Why Your "Social Recruiting" Effort Is A #FAIL

If you think the best way to recruit with social media is vomiting your job postings on to LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Google+ then get distracted with the likes of Pinterest, this article is just for you. I hope this helps you avoid an epic #fail by falling victim to common social recruiting pitfalls.

1. Don’t Research The Platform

Social Media is just that – media! It is about branding and visibility. Anyone can create an account on the hundreds of social sites for free. Hold on! Don’t jump blindly onboard the shiny new social site because it is cool, hip or trendy, or just because some pundit recommended it.

Don’t reveal much or import all your connections just yet.
Start with a bare profile and poke around
Is your target market there? If not, BAIL!
Are your competitors there? If so what are they doing well and how do they suck?
Are there apps you find immediately and easily useful? If so, others will.
Is there authentic communication or just lots of self-promotion?
Before you import your contacts ask your connections what THEY think

If this new place is going to appeal to your established audience, go for it, i not, just leave your bare profile on there to protect your user name and come back in a few months to see if there’s new traction.

2. Don’t Focus

When you send emails you should know is receiving them, right? It is the same with social media. Going for big numbers can hurt you. A large amount of friends, connections or followers means absolutely nothing if they are the wrong audience for your message. With social media you can be laser focused on your target. First, identify WHO you are trying to reach. Once you know that, begin with making meaningful connections with influential people. Having 1,000 followers who read, comment or repost you is far better than 100,000 victims of your status updates who don’t care what you are about.

3. Don’t Be Consistent

Weather its daily, weekly, or whenever, get on some semblance of a regular schedule. If you are not visible to your audience on a regular basis they will move on to other channels and stop tuning you in. Make a spreadsheet or outline and plan ahead a few months. When you get a burst of ideas add them to the list so when you are busy or you can’t think of something at least you can draw from that.

3. Be Pushy

If you get in people’s faces and blasting them with volume, expect dismal returns. Social media is more about Pull Marketing thank Push Marketing. Start conversations, engage, don’t “advertise” all the time. A small amount of pushing is ok, maybe 10% or 20% at most. Before you do, have an established audience otherwise you’ll cut your success short before you begin. Once you are credible and trustworthy, and the “pull” is happening then the “push” can be effective. Push too soon and you will blow your opportunity.

4. Focus On Getting More

“More candidates” is a terrible goal for social media. Broaden your scope. The ROI is in traffic to your landing pages, improving your SEO and reducing your broadcast advertisement spend. Look for newsletter signups, increased applications, higher quality of respondents, or improved employment brand recognition.

That’s it for now. If you like this, share it and I will write another set on how to get traction. Meanwhile, schedule a quick social recruiting audit with me and I'll go over your online presence and make recommendations on how to improve it.

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By: Shally Steckerl, President and Founder, The Sourcing Institute

Mr. Steckerl has eighteen years of sourcing and recruiting experience. An industry pioneer, Mr. Steckerl builds enterprise recruiting engines for Fortune 500 brands helping them efficiently find unfindable talent. He is the author of the industry textbook The Talent Sourcing and Recruitment Handbook (ISBN 978-1928734796). Hailing from Colombia, S.A., Mr. Steckerl now lives with his family in Atlanta, Georgia. He is an Associate Adjunct Faculty at Temple University’s Fox School of Business and a regular speaker at HR conferences around the world.

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