The State of Social Media Recruiting [Infographic]

A few years ago, just being on social media would have been enough to give your company an edge over the competition when it came to recruiting. But today, using social media to recruit candidates is par for the course. Now the question is: How do you use it most effectively?

According to a recent survey by The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), certain social media channels are more influential than others. LinkedIn was voted the most effective platform for recruiting by a landslide. Facebook came in second at 24 percent, and professional or association websites came in third with 12 percent.

While the general rank of the platforms isn't entirely surprising, the wide gaps in effectiveness are something to consider when investing resources in social media. As a professional networking site, LinkedIn is prime for recruiters: in fact, most of its $2.2 billion dollars in annual revenue in 2015 came from fees paid by recruiters to access information about the site's users.

SHRM's survey also found that most people are open to new job opportunities, but will only pursue them if directly contacted—one of the attractions of social media for recruiters. The endless channels (read: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram) makes it easier than ever for recruiters to connect with qualified "passive" job candidates. It also gives HR professionals the opportunity to not only expand their applicant pool, but to target specific individuals for vacancies that are time sensitive or tough to fill.

So why hasn't everyone made the switch? Concerns about legal risks (45 percent) and lack of HR staff time to dedicate to social media (46 percent) are among the top concerns for companies who do not currently use social media, according to the SHRM survey.

Incorporating sites like LinkedIn and Facebook into your recruitment strategy can have a big impact on your ability to recruit top talent. The report advises HR professionals who feel they lack resources or are unfamiliar with recruiting through social media to consider low-cost options or training measures to increase your organizations online presence. Social media as a recruiting tool isn't going anywhere, so if you haven't already, it's time to join the crowd online.

Header photo credit: Creative Commons