Disrupt the doom scroll: How to engage job candidates on social media

*Originally posted April 22nd, 2021 by Allison Padgett. Content refreshed on September 13th, 2024*

Social media is well established as one of the best ways to find and attract candidates. Most job seekers already use these sites as a primary tool for finding jobs. By incorporating a targeted social media strategy within your broader candidate attraction strategy, you can reach an untapped talent pool of passive candidates who are not applying to your job postings.

Social Media by the Numbers

Before we dive into strategy, we need to look at the current statistics for social media, including its projected growth, which platforms are the most popular, and how people are using it.

Social media usage is growing

According to DemandSage, there are currently 5.17 billion social media users worldwide, meaning over 63% of the global population is active on social media. This number, however, is expected to continue growing to a shocking 5.85 billion in 2027.

Where are social media users spending their time?

Let’s take a look at the breakdown of users on the traditional social media channels used for recruiting. Although these numbers are a good place to start, it’s important to note that this is not a count of active users, but total users.

• Facebook – 3.05 billion
• Instagram – 2.5 billion
• TikTok – 1.67 billion
• Snapchat – 750 million
• X (formerly Twitter) – 450 million

We also know that millennial and Gen Z users are rarely utilizing a single social media site but are instead spreading their time across 8+ platforms.

What are people doing on social media?

Now that we’ve discussed how many people are using social media, it’s time to look at what they’re doing. Overall, users spend an average of 2 hours and 24 minutes on various social media platforms daily. In that time, people are:

• Keeping in touch with friends and family (49.7%)
• Filling spare time (38%)
• Reading news stories (34.3%)
• Finding products to purchase (26.8%)
• Making new contacts (22.7%)
• Work-related networking and research (21.6%)

Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/715449/social-media-usage-reasons-worldwide/

Using Social Media for Recruiting

With all that information, it’s easy to see how social media can greatly impact your recruiting efforts. As previously mentioned, at least 21.6% of social media users who responded to the survey use their social media accounts to research jobs and network with potential employers. So, let’s put all that data together as we discuss why and how you should be using social media as part of your recruiting strategy.

Why is using social media for recruiting beneficial?

There are many benefits to incorporating social media into your recruitment strategy, both for the candidate and for your TA team.

• Significantly reduce the cost per hire

Recruiting is an expensive process, but many social media platforms are significantly cheaper than other methods and the ROI is usually more significant.

• Access more qualified candidates

Using social media platforms for recruiting allows you to screen candidates more efficiently and effectively to ensure you are finding the right candidate for each role.

• Promote your employer brand and educate candidates about your company

According to CareerArc, 82% of job seekers consider a company’s employer brand and reputation before applying to a job. Not only can you use social media to promote open jobs, but you can also use it to share behind-the-scenes glimpses of your workplace, employee stories and how you promote DEI.

• Find candidates to fill unique roles and target specific audiences

With social media, you can create targeted campaigns designed to match the right candidates with hard-to-fill roles. You can also filter candidates based on specific criteria, such as their education, work experience or location. This approach can help you reduce the time-to-fill for open positions and ensure that you are finding the right talent for your organization.

Which social media platforms are best for your organization?

As social media continues to evolve and new platforms emerge, the way we use it for recruiting also changes. To stay ahead of the curve, it’s important to identify which social media platforms are most popular with job seekers and focus your recruiting efforts there.

• Facebook

As we mentioned earlier, Facebook has about 3.05 billion users. Facebook is a good channel to attract passive candidates for new jobs and vacancies. Thanks to its worldwide coverage, it is possible to transfer successful recruiting content to other regions and target groups. Facebook offers several types of ads, including single image ads with links, single video ads and video story ads. We recommend prioritizing video content when recruiting on Facebook, setting up multiple Facebook ads, and sending traffic to a targeted landing page instead of your website.

• Instagram

At 2.5 billion users, Instagram is another excellent option for recruitment marketing. Instagram is a great platform to use when you are seeking to fill more creative roles, but that doesn’t mean you won’t find your next hire in a different field. With 90% of its users under 35, it poses a great opportunity to reach out to a younger demographic. Instagram offers a variety of ad formats like single images, videos, carousels and formats for use in Stories or Reels. We recommend using Instagram for short, concise image-based content and authentic videos that showcase your employees and company culture.

• TikTok

TikTok has 1.67 billion users, mostly between the ages of 25 and 34. When using TikTok for recruiting, it’s important to remember that content should be short and to the point but remain engaging and authentic. Unlike many other social media platforms, its algorithm puts your content in front of a wider audience – not just users who follow you. You can also use trending sounds, hashtags, audio and video filters to boost your reach and stay on trend. TikTok offers several ad formats for in-feed video ads and for placement outside a user’s main feed. We recommend prioritizing short vertical videos that start with an impactful visual, including background music, and providing clear captions.

• Snapchat

Perhaps one of the more unique platforms, Snapchat has about 750 million users with 38.9% between the ages of 18-24. Snapchat is designed to give more of a fly-on-the-wall feel to the inner workings of your life or, in this case, your company. It’s not meant to be perfect; it’s meant to feel personal. The images or videos don’t have to be perfect because they disappear. What they need to do is tell a story, giving potential candidates the opportunity to see the day-to-day life and culture at your company. We recommend using Snapchat for authentic, short, and action-promoting ads that focus on a single message.

• X (previously Twitter)

One of the least popular social media platforms, X currently has 450 million users. X is a unique social media platform thanks to its 280-character limit on social posts, but its short-form content can be valuable to your recruitment process. X is one of the best marketing platforms for aggregated real-time content. If you choose to run ads on Twitter that display on the timeline, when your target audience comes to X to look for real-time events, they may also see your promoted posts. On X, you can use Text Ad Posts, Image Ads, Video Ads, Carousel Ads, and Follower Ads. We recommend keeping your copy concise, focused on a strong message and call to action, and free of unnecessary mentions and hashtags.

How can you optimize your company’s social strategy?

Let’s look at the bigger picture – your company’s overall social strategy. When it comes to social media, not all companies are executing optimally, and some don’t have the right internal resources. This is where a recruitment marketing agency like NAS can assist, no matter what your current situation is. Here are four things you can do today to check your standing on social media:

1. Review your company’s social presence

   Discover how your company presents itself to job seekers not only through your career site, but also on select major social platforms.

2. Research your company’s reputation data

Check out your rankings on specific review sites to gauge your company’s reputation as an employer.

3. Benchmark your company against your top competitors

Pay attention to how your competition is ranking and record the data.

4. Develop a custom approach to social strategy

   Use the data you collected to build or enhance your social strategy as part of a larger goal to present your company as an employer of choice.

Still not sure where to begin your social media recruiting strategy?

You don’t have to do it alone! NAS can partner with you to understand your approach to candidate attraction and design a unique, customized strategy that will help you achieve your hiring goals. Our team of social media strategists strives to determine the best candidates for your open positions and recommend the optimal platform, targeting and campaign structure to attract them. We also have multiple resources available to help you dive further into the details of social media recruiting. You can download our comprehensive ebook, “Social media recruitment: A guide to sites, strategies and success,” as well as our infographic on social media recruiting.

Contact us today to get started.

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