A blog post from Christina Robinson at Green Umbrella Marketing really is “must read” content. I’m delighted she’ll be sharing a blog each month here with us!
So, there it is… the world of social media. It’s going to be your saviour! Clients will be rushing to make you their recruitment partner of choice. Candidates will be lining up to get on the books. Who knows, once people see your content, maybe you will be the next big influencer in the recruitment space? You are confident as you sit at your computer and click to post. Then you wait. Nothing happens. You post a couple more things, maybe a nice comment appears, but when you look, it’s from your mum. This isn’t what you expected.
Don’t worry; it’s nothing personal. You’re probably just not quite getting the basics right, so let’s take a look!
If you do the right things, the wins will come
When recruiters tell us they are not getting any traction with their social media, it is usually because they are making some fundamental mistakes. Making the most of your social media is not going to happen instantly. It takes time, it takes persistence, and it will need refining as you go. If you get the basics right, though, you’ll be off to a flying start!
Wins come from planning first, then doing
Start by deciding which platforms will work best for you and produce specific content for each one.
- You don’t need to be everywhere, but you do need to be somewhere. Start with 2 or 3 platforms and concentrate your efforts there. Be impartial, and choose based on which one works for you as a recruiter. You may love TikTok, but this is about your business goals, not your personal preferences. If it isn’t where your target audience hangs out, it’s not where you should be.
- Set time aside to focus on your social media. One of the reasons we suggest you initially only focus on a few platforms is it will help limit the time you spend on social. You need to be nurturing the clients and placing candidates as well as doing your marketing. The best option is to set time aside to focus on your social as part of your diary in much the same way you probably do for prospecting or admin. A small amount of time each day adds up to regular marketing and builds relationships.
- Check your results and adjust as needed. Check your google analytics and the metrics for your social media content regularly. It’s also really important that you understand them, and there is plenty of advice around on what those metrics mean. To really get to grips with metrics, you need to see how they actually apply to your recruitment business so you can adjust your approach accordingly; otherwise, they are just numbers.
Avoid these social media sins
These are top of our current cringe list on social media. Avoid these at all costs when you are planning your strategy and content.
- Not being engaging enough!
When we talk to each other, we talk in story patterns, not by simply relating facts. Do the same with your social, and post engaging little snippets about the ‘why’ of your business that relate to your target audience. Don’t just broadcast information; engage the reader by drawing them into story-based content.
- Thinking social media is the ‘sales superhero’
We see a lot of potential clients that believe social media will be the cure for all their sales problems. Yes, you can sell through social media. Yes, it is part of your sales funnel. Yes, it will drive sales for you. Will it happen instantly, though? No, sorry, that’s not how it works. Social media is a cog, not the machine. It is the cement, not the house. It works best as part of an overall strategy.
- Expecting social media to work for nothing
Social media is free, isn’t it? It’s the perfect marketing tool because you can reach millions of clients and candidates without spending a penny. Sorry, that’s not quite the reality, so let’s just manage a few expectations here. People following you because of your amazing ideas about the recruitment space is a nice idea, but it just doesn’t happen. At some point, you are likely to need to promote some content. Facebook, in particular, will need seeding with paid content to gain followers.
- Posting out of context
There is a very big difference between posting engaging content and posting relevant and appropriate engaging content. Think of it as the difference between a discussion in the pub on a Sunday lunchtime and the discussion in the bar at a recruitment expo. The first one is going to be whatever happens to come up in conversation, the second one is likely to be about the recruitment world. Everything you post should have context in recruitment or the personalities in your team. So national ‘eat ice-cream in bed day’ may well be interesting but is it really in context?
- Fixating on the wrong numbers and vanity stats
There is a huge temptation with social media to fixate on vanity stats. A vanity stat is one that seems great such as x number of followers. Active followers matter far more than having large numbers who are not noticing your content and are never likely to need your services or refer you.
Get big grins with you and your team
By ‘big grins’, I mean a positive response to your content from the right people. Whether that positivity comes in increased numbers, engagement and eventually new clients, the purpose is for your social media content to reach out to the right people, get a response and therefore raise your brand awareness. Social media is all about being human and sociable. This is especially important in recruitment where the core of the business is building human to human, person to person, business to business, relationships. Feature pictures of your team in your posts. Show what is happening in the office. Share your triumphs and interesting little stories. Let the world literally see your faces. It will help build the trust on which great business relationships are formed.
Our final bit of advice is ‘get as much free information as you can’. Download our guides, read our blogs, take away our eBooks. Maybe join us for coaching or, if you are ready, talk to us about outsourcing your digital content. Social media needs care and attention, and if you are going to be successful, you will need to plan, tell a great story and immerse yourself in it… it will be worth it, though.
Christina has been working with businesses since 2013 to launch, develop and perfect their online presence. Her cool, calm approach to digital marketing will leave you walking away with practical strategies that you can implement immediately into your business. Christina is driven by the fact that in today’s world, it doesn’t matter how big or small your marketing budget is, you can be a major player in your market.
Christina is MD of Green Umbrella Marketing, a digital marketing agency known for providing social media management and coaching services, design and print services, and online marketing strategies.
