The fun part about utilizing social media for recruiting is that we’re constantly learning more about it every week. The social channels come out with updates often, raising the bar and providing new options for recruiters.
As a recruiter, there are a number of effective options to locate your target market through social media. We know it can be a bit overwhelming, so we’ve come up with 3 different techniques that will bring you closer to the people that you want to connect with.
1. Facebook Advertising: Facebook advertising is absolutely fantastic for recruiters. Let’s pretend you’re a technical recruiter in San Francisco and you have a Java Programming position open. You can set up a Facebook ad that directs the audience to your job posting. You can set up your ad to reach people who live within 50 miles of San Francisco, and who mention hobbies and skills that relate to your open position. See the below image for the exact targeting options and the number of people who would see your ad.
You can also mimic your Facebook advertising strategy and try a targeted Linkedin ad campaign. We’ve seen it cost a little bit more than Facebook, but when something works, it’s worth it.
2. Targeted Twitter Following: Another awesome (and easy) option is targeted Twitter Following. Twitter makes it easy to find communities full of your target market. One easy way is to find the Twitter accounts of your competitors and follow all of their followers. Try not to get so wrapped up in the idea of some people not being your exact target. The goal here is quantity not quality. The cream will rise to the top and you’ll be able to unfollow those who aren’t exactly who you need.
3. Twitter Keyword Search: There are a number of social dashboards and tools out there that can be used to track different keywords tweeted by your potential target market. Let’s use our previous programming example to show this option can be used. Simply put in the zip code and mile radius you’re looking to target and then type in a few keywords that you want to track. Some example searches could be:
- “Java Programming”
- “Looking for programming job”
- “programming jobs”
You’ll now be able to tweet directly to the people that come up in the results. Another option is just following them so they can follow back and stay updated on the jobs you post.
What are some other highly targeted options for social recruiting?
