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Recruitment could be accused of becoming bogged down with HR politics, marketing budgets and candidate quick fixes. It’s as ever-changing as any industry that has engagement and multiple mediums at his heart, but recruitment has to maintain its ‘human’ factors and principles of communication and interaction to remain relevant and successful.
As much as channels, methodologies and tools change, the basics of interaction, appeal and reward need to stay firmly rooted in recruitment.
The best way to create and implement a social and business strategy with longevity is to;
- perfect the basics over all major platforms,
- assess the relevance and success of new trends and tools,
- continually measure the success of your social performance.
More often than not the failure of marketing campaigns or candidate outreach is blamed on a lack of new ways to target potential talent or a lack of budget, but perhaps recruiters should look at their own practices and utilise the platforms they undervalue on a daily basis first.
Facebook Reveal Pages - Research & Delivery
Increasing brand awareness and organically building a fan base should be your Facebook aim.
Likes are only likes if they aren’t rooted in engagement and a hope for future interaction. A Like represents a mutual exchange, and a reveal page is the perfect way to get yourself into other’s newsfeeds, build up a Fan base and develop a relationship.
These reveal pages are a means of prompting users to Like your page, an action that gifts them exclusive access to fan-specific content, deals or downloads. Delivering on your promises is integral in creating a reveal page. Promising deals and privileged goods is all well and good if you can commit to such. Think this through in detail before beginning such a page, as its mis organisation will be your downfall. It’s as much an exchange in value as anything else; the fan gets access, interaction and a feeling of exclusivity while the Facebook page owner taps into a potential brand advocate, a ‘sharer’. That is worth much more than a free coupon or download.
Something that gets all too often neglected in a reveal page is the content itself. Lacking in brand consistency or inspiring chat, both text and images can be a simple filler. Content can be the key to a truly beneficial and long lasting connection, and skimping on the time to create good content will cost you more than a Like.
Hashtags - Effective in the right hands
Well we can’t talk hashtags without talking Twitter. A truly pioneering feature, the hashtag (#) is a nifty character that marks keyword, topics, trends, pretty much anything. Part-filing tool, part-conversation maker, the humble hashtag has revolutionised how we search, share and interact with content.
Whether you want to find one, use one or even create one, content and conversations become globalised. The hashtags appeal comes from its flexibility and impact on how we correlate and access topics or conversations. It acts as an invitation, a mark of focus that ensure your posts become part of a bigger pool of content that can be tapped into, search and repurposed time and time again.
Yes, Facebook hashtags are a tricky subject. Many recruiters are firmly of the opinion the hashtag shouldn’t stray from the likes of Twitter, while many see the results and advantages of utilising Facebook’s latest feature. There’s no denying the wonderful and ridiculous huge impact the hashtag has had on Twitter, and there really is no good reason why the same attitude and success can’t be mirrored on Facebook.
Using Facebook hashtags can do great things for your marketing strategy, brand reach and of course, the users themselves. Bringing conversations to the forefront of each platform, hashtags catalogue the trends and topics users look for, used in everything from posts to profiles. With each Facebook hashtag hosting it’s own unique URL, these clever tools are more than a CTAs, but all encompassing hubs of specialised content and conversations.
Although, it is searching that is at the heart of the hashtag. Hashtags turn topics and phrases into clickable links in your posts on your personal timeline or Page. This helps people find posts about topics they’re interested in. To make a hashtag, write # (the number sign) along with a topic or phrase (written as one word) and add it to your post. When you click a hashtag, you’ll see a feed of posts that include that hashtag. You'll also see some related hashtags at the top. You can search for a hashtag using the search bar at the top of any page.
There’s a few key things to remember when it comes to Facebook hashtags;
Don’t go tag-mad. Less is more, you don’t want a status or post so packed with #s that you can’t read the words!
Research the hashtag before you use it. Especially if you are creating your own tag, make sure to dig around and ensure it isn't already in action. Spend time assessing the keywords you use, they are the superstars of your post.
Use a Facebook hashtag to start a conversation with a group. Not only does this include and encourage people to create their own content using the tag but it builds a sense of community.
Don’t be afraid to use the same post across varying platforms. Be careful to use this with caution and don’t be lazy, but there is nothing wrong with maximising each platform with well written content.
At its best it connects and sparks conversations, harbours related topics and subjects and pinpoints keywords, and at its worst it, well, it sometimes make an appearance where it shouldn’t.
Google+
Google+ are also newcomers to the world of hashtags. Although like their Twitter counterparts in their function, they differ in terms of focus and features. Something Google+ should really be praised for is its focus on engagement. And it’s this emphasis that has reshaped how hashtagged content is displayed.
The Google+ stream interface displays content based on active engagement, allowing you to not only see the hashtag you are searching for but related ones too, all in-stream.
Searching works along the same lines as Twitter, but you can arrange posts chronologically and see the ‘Best of’ posts that are the cream of the engagement crop.
It’s not only engagement that sets G+ apart, they cleverly focus of timing too. As it is Google, I also imagine SEO plays a fairly significant role in what makes it the top of the ‘Best of’ list, so focus those keywords.
With this emphasis of engagement, the quality of content is a priority. All too often people stick a # in front of a keyword and think that cuts the mustard, nope. Content sparks and nurtures engagement so give your tweets a better chance of making the ‘Best of’ feed by carefully constructing all your posts. Another exclusive G+ feature is its intuitive tagging. Yep, they will even pop a few relevant hashtags in your post, if it deems them necessary. This is perhaps a last ditch attempt to further themselves from Twitter and Facebook, and as much as I’m sure it helps exposure it may not breed good habits.
Regardless of the medium or platform, making your post or job ad as appealing and effective as possible starts with understanding. Know the wheres, whos and whys of your candidates. There is an array of tools and tech out there that claim to attract and engage candidates but getting down to the nitty gritty of each post is always the best option.
Think about why you are using the platforms and tricks you do, is it for your sake or the candidates?
