Recruiters may be tempted to dismiss Facebook as just a good place to find out if candidates engage in questionable activities in their off-hours, but that’s missing out on a huge opportunity to find talent. With over 1.26 billion registered users as of September 29, 2013, Facebook keeps growing. Most users log in over 12 times each day and check friends, family, and company statuses through smartphone or tablet applications. Smart companies are investing heavily in Facebook advertising to catch the eyeballs of these frequent Facebook users.
And Facebook also offers a cost-effective way to recruit talent during the hiring process. Setting up a company page costs nothing; the biggest challenge is getting people to “like” the page and share updates, but that can also be done without spending money. Part of the reason is that, when someone likes a page, it shows up in their friends’ feeds, offering free exposure to the company’s page.
Even better is that when companies leverage Facebook to spark interesting conversations, those conversations are shared on personal Facebook pages, also increasing the company’s visibility. These conversations begin with status updates, uploaded pictures or videos, or shared links, which garners likes and shares. Even better, Facebook does not have a character limit on status updates like Twitter, so statuses can be longer. However, people do tend to skip over very long status updates, so shorter is still better.
Companies can start conversations by posting about industry trends or new technology. Photos or comics that relate to the industry can get people talking and sharing, and that means more exposure for the company’s page. While job postings sometimes get this kind of response, status updates that include a link to the company’s website help drive traffic to a more comprehensive listing of job postings, getting potential candidates started on the hiring process.
Facebook also includes the analytics necessary to see how many people a company is reaching. The feature that shows how many new likes and the page’s total reach to users is relatively new, but it allows companies to see what kinds of messages are getting the most people engaged.
With enough of a time investment, Facebook then becomes a critical part of the hiring process, helping to gradually attract top talent in a cost-effective manner. Results are not evident right away, but leveraging Facebook to create conversations increases a company’s profile, which is the goal of social media. Candidates who feel like they know a company are more likely to apply for openings. As long as companies are starting engaging discussions with their followers, they are enabling future candidates a peek into the company and start a conversation that may result in the company finding its next employee of the month.
