Social media recruitment is required nowadays and it’s perfect to find out star candidates. The whole recruiting is changing drastically in the last ten years. Not only the companies are searching for new skill sets and talents but the way businesses find their ideal candidates has been improved a lot. 

There are alarming statistics to prove it...

• 73% of millennials have found their last job on social media. And you can expect this statistic to grow in the coming years. 
• 82% of companies attract passive candidates by recruiting via social media and companies using social media for recruiting reported a 50% increase in the quality of candidates. 

What do you mean by social media recruiting & does it really help?

Social media recruiting is a strategy that includes the elements of employer branding & recruitment marketing to connect with active candidates. The simple answer here is yes, social recruiting works. Social recruiting is slowly taking over traditional recruitment methods. Recruiters have found out that social media allows them to narrow down the candidate pool more quickly & find suitable candidates. 

So, without further ado let’s compare each social media platform and see which one is the best for recruitment.   

Facebook for recruitment 

Why recruiters should use Facebook for recruiting: Facebook may not be considered as a recruitment platform but it does the job. Its sheer size makes it an invaluable resource for the user. And you can have countless ways to find and connect with the candidates. 

Source: Business 2 Community

What Facebook offers: 

• A simple experience

The Facebook job posting is hassle-free, it takes less than 5 minutes to post a job on the company’s Facebook page, tracking applications & communicates with applicants with the help of Messenger. The jobs will appear in the feed & in new jobs bookmark. This is why most recruiters use it because of the simplicity it offers.

• Reach to a wider audience

Facebook might not be a dedicated platform for job search such as Linkedin. But the sheer market size of Facebook makes it an ideal place for recruitment. Facebook has more than 2 billion users active, which is quite a lot. Plus the casual atmosphere of Facebook can shed some light on the personality of the candidate. 

Best days to post on Facebook: Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday

Where Facebook Lacks:

• A bigger audience is a double-edged sword

When there is a bigger audience present to target, you need to have a proper recruitment strategy so you are able to attract candidates with specific skills. If you don’t examine the demographics properly, you’ll not find the perfect candidate.

• Creativity matters a lot 

Your simple job post won’t be any good on Facebook as there are millions of other recruiters trying to do the same thing. As a recruiter, you need to spend time on creating a visually appealing job post which is tailored for the specific candidates.

Linkedin for recruitment

There is no denying that Linkedin is the most popular social media platform for recruitment. A study has found that 122 million people received an interview through LinkedIn, with 35.5 million having been hired by a person they got connected on the site. The reason for Linkedin’s success is that it is a professional network.

Source: Zety

What Linkedin Offers: 

• Original professional network

With more than 11 million active job postings, Linkedin is a go-to for most of the recruiters. Linkedin also offers a proper view of the professional life of the candidate. It also provides insights about the candidates. The recruiters use the platform passively to target candidates for the desired role. 

• Offers better connectivity with the candidates

Linkedin allows you to do much more than post a job. You can start by connecting with the prospective candidates. And beginning conversations with the personalised messages for yourself and your company. Linkedin is also easier to navigate than other social networks having only relevant content. 

Best days to post on Linkedin: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday

Where Linkedin Lacks:

• Competition is tough

Linkedin is the most popular recruiting platform that is being used by every other recruiter. So, it leads to a lot of competition to land the same candidate. You need to focus on the job description and also that you are targeting the right candidates. 

• Passive candidates are in a huge number

You will find out that the candidate you want to hire is still in a job. They are the ones who are currently in a job and aren’t looking for a new company. Finding these candidates and reaching out to them can be a time-consuming process. 

Twitter for recruitment   

Twitter has the best of both worlds, it’s suitable for personal social media and professional social media. It has fewer barriers than Linkedin when you want to contact the candidate. You also get a good indication of the candidate’s personalities. 

What Twitter offers: 

• Hashtags are your friend

Twitter invented hashtags and using hashtags to attract relevant candidates is easier. Without the proper use of hashtags, your recruitment process cannot survive. You can also take advantage of features like retweet to your advantages and with 330 million global users, you get a lot of audiences. 

• Recruiting on twitter is effective

Another reason to use twitter is that finding candidates is cheaper and effective. You don’t have to spend a lot to have a reach. It becomes easier to contact both active and passive candidates without the need to connect with them. 

Best days to post on Twitter: Wednesday

Where Twitter Lacks:

• 280 characters limit

As a recruiter, you need to be specific and finish in 280 characters that can backfire sometimes. Candidates don’t get complete information and are not clear with the job description. An incomplete job post can harm your recruitment strategies. 

• Content has a short life span

People use Twitter to post real-time events. So, with Twitter, you need to create a lot of content on a weekly basis to stand out of the crowd. There are hundreds of recruiters who are targeting the same hashtags you are.     

Instagram for recruitment   

Source: Recruitee Blog

Instagram visual content has become popular with millennials. But Instagram is a newcomer when it comes to recruitment strategies. With less than 10% recruiters active on Instagram there is a lot of opportunities. As you can see, Disney created separate careers Instagram recruiting profile, if you have target candidates differ greatly from the customers. 

What Instagram offers: 

• No competition 

When you compare Instagram with other social media networks for hiring, there is no competition. This provides a chance to grab a talent pool to get engaged with candidates in an informal way. You can do this by hosting Q/A sessions & participating in relevant topics. 

Best days to post on Instagram: Monday and Thursday

Where Instagram Lacks:

• Content has to be image-focused

Instagram is a visual platform, this means you need to put content that focuses on image to stay effective and relevant. Text-heavy posts are a big no and won’t help in engaging with relevant candidates. 

• Majority audience is Gen Z

If you are thinking of recruiting for senior roles, then Instagram is not your ideal platform. Instagram is heavily focused on millennials audiences. 

Wrapping Up

Which social media platform is best for recruiting? This depends on the variety of factors and on your recruitment strategy. Every social media platform has its pros and cons as discussed above. Choose the social media platform depending on the objectives of your business. Or you can hire any best recruitment services for your business.