I have been preaching this to recruiters for a long time: stop putting all your eggs into the social media basket and expecting it to deliver. Much like the Easter Bunny, it will disappoint you when it doesn’t deliver exactly what you want.
Remember the days when we didn’t have social media to find candidates and clients? Recruiters survived pretty well without it. I’m not saying that it is useless technology that we should ignore. I am saying that it is just one piece of the marketing puzzle.
And it is a piece that you do not own. You rent it (you’ve heard me say that at least a hundred times, if you read my posts).
I have been spending some time talking to recruitment business owners and when I asked them about social media, these were the common responses:
“It’s a necessary evil.”
“I feel like I need to be on it because everyone else is.”
“It’s a resource sap.”
“I feel like I get sucked into the social media vortex and end up scrolling and losing track of time, instead of posting to promote my business.”
“I feel like I am just feeding the social media beast.”
And here’s the big one: “It’s such a TIME SUCK.”
Social media has its place in the recruitment marketing mix but I’m dismayed when I see so many recruiters advertising for social media experts (another term I hate) and have a majority of their focus on it—especially when more obvious tactics are right in front of them and won’t cost them anything.
Also consider that different social channels are more relevant or better than others for recruitment. For example, LinkedIn has its own rules and is beneficial for most recruiters if used strategically and not just for the sake of sharing job posts. Compare that to Facebook or Instagram, and it’s another story.
So, what is the solution?
What you actually need is more client and candidate communication. And there are better ways to achieve this than with social media.
Tip: You will never win against the algorithm!
Oblige me for a minute and try this quick exercise. Check how much time you spend on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and co every day. Then multiple this by your hourly rate, and again by the number of days per week. Be sure to include the time you take to create content, post and comment. Just five hours per week could equate to hundreds of dollars—time that could be better spent on more effective recruitment marketing.
Since the pandemic, we have been craving simplicity.
We are tired. We are overwhelmed with global and local events. We are sick of complicated stuff. It’s time to revert to simpler marketing that doesn’t include a constantly changing algorithm, a pay-to-play system or time-suck that doesn’t always yield results.
Social media should serve your recruiting process—you should not be serving it.
So, as a recruiter, how do you focus on client and candidate communication off social media?
There are a bunch of ways. And I am going to share them in the next article in the series—I don’t mean to tease you, but this first step is about making a mindset shift. In step two, we are going to get practical.
So, don’t miss the next article in the series. I promise you will get so much value from it.
Tanya Williams works with recruiters to help them simplify their marketing, create foundations that build visibility & credibility and that work with their existing marketing assets. She hates tech talk and fluffy words designed to bamboozle you. She helps you clarify your offering and brand, connect with the right audience, converse and create conversations that matter and convert the right clients.