Job boards have been used for a long time as one of the main instruments to attract and hire people for positions. This is a proven and relatively predictable model that allows quick access to an active, large scale audience. Cost and success can be easily tracked and analysed. I think that the only real downside of Job boards is that for mainstream recruitment, the quality is sometimes a little wayward.
Now, enter social media and the digital age. There are a tremendous amount of new avenues that can be used to attract Talent. Generations X,Y and Z need to be accessed and communicated with in different, specific ways. Some of the Social / Digital avenues include: Wiki’s, Blogs, Pictures (Flikr), Live Casting, Document, Lifestreams, Micro Media, Crowdsource Content etc. Where to start, what to do? It is reported that around 70% of Internet users engage with Social Media. With 500,000,000 using Facebook and 95,000,000 on Linkedin, the opportunities are just amazing.
For an organisation to achieve success in Social Media in order to recruit and brand effectively, they need to:
- Listen to what their target audience is saying
- Ask questions of these people to hone their offering/message
- Extend Network through broadening contacts
- Drive existing reach
- Promote your Speciality
- Link all this through to Values and Product / Service
In doing this, what can be achieved in a Talent Acquisition context is:
- Increase Candidate Attraction
- Enhance Existing Client Relationships
- Build Credibility and Reputation in area of expertise
- Lay the Runway for a simpler, more effective sale or transaction / Loyalty
All of these areas need to be specific to the Calendar Year and Season Requirements. Smart social campaigns are constantly changing and this change presents the biggest challenge to a business in terms of resource to deliver quality and success information in order to get the best bang for the $.
I think most businesses embarking on a Social Media Recruitment / Brand Strategy need to be quite realistic in relation to the time these strategies take to gain traction and it is easy to become frustrated with limited results in the short-term. Though, like a Virus, the message does slowly but surely spread, and will grab hold for lasting results.
The simplest way to engage Candidates through social media is to Share Positions through Sources like Linkedin and Facebook. Referrals schemes should be the first port of call for recruiters to test and analyse. Using Linkedin and Facebook, users can share jobs from a client Jobs Portal with and individual or multiple contacts, and from there, the recruiter can track the success of that referral right through to hire. Linkedin and Facebook, through the use of their API, allow for you to search people based on their expertise and fit for a position. This instantly provides inroads into passive candidate pools that previously were unable to be harvested.
We thought we would provide a list of Social Media apps and sites that maybe useful for you to investigate in terms of how they can add value to your Social Media recruitment campaigns. Or, you may simply like to start the education process.
Remember: Always account for your spend. Test and Analyse then Benchmark.
- Activerain.com – Realestate
- aNobil – Social Networking Site for Book Lovers
- aSmallWorld – Social Elite Networking. European Jet Setters
- AsianAvenue – A Social Network for the Asian American Community
- Athlinks – Running and Swimming Social Network
- Audimated.com – Independent Music
- Avatars United – On-Line Games
- Badoo – Meet New People. Popular in Europe and Latin America
- Bigadda – Indian Social Networking
- BigTent – Organisation and Community Portal for Groups
- Biip.no – Norwegian Community
- Blogster – Blogging Community
- Blogcatalog.com – Blogging
- Buzznet – Music and Pop Culture
- Cafemom – Mums Social Networking
- Cake Financial – Investing information
- Care2 – Green Living and Social Activism
- CaringBridhe – Not for profit providing free websites that connect family and friends during a serious health event
- Cellufun – Mobile Social Games Network
- Classmates.com – Social Networking / Schools, College, Work
- Couch Surfing – Worldwide Network for making connections between travellers and the communities they are visiting
- DailyBooth – Photo-Blogging Site
- DailyStrength – Medical and Emotional Support Community
- Delicious – Social Bookmarking allowing users to locate and save websites that match their own interest
- Digg – General
- Diigo.com – Internet
- Epernicus – For Research Scientists
- Eons – For Baby Boomers
- Experience Project – Life Experience
- Exploroo – Travel Social Networking
- Facebook – General
- Faceparty – General
- Faces – British Teens
- Fark.com – Entertainment
- FilmAffinity – Movies and TV Series
- FledgeWing – Entrepreneurial Community targeted towards worldwide university Students
- Flixster – Movies
- Focus.com – Business to Business. Worldwide
- Folkd.com – General
- Fotki – Video Sharing
- Friendster – General. Popular in Southeast Asia
- Gather.com – Articles, Pictures and Video Sharing
- Goodreads – Library Cataloguing
- Googlebuz – General
- Govloop – For People in and Around Government
- Hospitality Club – Hospitality
- Hotlist – Geo-Social Aggregator rooted in the concept of knowing where your friends are and were they will be
- HR.com – Social Networking site for HR Professionals
- Hub Culture – Global Influencers focused on wealth creation
- Ibibo – Talent based Social Networking site that allows you to promote yourself and also discover new Talent
- iTaki – Language Learning Social Network. 100+ Languages
- InterNations – International Community
- Jaiku – Microblogging. Owned by Google
- Kaboodle – Shopping
- Library Thing – Book Lovers
- LikeKnot – Shared Interests. Hobbies.
- Linkedin – Business and Professional Networking
- LinkExpats – Social Networking Site for Expats
- Mahalo.com – Knowledge Sharing
- Metacafe – Videos
- Meetup.com – Used to plan offline meetings for people interested in various activities
- Meettheboss – Business and Financial Community, Worldwide
- Mixx.com – General
- Mouthshut.com – Social Network, Social Media, Consumer Reviews
- MyBloglog.com – Blogging
- MyHeritage – Family Orientated Social Networking
- MyLife – Locating Friends and Family, Keeping in-touch
- MyOpera – Blogging, Photo Sharing, Connecting with friends
- MySpace – General
- Newsvine.com – News
- Ning – User create their own websites and Social Networks
- OneWorldTV – Video Sharing and Social Networking
- Open Diary – First On-line Blogging Community
- Partnerup – Social Networking for Entrepreneurs and small business owners
- Passportstamp – Travel
- Plaxo – Aggregator
- Propeller – News
- Qapacity – A Business Orientated Social Networking site and a business Directory
- Reddit – General
- Rojo.com – General
- Ryze – Business
- Scribd.com – Articles
- Slashdot.org – Tech
- Socialvibe – Social Network for Charity
- Stumbleupon – Stumble through websites that match your interest
- Talkbiznow – Business Networking
- Twitjobsearch – Search for Jobs Posted on Twitter
- TeachStreet – Education, Learning, Teaching
- Technorati.com – Blogging
- Tribe.net – General
- Twitter – Microblogging and RSS
- Tumbir – Microblogging and RSS
- Yammer – Social Networking for Office Colleagues
- YouTube – Video Sharing
Also Check out www. twitdom.com for over 1900 Twitter apps.
If you would like to learn more about Social Media and HR, you can download our free White Paper below.
