7 Social Tips for HR Pros and Recruiters to Help You Navigate the Often Unchartered Waters of Social

Media

Jean L. Serio, CPC

Social Media Marketing and LinkedIn Coach and Trainer for HR Pros and Recruiters

www.linkedin.com/in/jeanlseriosocialmktgstrategist

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The Truth About Social Media Marketingand Social Networking

It's no secret….

The world of social networking and social media marketing is an ever-changing world requiring very specific info to navigate. It's one which can have those unfamiliar with this rocky and often uncharted territory worried and retreating. Clearly it’s not something you can leave to the uninitiated.

The inexperienced person can be so overwhelmed they back off. Realizing as they do, its importance and the value it can bring to their business, jobs and finding those top candidates who often spend much of their time on social platforms. Yet – that can only be done if they – or you – can get a grip on it. Many use it half-heartedly because it’s seemingly too much work.

The social world is changing daily. With Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn, for example, making regular changes, it’s a never-ending job for those who specialize in social media marketing. Daunting for those unfamiliar with it to navigate it’s sometimes murky and alternately turbulent waters. Disappointing to those hoping to leverage it’s power to locate top candidates who often spend much of their time on social platforms.

Test your social acumen:

* Do you know how-to socially market jobs on Instagram, Pinterest, Vine & Snapchat? Yes – it can be done when you know how.

* Other than posting, there is a great way to use Facebook to keep candidates engaged. What is it?

* Are your ads and posts presenting a brand job seekers actually want to work for? Or not.

* LinkedIn can become your BFF if you know how to properly use a few little known techniques.

* Are your YouTube vids engaging enough to bring candidates to your door or just plain boring, turning them off and away? Perhaps you don't even use it. OMG!

Social Tip #1 – Don’t Underestimate the

Value of Facebook, et al.

comScore, a leader in measuring the digital world, released the report “It’s a Social World: Top 10 Need-to-Knows about Social Networking and Where It’s Headed” in late December 2011. That report was a serious forecast of what not only was indicative of that time, but what has – in fact - come to be in 2014.

That report provided key insights into how social networking was influencing the world. As well as key insights into how social networking was influencing the digital landscape. Along with its future implications.

Here’s 4 of comScore’s 10 points:

* “Social Networking is the most popular online activity worldwide.” The report suggests getting used to it and using it regularly. * “The importance of Facebook cannot be overstated.” (While FB regularly makes changes which anger and confuse us all, they’re still a force to be reckoned with.)

* “It’s not just young people using social networking anymore – it’s all age groups.” * Love it or hate it, “Social networking is only second to cell phones for connecting.”

Social Tip #2 – Make LinkedIn Your BFF

Some bold facts and invaluable reasons why LinkedIn should be

tops with HR Pros and Recruiters:

* 2 - Number of new members joining every second * 40+% - Of members sign in daily

* 1.46 million - Job seekers view jobs listed on LinkedIn daily* 42% - Percentage of LinkedIn users who left their jobs but would have stayed had opportunity been available there.

* 30 million - Number of students and recent grads* 3.5 million - Number of LinkedIn members who've held internships

(stats 2014: digitalramblings.com)

Social Tip #3 – Mobile is becoming an excellent way to reach job searchers and top candidates

Derrick Miller, of NJ Mobile Marketing says:

“Believe it or not - 9 out of 10 mobile searches lead to action.” “More than half (over 56%) lead to sales.”

Recent LinkedIn stats show 44,000 applications for jobs are made using the LinkedIn mobile platform daily. 41% of LinkedIn members access the site via mobile daily.

Brief: The Social Users You Want To Reach Are On Mobile - 7/23/14 - Forrester Research

"With more than a billion monthly active users, Facebook has one of the largest mobile audiences in the world. There's no doubt that Facebook has disrupted the app marketing space by becoming a key player in app discovery — which is the key driver behind its mobile ad revenues. And this is just the most obvious reason that the intersection of mobile and social behaviors is on marketers' minds. But what are the opportunities for brands in engaging mobile social users….Why these users are an important audience for marketers by comparing their interactions with brands on social sites via mobile and PC.“ http://bit.ly/Zi7K4y

Social Tip #4 - Develop Your Own Social Voice:

Connecting and engaging on social networks and platforms is much different from chatting face to face with someone.

At a physical meeting, you hear the sound of someone’s voice, pick up intonations, inflections which can signal how a meeting’s progressing, whether the individual’s attitude has changed, how well you’re getting your point across, for example. A face to face allows you to view body language, tell whether the person you’re speaking to is truthful, as well as a half dozen other things. In short, personal meetings provideinvaluable insight into the individual you’re speaking with. Most of which you don’t have the opportunity to determine with social comments and postings. You must engage and endeavor to build trust with every comment and post you make.

Says Courtney Seiter of Buffer -" Creating a strong, consistent voice is the key to building a real relationship with your audience. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, people ultimately buy from people — more specifically, people we like and relate to. And social media gives brands a chance to develop personality, style and characteristics of their own. All the good stuff that attracts you to people can also endear you to a brand or company.....A social media voice can be hip, communal, playful, educational, sophisticated, fun, irreverent, inspirational, helpful or a million other adjectives. So how do you find your brand’s voice? Explore the three Cs: culture, community and conversation."

What’s your social voice?

Social Tip #5 – It’s Smart to Monitor Social Comments

Says top blogger Jeff Bullas of jeffbullas.com:

"It is imperative to monitor all comments and respond in a timely manner. Good or bad, all feedback needs to be addressed."

A 2011 Harvard Biz Review report found positive reviews for restaurants boosted business as much as 5%. What does this report, or any other report regarding the importance of Yelp reviews have to do with you and posting on social sites. As it turns out - a lot.

Bottom line - Reviews, posts and comments tell you how people are perceiving you and your brand. The fact is - good or bad - what you post, how it's written, the voice you use, all help provide a picture of you and/or your brand, how it functions, what it cares about; even how it can be expected to treat customers, potential clients and candidates.

"Social media is all about impressions" says entrepreneur Neal Shaeffer. "When a Facebook “friend”, for instance, "says something positive about a product or service, you are more likely to check it out. Conversely, if they say something negative, you will probably take their comments into serious consideration."

What good is social if you don't know how it's affecting you and/or your business, marketing efforts or candidate search? None. That said, you should know what people, posters, fans and followers are saying. "It's important to investigate the validity of the negative comment and address it immediately", says Bullas.

Monitoring your social sites, on a regular basis helps determine what your audience responds to and on the other hand what they ignore. Monitoring can provide insightful info to help you plan future comments, posts and content. Furthermore, says Bullas, "This can really provide insight into your customers (clients and candidates) behavior".

Social Tip #6 - What Social Media Platform is Best for You?

According to Matt Bailey, President of SiteLogic, it depends on what your plan for intended outcome is.

In the recent Marketing Sherpa webinar for Eloqua ‘Stop Wasting Time and Money on Social Media’, Bailey says "How you use a medium will greatly determine the interaction that you can develop through that medium".

Ask yourself these 4 questions before choosing a platform. Is my plan to:

* Raise brand visibility? * Educate potential candidates? * Reach out to job seekers with job info; get response? * Keep job seekers engaged with content, company culture info?

Regarding blogs (also considered social platforms) says Baily, "It’s ideal (a blog) for communicating high-trust content. … I love that ability of communicating clear information and providing a great network of resources,” he says.

Social Tip #7 – Utilize Good Keywords to Capture a Top Candidate’s Attention

Keywords isn't about overwhelming your content with words to catch Google’s attention or rattle their cage. It's about adding specific words into posts, sites and content. Words which best represent a job you’re hiring for or your brand. These must be those Keywords which easily resonate with the candidate (audience) you intend to reach. For example – you’re hiring for someone in the marketing/advertising department. There’s no doubt there are a variety of unique Keywords which reflect that particular job. Not sure what they are? Do some research on LinkedIn to discover Keywords other companies are using. Or use a good keyword search tool. There are a number of good ones available.

Adding these Keywords into the natural flow of all types of content - ads, blogs, sites, social posts, content - for example, will act like beacons. Grabbing the attention of and engaging individuals you specifically want to reach. Bottom line - the use of good Keywords cannot be over-stated or under rated when marketing to any audience – even job seekers.

Announcing – Social Media Marketing for HR Pros and Recruiters

The ultimate RX for HR Pros and Recruiters:

Discover How You Can Successfully Start Utilizing Social Media Marketing and

Social Networking to Hire, Connect, Engage and Write Like a Pro.And Good News -

Get it Directly From Social Pros Who Can Provide the Road Map to Help you Confidently Navigate this Unique, New World.

Don't miss this Launch! Sign up now and we'll email you info on how to get in on the ground floor of this hot, new group. Plus we’ll send you the Free Report: “10 Hot Marketing Tips From the Social Pros”.

More info: jean@womensmarketingandbusinessnetwork.com www.getyourbuzzon.com is a division of WMBN