Social Recruiting for Growing Companies

Social Recruiting for Growing CompaniesSocial Recruiting for Growing CompaniesSocial Recruiting for Growing Companies ConlanIf yours is a smaller company, you may have felt the heat to compete for talent like the big guyscompanies with larger recruiting resources to recruit top talent. If so, theres some good news.Social recruiting can give the perfect candidate the means to find growing businesses like yours.Social media recruiting has become one of the easiest ways to reach qualified applicants and share a variety of messages about your brand in a world where media is more fragmented than ever, says Michelle LeBlanc, director of content at Fuseideas.Heres how growing companies like yours can get the most out of social recruiting.Find Your Target AudienceYou may have already imagined the perfect person for the job as part of your hiring process. Now think about where a person with those attributes might look for a job, LeBlanc says.Talk to your current employees both about the kinds of social media content they like and what drew them to the job in the first place, says LeBlanc. These insights can help guide you on the kind of content you should develop and where you should post it, she says.You might be surprised by their answers, says Katrina Collier, a social recruiting expert at The Searchologist, based in London. People tend to use a variety of social media platforms, and job seekers might elend be looking on the ones you consider the most obvious.People who are tired of being contacted by recruiters but who still want to cultivate an online profile may be spending more time on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, so dont assume those channels wont help you.Today, companies are social platform likeTwitter for recruiting. Theyreposting jobs, sourcing candidatesand engaging applicants who are alreadyon the platform.Additionally, the Pew Research Center publishes information about social media usage, says Crystal Miller, CEO and principal strategist at Dallas-bas ed Branded Strategies, a recruitment marketing agency. Pew breaks down demographics and can help you pinpoint which channel might be most effective for your efforts, she says.Develop a Story that Engages SeekersThe content your company posts on its social media accounts articles, photos, videos and other content should tell a kind of story narrative. These communications can provide seekers with valuable information from the latest industry insights to a behind-the-scenes view of your company culture that demonstrates your employer brand. The Ive got a job and Im hiring line doesnt do much anymore, Miller says. Instead, communicate what the role entails and why its important, she says. This narrative can also be a kind of test for growing companies, she says If youre unable to articulate what the role is and why your company needs it, you may need to go back to the drawing board.The objective give visitors a clear idea of the how and why of working at your company. To a hire purc hasing agent, for example, your initial posts might highlight the importance of reducing overhead at your company, Miller says. Next, show what a day in that job might look like. Then show how you have fun at work, and maybe later something about social responsibility, she says.Sharing photos and videos of people working at your company creates excitement around the opportunities you offer, Collier says. Its about presenting your company in a way that makes people want to be a part of it.Customize Content for the Major PlatformsPeople expect different content on different platforms, so target carefully. Video, visuals, memes and humor will play well on Facebook, but might feel off on more business-oriented sites where long-form text or conversational tactics work better, LeBlanc says. Quick, humorous text and GIFs are great for Twitter, she says.It can be helpful to think of Facebook as community-based or an after work mixer for candidates, says Emily Ceskavich, social media special ist at ExploriaResorts.Also, remember that Facebooks algorithm favors native video and live video more than other platforms do.Empower Employees to Serve as Brand AmbassadorsWhen employees participate in social recruiting, tap into their networks and generate new interest and leads for your brand. Ask them what they like about their job and what life is like at your company, Miller says. Employees can provide ideas and perspectives that differ from yours as the owner and can help make your postings more authentic.Then, encourage them to post on their own profiles about what its like to work at your company. Dont be afraid to have them share their challenges of working at your growing company on social media, as those insights can be compelling to some applicants, Miller says.If youre in a high-growth mode, you need someone whos OK with change and not a lot of structure. Find out how employees are handling that and create stories around those challenges and successes, she says.Measur e Your EffortsIf youre using social media for marketing, chances are youre already tracking impressions and engagement for different posts. You can use the same approach for your recruiting posts as well.At Industrium, we use coded URLs for our clients that can carry data through to fields in an employment application so we can see which efforts are working, LeBlanc says.Running a survey can also be useful to understand brand awareness, which you can use as a benchmark over time. This obviously is more costly, but can be helpful to better understand your audience and the challenges you may face in your field, she says.Above all, be flexible, as you may find that some efforts work better than others.If you see your audience responding to certain activities while others fall flat, then use the data and feedback you gather to refine your strategy,Ceskavich says. Just like testing out different recruiting approaches, youll need to test which approaches and content elicit the response yo ure looking for from the candidates in your target market.

Black Friday shopping is changing in the digital age

Black Friday shopping is changing in the digital ageBlack Friday shopping is changing in the digital ageAmericans across the country have been getting emails this week promising holiday deals you dont want to miss, or teasing everything inside is on sale. Though these clickbait spam emails are definitely annoying, they may indicate a wider trend in pre-holiday shopping.The Friday after Thanksgiving has almost become a holiday in its own right many offices take it off to give employees a four-day weekend. But unlike Thanksgiving - a celebration focused on gratitude and family - Black Friday has garnered a reputation for drastic action and even violence.For decades, shoppers have considered Black Friday to be synonymous with deals. They have camped out for days to be the first to access a particular sale, and every year it seems retail stores are opening their doors that much earlier to beat out competitors for Black Friday traffic, which now starts on Thursday.These fiercely competi tive environments are breeding grounds for chaos and rage. In fact, there is a website dedicated to documenting deaths and injuries that can be attributed to Black Friday fanaticism. Given how crazy Black Friday can get, it may be really good news to hear that some of that frenzy is being directed online, where no one can be shot or trampled. Heres a look at how Internet traffic is changing Black Friday into Black November.A month-long saleLast year, 7 mio more people shopped only online than only in stores during the holiday weekend after Thanksgiving, according to the National Retail Federation. But 64 million people did both, meaning that companies who used online platforms and physical storefronts were the real winners of Black Friday.This year, the National Retail Federation expects164 million people to shop throughout the weekend. If last year is any indication, a majority of those consumers will spend at least some of their time online, and a good number will avoid the crowds at stores altogether.This means holiday shoppers can expect less stifling environments this Black Friday, and perhaps fewer stampedes?Part of that is because of how companies are rolling out their Black Friday sales. Many of the major retailers have been running deals all week, or even all month. Early access sales have become the new norm, advertising the sale *before* the sale.All told, Black Friday has entered the technological age, where one day matters less but promotions still matter just as much. That said, Friday itself is expected to attract 116 million shoppers, and its still at the forefront of Americans minds when they think about holiday shopping. Some of that is tradition, some of it sheer boredom over the holiday weekend. But mainly, its because as Americans, were always fond of a deal.

6 Ways Youre Making Yourself Miserable at the Office

6 Ways Youre Making Yourself Miserable at the Office6 Ways Youre Making Yourself Miserable at the OfficeFeeling a little grouchy? There could be a reason that mid-level manager in marketing is irritating you to no end and the customer who just called has put you on edge. Staying productive at work is sometimes challenging enough, but your mood could be influenced by a few of these environmental, ergonomic, and health-related causes. Change these variables and you might see an uptick in your overall happiness during the day.1. Choosing to Always Email Instead of Calling or Meeting in PersonStudies have shown that email can cause stress. It turns out some of us might even stop breathing when we read and process email. Theres also something about the flickering light from a laptop screen, the hyper-focus on digital data on your phone, and the fact that our brains need to see multiple levels of perspective and not just one during the day (if you must know, its called a lack of sensory dy namism).Give yourself a break. By walking over to the desk of a co-worker or picking up the phone, youll avoid being locked into email.2. Working With the Lights DimmedWorking in a low-light situation works fine for videographers and photographers, who need to the screen to pop a bit mora as they make fine edits. Were not all Photoshop gurus. If you spend most of your day with the lights dimmed, it can make you depressed. I like this study from way back in 2008 that found our brains need a shock of light to help curb depression. Ironically, when you pull that blind in your office to get more work done, you are probably inhibiting your productivity. Let the sun shine in Grab one of these air and light sensors to see if you need to bump up the brightness in the room.3. Keeping Your Desk Perfectly Straightened and CleanedTake a close look at your desk right now. Do you see a white or brown desk with nothing on it but a laptop and a monitor? Oh, maybe you have a coffee cup and a notepad , but otherwise you like to keep things as clean as a plate after washing the dishes. Bad idea. Having absolutely nothing on your desk is not an organizational technique, its just depressing. Go ahead and add a few knick-knacks like a flower pot, a few pictures of the kids, or maybe a Stormtrooper statue. Youll feel more inspired.4. Leaving at the Same Time Every DayIts true that, in many professions, you are required to leave promptly at 5 PM. I get that. For office workers, thats rarely the case. If you are so rigid about your schedule that you always leave at 430 or 6 PM every day, you might be missing out. Leave early once in a while and go for a stroll in a nearby park. Stay late and shoot the breeze with someone from accounting. Hey, you might become fast friends.5. Drinking Coffee When What You Really Crave is WaterIm mentioning this one from personal experience, so I wont get into the science. Im a coffee fanatic, and I use the magic elixir to pump up my spirits and give me a boost to work harder. Im not about to change my strategy.Yet, fremdartig from the health issues, its often true that what Im really craving is water. In the end, sipping water throughout the day can re-hydrate you and give you a better boost in the long run.6. Finishing Every Item on Your Task ListWant to get yourself into a funk and feel even more down? Make sure you always finish everything on your task list every day. Be completely rigid about it even if you have to stay late or arrive early. What happens when you finish every task is that you become hardened to the cold reality of your task list that dictates your every move rather than, ironically, getting more work done. The truth is, not every task is worth completing. Its better to prioritize your work and finish the important tasks.mora From Inc.What Pop Tarts Can Teach You About LeadershipStop Reading and Start Learning How to Absorb Information BetterHeres the Language You Need to Say No NicelyPhoto of sad face courtesy of Shutterstock.