Instagram: An Innovative Way to Attract Young Talent to Your Company
In recent years, companies have begun using social media outlets such as, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to advertise their products or services and to engage their potential customer base as well. Even the smartphone app Snapchat is being utilized by businesses for customer engagement and brand advertising. However, there is still untapped potential lying in these channels regarding recruiting.
Companies tend to rely more on LinkedIn for recruiting, but they fail to recognize that a site like Instagram also represents a forum for companies to increase their recruiting reach of young talent. As blogger Rachel Scott points out, Instagram offers a largely untapped pool of prospective employees, with over “150 million active users and counting–70 percent of whom log in to the site at least once a day.” The list below shows five easy ways your company can use Instagram to draw in new talent.
1. Utilize Hashtags
Using hashtags on your company pages allows you to easily sort and segment what kind of employees you are recruiting. For example, if you need salespeople, try hashtags like #sales #salesjobs #salespeople. If the job you’re recruiting for is a bit broader, try hashtags such as #engineeringmajor or #recentgrads. This allows Instagram users to easily find your recruiting page, especially if they are interested in the position types you are recruiting for.
2. Post Pictures of Real Employees
Instagram users want to see pictures of real, everyday employees of your company. This gives potential employees a sense of what a day-in-the-life is like at your company. Marriott uses a simple but effective strategy where the company posts pictures of employees holding handmade signs with employment dates written on it. Similarly, Yelp features an employee and takes his or her picture in the company break room or posts a picture of the employee’s desk to show what candidates can expect in the work environment.
3. Share Celebrations and Traditions
Just closed a deal with a client? Post it on Instagram and brag a little bit. This lets potential employees know about the success your company experiences. Have a unique tradition at the office? Share it on Instagram. Even if it’s as simple as someone’s birthday at the office, or the company’s anniversary, you can post these events on social media. Local charity events in which your company participates make for excellent posts as well. These types of posts build your company’s brand among potential employees and demonstrate that your company can have a little fun during the work week too.
4. Engage Potential Talent
Seek out users who could be interested in your brand. Once you have a solid list of followers target the ones who fall into your target recruiting audience. Like some of their photos and even comment on appropriate ones. Thank them for following you and for sharing your photos. Social recruiting is about building relationships with potential employees. The more you engage potential employees on Instagram, the more your company will stand out to them.
5. Stay Active
Once your company or recruiting page has a large group of followers, you need to stay relevant by posting daily or every few days. Use the ideas above to generate your posts but also do not be afraid to be blatant and post specific job offerings as they arise. Staying relevant in potential employees’ photo-feeds increases their chances of considering you for employment.
With more and more millennials entering the workforce, social recruiting is here to stay at least for a little while. Because Instagram was not created specifically for recruiting purposes, like LinkedIn was, it offers a unique and more personalized recruiting platform. Armed with the five tips above, you can attract more potential employees to your Instagram pages and build relationships with them throughout the recruiting process.
Happy recruiting!
Will Merline–Content Creator
