There is no doubt that the job market is more competitive than ever before.

It’s also true that the pool of candidates for any job is also now larger. However, in some ways, this can make a Human Resource manager’s job harder as it can be difficult to pick out the right person from so many candidates.

Plus the proliferation of start-ups and tech firms, and the willingness of millennials to move around for their perfect job, means that companies are competing against each other to recruit the best new employees.

As an HR manager, you need to be able to find outstanding candidates and make your company the best choice for them. Fortunately, a social media marketing strategy can be a key tool in accomplishing these aims.

All businesses now stand to suffer significant losses if they don’t have a strong social media presence and, while this may first appear to be the domain of the advertising or marketing department, it can actually be put to good use by an HR manager.

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1. Brand Yourself Well

The first step any successful HR manager needs to take is to make sure that the company profile is complete, and that it shows the company in the best possible light.

In terms of attracting new staff, however, this doesn’t just mean posting financial reports and business successes, it means posting profiles of individual staff members, providing information on regular work days for jobs that have openings, and showing how you value your employees as talented individuals.

Few talented candidates are solely concerned with their pay check and so you need to show what a great working environment you offer too.

2. Use Your Current Employees

While having business pages on social media is great, a vastly underused HR tool is asking current employees to share job openings and information on their personal profiles.

If you have great staff, the chances are that they will know other people who would also be a great part of your team. Plus, you can raise your company profile by asking your staff to complete polls and surveys about their workplace as this can make your company more attractive to potential applicants.

3. Outsource Writing to Professionals

Creating a strong social media presence is a full time job in itself, and is often too much work to be added to someone’s existing responsibilities.

While a HR manager should be in control of what is posted and when, the best use of their time most likely does not lie in creating content to be posted several times a day, especially considering the quality, originality, and length of the writing required.

To make the best possible impression, and guarantee that you can attract the best candidates, it can help to hire experts to create flawless content. Some of the best places to find these services are amongst freelancers, such as those available on Upwork or Freelancer, where you can post an ad and find a writer who suits your business.

Other places to find a content writer are websites such as Contently, or any online writing or proofreading centre where you can simply select the services you want and the details will then be passed on to a professional.

4. Use Social Media to Find Potential Candidates

Sharing job openings on social media generally is great as there is a huge audience to be had, however it can be much more beneficial to target a smaller group who are ideal for your business.

This means using hash-tags properly on Twitter, getting specific about what you’re looking for on LinkedIn, and making sure your Facebook posts are targeted to an appropriate audience. While these are the big three platforms that most employers consider essential, you can stretch this further if you’re aware that a lot of your ideal candidates use another form of social media.

5. Utilize Online Tools

When creating content, whether it’s a simple Tweet or a whole blog post, there are a variety of free and easy to use tools online that can help you get the most from your content.

For example Grammar Check is a great network for anyone looking for tips and tricks to help produce written content and to make sure that everything is accurate. And, as a post is acknowledged to be ineffective if it’s less than 300 words, you can make sure you meet this criterion with Easy Word Count.

6. Invest In Your Future Staff

While many businesses see social media as an attractive option due to the fact that it is generally free to use, making a small investment could really help drive the best candidates towards your business.

Facebook ads, which can be targeted to your ideal future employees, are fairly low cost, but can have great results.

7. Snoop on Your Candidates

Employers use social media to screen candidates.

Be aware though that this is ethically a potential grey area, although there is currently nothing stopping you from checking out potential candidate’s personal profiles when trying to decide whether they’d be a good match for your business. However, try to avoid obvious mistakes such as spending too much time on this, or screening the wrong person, etc.

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The above seven steps are a great start to using social media for an HR strategy.

However each step needs to be followed up with regular updates and frequent monitoring. Using social media as part of an HR strategy is an ongoing process that requires consistent effort, but can produce great results.

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