Social media networks platform has grown vastly in recent years. From being a place where people can interact with each other, social media has grown to become much more. As a matter of fact, social media today is considered one of the most powerful business platforms. It’s no longer about simple interactions but it’s also about social media being one of the primary sources of information regarding anyone or anything in the online world.
The fact of the matter is that social networks connect a lot of people together from all corners of the world. From a business perspective, it’s a gold mine of untapped opportunities for product placement, brand awareness, and even recruitment. In fact, 92% of recruiters leverage social media in their hiring process. However, there’s more to social networks than simply being convenient to recruiters. With that in mind, here’s how important social networks actually are for recruitment.
Access to a global talent pool
No matter for which job position you’re trying to find suitable candidates or what type of skill and mindset you’re interested in, chances are that your ideal candidates are on social media. Social networks favor a great number of users. As a matter of fact, Facebook alone has 2.38 billion active users and the number of users on social networks worldwide is estimated to reach 3.2 billion by 2021.
You won’t find a place with more potential candidates than social media platforms. In addition, people looking for employment prefer to do so over social networks. This is especially true for the millennial generation who are about to encompass 75% of the global workforce by 2025. It’s safe to say that social media will become the number one recruitment platform very soon.
More opportunities for everyone
Recruiting over social media creates more opportunities for both employers and potential employees. Social media portrays individual information in many ways. Recruits can review employer brands while employers can review potential candidates to determine if they’re an ideal cultural fit aside from having the necessary skills or experience. In addition, social media creates opportunities for people who otherwise have difficulties finding employment.
A good example is more visible jobs for people with disabilities which are available on social media more than anywhere else. It’s easy to find recruiters who aren’t biased and who are actually looking for talented people. On the other hand, it becomes easier to find suitable recruits when you’re open and honest about it on social media networks.
Brand awareness
It’s no secret that companies both large and small have been effectively leveraging social media to build their online presences and awareness for their brands. Brand awareness is not only vital for product or service placement on the market but it’s also essential for a proper recruitment strategy. That’s why many brands engage in effective recruitment marketing over social media networks.
The main reason why this is important is to improve brand awareness for potential candidates and top talent. Recruitment marketing doesn’t just portray available job openings within some company. As a matter of fact, it’s also designed to promote the company culture, core values, mission and brand promise, among other things. The purpose of this activity is to showcase the value of a company so that potential candidates on social media are more interested in working for such companies.
The cheaper and more seamless hiring process
Social media is designed to connect people from all over the world. It’s also designed to connect individuals and businesses together as well. The entire recruitment process can be made more seamless over social media networks. Therefore, the hiring process becomes much more efficient and also quite cheaper than alternative approaches.
Take LinkedIn for example, this social network is designed for B2B connections and to help people find employment, as well as help employers, find suitable recruits. In addition, 73% of millennials claim that they managed to find employment over social media. The fact of the matters is that a digital approach to recruitment over social media is quite effective and reliable.
What’s more, you don’t have to waste too many resources to engage potential employees or to make your job openings more visible. Social media can easily do that for you if you implement the right strategies. Simply put, social media is a much more reliable approach to finding and hiring recruits than any other means that are at your disposal.
Social media has become vital for every business operation, including the recruitment process. Companies that wish to attract and recruit suitable candidates for their job opening don’t have to look further than social networks. With so many people connected at the same place, social media provides a unique opportunity for both employers and future employees.
AUTHOR BIO
Jacob Wilson is a business consultant, and an organizational psychologist, based in Brisbane. Passionate about marketing, social networks, and business in general. In his spare time, he writes a lot about new business strategies and digital marketing for Bizzmark blog.