Is 2016 the year for social media recruitment?

Social media has been a staple of the savvy recruiter’s toolkit for a number of years now. The popularity of this recruitment technique has recently skyrocketed, with recruiters and HR staff becoming ever more aware of the many potential benefits.

But, there’s more to come. Will 2016 be the year that social media recruitment truly takes over?  

What’s the score with social media recruitment today? 

94% of recruiters now either use, or plan to use, social media as part of their recruitment strategy, and a whopping 73% of applicants in the 18 – 34 age group found their last job by searching on a social network.   

LinkedIn is still the top dog of social media recruitment, with 85% of professionals possessing an account on this platform. Facebook and Twitter are also key channels, with almost 74% and 38% of professionals using these accounts respectively. But, it's the rise of industry-specific options that has given employers the capacity to easily find candidates with clearly defined skill sets.  

Social media isn’t just for posting vacancies — it’s a great way of creating conversations with candidates. 68% of professionals see joining social media groups relevant to their profession as important for their career development.   

Many companies are using social media to position themselves as industry-leading employers: effectively promoting themselves as an employer brand.  

Employer brands can raise their profile on social media channels by sharing information and building engagement with those who have an active interest in their industry. This encourages a higher calibre of candidate to apply during the next recruitment cycle.    

What is the future of social media recruitment? 

The use of social media for recruitment has been steadily growing and this is only set to continue. 

This is mirrored by social media's growing popularity in the wider population. At the latest count, 38 million people in the UK use social media, representing a 6% increase since 2014. 

Despite such rapid growth, there are some factors that'll need to be explored more if 2016 really is to become the year of social media recruitment. 

Just under 50% of companies have no social media presence whatsoever. All of those who are on social media use LinkedIn, while just 14% use Twitter and 11% are active on Facebook. Professional social networking sites are still only the third most popular way of advertising a vacancy (after recruitment agencies and the company website).  

However, just over 50% of companies who don’t use social media for recruitment agreed that they would use these platforms more if certain privacy conditions were met. This signals that a major sea change could be just over the horizon. 

Are you doing all you can to incorporate social media into your recruitment strategy? It’s a popular trend that is going to continue to grow, so don’t get left behind. The best candidates will be readily available on social media 24/7, so you should be too.