Many of our clients have listed attracting great talent as one of their overarching social media marketing goals.

To achieve this goal, I find it helpful to look at recruiting through the eyes of a marketer.

What do I mean by this? Well, in the same way that marketers use strategies to build brand awareness, generate potential customers, and capture sales, you can think about how potential employees will learn about your company, consider submitting a job application and accept an offer to work at your company.

 

There are many tactics that marketers use to sell a product or service that translate to strategies for recruiting and hiring at your company. Here are the top 5 marketing tactics that I recommend for recruiting great people:

Know your value proposition

What value does a candidate get from choosing to work at your company versus your competitor’s? Is it higher compensation? Better benefits? A flexible schedule? Career growth? Know what your company brings to the table in terms of employee experience so that you can communicate that to potential candidates and current employees.

Uncover your target audience

Take a look at who comprises your current model employee group. What drives and motivates them? What about work is important to them? Where can you find other people online who have these values? Also consider the strengths and weaknesses of your current team and identify the areas you need help in, and try to attract people with those skills and experiences.

Make a strategy

Be proactive and strategic about your recruiting plan. Recruitment should really be an ongoing, long-term strategy so that you build up your talent community even when you aren’t necessarily hiring. I just finished reading “Good to Great” by Jim Collins who studies why some companies make the leap to greatness and others don’t. Collins suggests taking advantage of difficult economic times by hiring as many of the very best people you can afford, then figuring out what specific job they might do. 

Build a community

Your company has a following- a group of customers who are invested in your business, product, or service. Your company has fans- people who love your product or service and can’t wait to tell their friends about it. This is the basis for your community. Building a community takes time and energy, just like building a strong family. But it’s this effort that grows your business and creates ambassadors for your brand. By focusing on building a community, you will inherently build your employer brand and improve your company’s ability to attract and retain great people. 

Tell stories

Word of mouth, or referral business, is still the best way to get and keep new business. Endorsements are the best way to market your product and service and can be equally valuable for sharing your employee experience. Take some time to gather testimonials from your employees about why they work for you, then share these stories with your target audience. These stories will undoubtedly connect with the people that you are looking for and will also contribute to current employees’ sense of pride about their workplace.

These are just some of the strategies we adopt from our marketing brains when utilizing social media and marketing channels for our client’s goals of recruiting and attracting talent. 

Remember that your people are the most important part of your business. Recruiting is the first step to providing an awesome employee experience and making sure you are getting the right people in the right roles.

Use our downloadable infographic to share this information with your team! Recruitment Infographic

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