Build a Social Recruiting Army to Amplify Your Employment Brand
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the PESO Model and how it can help frame your recruitment marketing strategy. Today, I wanted to add something to that conversation because there’s one aspect of the model that I can see being underutilized and it’s shared media.
Shared media takes place when others share the messaging that you’re sending out. And obviously, we want people to do that. To be specific, we want our employees to do that. Hopefully, our workforces are engaged and want to see us hire great talent to work alongside them. And hopefully, our workforces have diverse networks with followers who will complement our company culture (and ultimately apply for jobs!)
Joey V. Price spoke about building a social army at this year’s Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Talent Conference. That’s exactly what I think of when I refer to shared media. It’s about having the company’s branding messaging amplified and distributed far beyond our initial reach.
When social media was a relatively new concept, many organizations talked about building brand ambassadors – both internal and external – to amplify their messaging. Most of the conversation was on the consumer brand side of the business. But why not for recruiting talent? We need to take advantage of every marketing opportunity.
How to Build a Social Army for Recruiting
Building a social army does mean putting a plan together and not simply hoping that people will just share stuff. Back in the old days, we called that kind of strategy “post and pray”. Post a job opening and pray people find it. Today we can do a lot better. Here are a few things to consider:
Think about your social media goals. I’ve heard quite a few recruiting pros lately talk about social media as just another posting platform. And I’m not sure that’s true. Social media has the ability to regularly touch people about the organization’s brand. It deserves some serious thought.
Provide employees with social media training. It’s unfortunate to say that data breaches are a fact of life. We need to be well-educated on terms of service, privacy settings, and permissions when it comes to social media. These are perfect lunch and learn topics. It’s a win for everyone.
Set expectations. By now, your organization probably has a social media policy that’s been approved by the legal department. Make sure employees understand expectations and, if the company is going to encourage social sharing, that it’s a part of your policy.
Recognize employees who share. Whether it’s Twitter or Facebook or LinkedIn, we have the ability to thank people who share our status updates. If you want employees to share, thank them for doing so! That will encourage them to do it again.
Speaking of employee communications, I know some of you might be saying to yourself, “I would love to do this, but it sounds like a huge time commitment. I just don’t have the time. Too many open requisitions!” Well, what if I told you there’s a technology solution out there that could help?
Advocacy Software Helps Manage Social Groups
In my last article, I told you about HRmarketer’s marketing software. They have a new offering that really plays into the social army strategy. It’s called Advocacy.
I had a chance to use the Advocacy software as part of the blogger team for SHRM’s Annual Conference and Expo in Chicago. SHRM used the software to keep bloggers informed of press releases around the conference and blog posts related to speakers, events, etc.
One of the great things about using the software was that this information wasn’t junking up my email inbox. Everything was in one place and I could go in once or twice a day to make sure I had the most current information.
Apply this to your recruiting efforts. The company’s social recruiting army – recruiters, hiring managers, and employees – can have regular access to information that they can share with their connections, friends, and followers. As talent acquisition pros, you only have to send the information out once to them and they can receive and share it at their convenience.
I’m not going to tell you everything that the Advocacy software is capable of doing, you can check it out for yourself by requesting a demo. But if the reason keeping you from building a social recruiting army is the time it would take to communicate with others, this is an option.
What Got You Here Won’t Take You to the Next Level
Companies looking to find the best talent can’t do it alone. They need the efforts and networks of hiring managers, and employees. Developing a plan to increase the amount of shared media makes huge sense in today’s digital world. And the best part is that shared media is a very cost-effective way to get your messaging out.
Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring the Wynwood Art District in Miami, FL
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