%20h.svg "LogicMelon")
We’re a pretty hungry lot these days. As digital consumers we’ve come to expect quite a lot from our online endeavours in both quality and volume. Some may say that this is a dream time for marketers, recruiters and candidates as we’re spoilt for choice when it comes to modes and methods of communication. But are these ‘some’ right?
It ain’t no secret that quality overrides quantity but still some recruiters go mad with their online efforts, feasting on the social media buffet and drowning their audiences with more and more content. There’s no denying that increased social platforms and nifty media buying possibilities have revolutionised what we can all do, but with great power comes great possibility. There needs to be some method behind the madness but what is it?
So, let’s say you’re looking to get your word out there and are thinking of dabbling in some increased outreach and social dominance. What guiding lights can make sure that you don’t sway too much from quality in favour of quantity? How can you be more about method than madness? And what exactly does it mean to ‘play the long game’?
Be an online hero (not hindrance) - Top tips for winning over social space & engagement.
As recruiters, you have a pretty awesome arsenal of tricks, tools and techniques available to you today. But boy can it be overwhelming. That’s why so many find themselves putting the tools before the strategy, and in turn killing off their long-term online success. These Top Tips are all about seeing the real opportunity and meaning that the likes of media buying and social media can offer us. A little method can do wonders.
- Know your audience.
It’s pretty darn simple, everything you know about your audience or market shapes what you need to do - messages, channels to use, language to adopt etc. Before you look to set up shop in any new social space make sure that the folk you want to reach swing by from time to time.
- Assess your current setup (and shake it up).
Most recruiters opt for a signature communication setup - job boards, a lite ATS, some social media platforms etc. It’s not that this combo or setup is wrong or even aged, it’s just that we get used to what we use to the point where we don’t even think to question it. Take the humble job board for instance - many recruiters see this as their tool staple. Why? Isn’t social media effectively a series of mini job boards? And how do you actually use your job board? As a tool and medium, the job board has evolved and is now a multi-disciplinary hub that needs to utilised a little differently that it previously has been. Why not shake things up a bit and maybe not make this the be all and end all of your recruiting approach, who knows you might find a new staple superstar!
- Cherry-pick your channels.
This goes hand-in-hand with putting the message first. Too many recruiters still think that more is better, that being on every channel all the time is the best way to reach candidates. They are SO wrong. Media buying has gone through a bit of a makeover too of recent, moving from the idea of just buying up more and more online presence to now being an invaluable means of creating and maximising a new type of social strategy, one built on the message as much as the medium. Ask yourself this question - What’s the best not biggest way to share what makes you valuable?
- Engage then attract.
For many, this worked the other way around. Recruiters have long thought that attraction comes first and then you work to engage once you have ‘em tuned in. Attraction has evolved too, becoming much more a form of long-term engagement than just a ‘hey, you there, look at us’ approach. This is where playing the long game comes in. Engagement is about setting the foundations for it all - attraction, action, sharing, trust, the list goes on. More than an end goal, it’s the strategy that keeps the whole recruitment process running smoothly and effectively from the very beginning. When you put engagement first you move away from that nasty ‘sales-esque’ hoo-ha and transform into a relationship builder and genuine presence.
- Humanise your media buying.
If you go into media buying with the intention of flooding out your competitors, you won’t win any audiences over. Good media buying practice is all about seeing the big picture. Aim to be in the right place and the right time talking to the right people, not take the approach that you just want to be everywhere talking to everyone. There’s a crazy amount of power and engagement potential in media buying if it’s done with the right strategy and aim.
We all know a good strategy is worth its weight in gold but there’s more to attracting and engaging than filling every known digital space. Perhaps instead of seeing social media and power as a series of mini-quick fixes and surface attraction we should opt for patience and the long game? After all, we all know that engagement is the holy grail of online happenings and engagement takes time, commitment and some savvy smarts.
Want to read more stuff like this? Then come and join just over 8,000 subscribers who get tips on improving recruitment, technology, sales, customer service and of course all things LogicMelon.
