Promoting job ads through social networks is a cost-effective way to engage with candidates. Sourcing talent is not unlike finding customers: in both cases you are using content to generate inbound leads.
The problem is that customers and candidates are experiencing content fatigue on the major social networks. Focusing exclusively on the top three (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn), plus other large networks, such as Instagram and Pinterest, will limit the quality of candidates in your talent pipeline.
Content Saturation
Consider Facebook, with 1.45 billion users worldwide you can’t ignore this in your content campaigns. However, thanks to their EdgeRank algorithm, getting noticed is surprisingly difficult. Right now, organic reach is said to be around 2.6% for Pages, making News Feed an increasingly pay-to-play environment, despite Facebook’s denials that it’s all about making more money.
Casting stones into Facebook’s pond will create few ripples, without a more strategic approach.
The same can be said on LinkedIn, where users often feel harassed by recruiters, especially in competitive professions (e.g. developers). Again, a more strategic approach is required.
Finding Niche Networks / Communities
There are dozens, if not hundreds, of alternatives. Not only outside the carefully tended walled gardens of Facebook and LinkedIn, but inside through Groups, which are prevalent and popular within these social networks.
Taking this approach means casting a wider net within a smaller, more relevant, pond. This also means taking a decidedly non-spammed based approach. People with niche interests escape the mainstream to discuss passions, interests and share gossip. Entering a community means respecting that and not just treating it as yet another marketing channel.
How to Reach Niche Audiences?
Here are some examples to get started:
- Developers: Stack Overflow, GitHub, Reddit, Meetup, Slack.
- Creative Professionals: Ello, Niche.co, Deviant Art.
- Oil & Gas Sector: Oilpro.
Depending on your sector there are dozens of similar websites. The Internet has created walled gardens for all kinds of interests. Within Facebook and LinkedIn, there are also groups, sometimes where millions of those with similar interests have created a digital home.
Monitoring relevant trending topics and hashtags or using sentiment and social listening software is a great way to do the same on Twitter. Providing useful answers to questions on places like Quora is another way to stand out when launching recruitment campaigns.
Another way to reach niche audiences is through passion-based social networks, such as Pinterest, Foodie (for food lovers), or Fitocracy for fitness junkies. This won’t work for every business, but for those where outside interests align with a brand message and values, this would be an effective way of cutting through the background noise of social networks. Find out how to reach niche audience your business needs.
Key Takeaways
- Research the relevant groups within the main networks and relevant secondary, niche, social networks, before launching your next social recruitment campaign;
- Build credibility by avoiding spam – share only relevant content and don’t publish anything remotely promotional (e.g. job ads) until you are a welcome member of these niche communities;
- When you do publish content, always aim to add value, then publish an ad or an inbound campaign as needed.
Ready to Attract More Qualified Candidates Through Social Networks?
Extend your reach and get in front of candidates where they really are and hire talent like you attract customers. SmartRecruiters has partnered with Candarine to provide the value of targeted social media to you and bring your job ads to places where your candidates are on social space. Source more discerning, hard-to-reach candidates online with Candarine Express: engage with them today across thousands of niche social networks and groups, all with a few clicks. Find out more!
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The article was written by Vaida Vaitekunaite, Head of Alliances at Candarine. After working on various projects of Recruitment industry, Vaida sticked to recruitment marketing and is now expanding Candarine operations in United States.
Candarine is a smarter social media management platform for recruiters. Go beyond jobs boards and generic social media updates: Reach high caliber candidates through the right channels, with the right message at the right time.
