The other day I wrote about some common reasons on Why Social Recruiting Fails but today I’m going to focus one I didn’t specifically mention that I think is important which is just Never getting started. For some, starting to use social media can seem like this insurmountable hump that they feel they can never get over and therefore they hesitate to even get started.

The hesitation comes from not knowing what best practices are (Hint: there really are none), how people will react to their content and how they will continue to keep their profiles fresh. My best advice to these people and organizations is to just get started today and keep at it.

Here are some brief tips on getting started with social media and how to get your social recruitment marketing strategy rolling:

Experiment - First things first. The best way to learn about social media is to live it. Start a Twitter profile and create a Facebook page and play around with it. Do not be afraid to make mistakes as mistakes are definitely not permanent. Find out what works and what doesn’t work for yourself as you will develop your own style and way of doing things

Do what Others do - Find people or brands that you really like what they are doing on these social channels. See how they interact with others and champion their
brand. Take notes and try to emulate the stuff that you think they do well and add in things that you think will work as well. This is the best way to develop your own style.

Don’t worry about results early - Social media is not meant for the instant gratification crowd in terms of results. Allow for 3-6 months of consistent work / fun on these social platforms before you can really judge how effective your strategy is with recruitment metrics.

And remember, the profiles you create may not yield results in terms of qualified candidates but may have a lasting impact on harder to measure results such as strengthening your brand.

So I encourage you to start your social recruiting strategy today. Test things out, make mistakes but most importantly get your strategy rolling. Because I guarantee you that once you start it, momentum will begin to carry it even farther.