HR strategies have evolved quickly within a decade at a faster pace than several years put together earlier. This is due to the advent of the internet and growth of social media in the last decade. These platforms are a cost-effective method for businesses to engage with clients, employees and scout for talent. So, it comes as no surprise that an increasing number of businesses are including social media as part of their PR strategy for HR as well as communicating the brand message.

According to the LinkedIn Talent Solutions report, In India, utilization of social professional networks (at 40%) is almost at par with employee referrals (41%) as a top source of quality hiring. Fifty-nine percent of employees say a company’s social media presence was part of the reason they chose their workplace.

The emerging trends of social recruitment has set its pace not only at major social platforms like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn but social media savvy recruiters have also been venturing over to new channels like Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat, with the former leading the pack.

The best talent expects to see quality and substance in an employer. A well nurtured and actively maintained employer brand is likely to attract 9 out of 10 candidates to apply. An employer must use their social channels to curate content that is genuinely useful, relevant and interesting to the candidate pool they wish to target. 

For example, when you visit flipkart’s website to apply for a job, the company also takes the opportunity to showcase the work culture through an interactive visual feed of images and video. This gives potential employees a preview of what it is to be part of a company that values and celebrates its people. Recruiters are therefore highlighting company culture by giving the candidates a view into an employee’s regular day at work or by having short videos featuring company leaders who talk about the opportunity in an advertised open position. 

As social media sites continue to rise in the number of users, the information collected on millions of individuals through these sites is very useful for employers. In this large pool, identification of talent is another critical step which is possible by controlling candidate’s variables by adding filters. HR personnel or HR teams need to rethink priorities and set time to design campaigns and marketing strategies to keep in touch with potential candidates by consistently reaching out to them and showcasing the business in its best light. This creates employer brand awareness and also improves reputation which can help create referrals.

Searching for jobs over mobile phones is another trend that also plays in favour of the employers who have optimized their social strategy with mobile optimization. Most leading businesses today are able to talk to a specific segment of people on social media due to advanced targeting and accordingly connect with individuals on a personal level. This is very useful for businesses as it can mean a better proposal for a client, a better proposition for the right talent or even brand messages that stick with people long after the initial interaction.

Around 47% of recent college grads are utilizing cell phones to search for occupations and this number is on the rise. A bad device experience is a strong discouraging factor. It is therefore to the recruiters’ advantage if their application process is fully mobile-friendly. More number of people including college graduates now start a job search through a mobile device, it is there important for businesses to look into their mobile design as well as how these are incorporated into their social strategy as content. 

With the increase in social media presence of people, this is an area that recuriters will tap into to connect with future employees. Since only a handful of HR personnel are digitally savvy to craft attractive social campaigns to attract talent, there is a need for HR to consistently upskill in this area. Social recruitment has also proved to be a successful hiring strategy for big giants such as Facebook and Google, and it is only a matter of time before small and medium businesses will follow suit.