable and actionable (interactive!) to your talent communities illustrates breadth of industry knowledge; it highlights your ability to play nice by sharing others’ content, and ensures you don’t come across as desperate.
Step 3: Content MUST inspire curiosity.
Another great way to ensure you are engaging followers is by inspiring curiosity. Would you, regardless of profession, be curious about this job posting if you saw it on Twitter? You need to think about engaging not only active and passive candidates, but all professionals within the industry. Curiosity inspires lasting social relationships by bringing your audience back for more. The curiosity factor is one of the most important qualities of interesting and engaging content. You could write and/or share write a fascinating article on recruiting engineers, but if the title or social post promoting it is drab and boring—let’s be real—nobody is going to waste their click on you. For example, promote your hard-to-fill sales manager requisition by offering a challenge or tease: Think you're skilled at training others on how to craft the perfect sales pitch? We may have the opening for you!
Step 4: DON’T FORGET THE CALL TO ACTION!
Calling to action isn't just an easy way to socialize and engage with a potential pool of candidates—it’s an imperative means of doing so! One example, ask for re-tweets. Recent research on this strategy shows adding the command/request “Please retweet” can lead to a 43X boost in retweets. It’s not the most glamorous approach, but research proves it will broaden the lines of recruiting communication.
Who are you as a recruiter? What’s your brand or the brand you represent? Show this through the content you share and the content you create! Make it undeniably clear the type of organization you represent, the type of person you are and the type of talent you seek—like-minded candidates will appreciate the transparency, and they will flock to your networks.
Post contributed by Abby Thompson, Cielo Social Media Specialist.