Having covered the benefits of LinkedIn in our previous blog, it was only right to cover Instagram.
The image sharing social media channel is growing in popularity every year, with over 800 million users recorded in 2017.
However, these ‘Insta’ fans don’t just consist of people sharing holiday snaps and their favourite meals.
In fact, more and more businesses are starting to create company pages.
They aren’t just there to sell a product, they’re also looking to boost brand awareness to a new audience.
You see, while content may be king, a quality image can speak a thousand words.
Granted, Instagram isn’t a platform where you can actively find potential candidates or indeed post openings on, but it does have its benefits.
Why Instagram can help build your relationship with candidates
When you run an email campaign, you’d probably send multiple follow-ups in reply to an initial sales piece.
Similarly, you wouldn’t usually jump straight into a sales pitch to a bunch of cold prospects.
Recruiting via Instagram is very similar to your typical marketing process.
For instance, while you can’t out and out sell a position to a user, you can warm them up first.
In other words, you have the power to build your appeal and create an engaged audience way before you advertise a job opening.
With this in mind, you’d then significantly increase your chances of finding someone who lives and breathes your brand – an ambassador if you like.
And let’s face it, employing a passionate candidate who loves your brand is an absolute no-brainer.
How to build a strong following of potential candidates
To engage passive talent, you need to bench your quarterly targets (i.e. sales) and adopt a user-friendly approach to your posting.
Ask yourself; what do potential candidates want to see? How can I offer them value?
The reality is, no candidate is going to follow you if you just advertise products and showcase the more tedious elements to your business like exhibiting at events.
Instead, give them a behind the scenes look into your company.
Think of it this way, a celebrity generates masses of followers because they welcome you into their realm.
As an audience, you can get an exclusive look into what they get up to, where they live and who they meet up with.
To successfully accomplish this, you should:
- Share photos of your happy employees at work
- Showcase the fun days and celebrations you have – i.e. your Christmas party, pizza day on a Friday, fancy dress, fundraising events.
- Highlight individual and team achievements like hitting targets, going above and beyond or even recognising that an employee has made their first tea round!
- Provide visual evidence of the work perks you offer your staff.
You can also give your target audience a snapshot into your company by keeping them updated on new office changes.
This could be anything from rearranging the tables, all the way up to building a new office space.
Inspirational posts will allow you to tap into a new professional audience as well.
It may seem cheesy, but a lot of them really engage and relate with a company who shares the same ethos as themselves.
This could also help you further down the line, as many applicants will know exactly what is required to suitably fit into your work culture.
Jump on the hashtags
Mondays are usually a big day for inspirational quotes, with #MondayMotivation trending across Twitter and Instagram, so be sure to jump on this every week.
Make professionals feel positive and inspired by using the micro-storytelling approach:
- Share inspirational quotes.
- Profile/highlight employees’ accomplishments.
- Broadcast inspirational stories.
Instagram is also the gateway into advertising your brand across various other social media channels as well, as it gives you the option to share your latest post on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.
According to Mashable, Instagram photos shared directly from the platform to Twitter are 35% more likely to be retweeted then plain text tweets.
This is an interesting insight into the importance of creating a complete social media strategy which works in unison.
Potential candidates who love your imagery on Instagram will also be more inclined to follow you on other channels as well.
So when it comes to advertising a job opportunity on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, you’ll have a loyal Instagram following ready to take action.
Picture this
Ultimately, you want potential candidates to think that your company is a “cool” place to work.
Stuffy corporate looking Instagram accounts won’t appeal to anyone.
Try to embrace your fun side and showcase it in image form.
Do this and you can definitely utilise Instagram to attract some of the best talents when the time comes to advertise a new job.
