A Practical Guide to Recruiting on Social Media

Social media has become an essential tool for recruiters. Indeed, more and more of us are using it not only in our personal lives but also in the professional sphere. And HR and recruitment departments are no exception. They, too, are increasingly incorporating social media into their talent acquisition campaigns.

In this article, we answer all the questions Talent Acquisition Managers might have: Are social media platforms really effective for recruiting? Which platform should you focus on first? How can you stand out from other companies?

Let's take stock right now ⤵️

Recruiting on social media—what is it all about?

If someone mentions Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn, it’s a safe bet that you’re already familiar with those names. And for good reason! According to a study by Talkwalker, 80% of the French population is active on at least one social media platform. What’s more, the average daily time spent on these platforms exceeds 1 hour and 30 minutes.

It is against this backdrop of interconnectedness that recruiters have sought to stand out from the crowd. Given these figures, the potential for growth is virtually limitless.

There are many benefits to recruiting on social media. We’ve chosen to focus on the top 5 reasons to incorporate social media into a recruitment strategy.

But before that, why not check out our case studies?

5 Good Reasons to Use Social Media for Recruitment

Using social media as part of your recruitment strategy is a must. You know it. We know it. But we invite you to take it a step further and discover the five reasons why social media is a real game-changer for your company.

1. Reach a large number of candidates

As the École du Recrutement often says, “being a candidate is not a job”—in other words, not everyone is a candidate by nature. Generally speaking, we distinguish between active candidates (those who apply for jobs and are actively looking for work) and passive candidates (those who are simply keeping an eye out for opportunities). The advantage of social media is that it broadens the initial search pool.

By sharing information about your internal opportunities, your employer brand, and industry insights, you’ll attract candidates who might not normally apply. This also applies to “active” candidates who wouldn’t typically take the initiative to visit your career site. Having a presence on social media is therefore a way to build trust with candidates.

2. Boost Your Discoverability Potential

We can't stress this enough. Social media is an absolutely essential channel for visibility, regardless of the size of your company. By posting regularly on these platforms, you capture the attention of potential candidates. And you don't have to be a large corporation to establish your presence and attract the attention of candidates.

3. Stand out from the competition

Social media is a highly effective way to set yourself apart from the competition and stand out as a unique company. It also allows you to give a human face to your organization and your teams, which strengthens your employer brand. 70% of recruiters already use social media for recruitment (source: Apec). Younger generations expect companies to adapt to today’s norms. If you want to be seen as an “innovative company,” we can work together to determine the best strategy for your needs. Written job postings need to be updated.

Why not break the mold by showcasing your opportunities on TikTok or by adopting a more offbeat or direct tone?

4. Find new candidates who are not or rarely active on job boards or LinkedIn

When we think of online recruitment, the terms “resume databases,” “job postings,” and “LinkedIn” come to mind first. However, there are plenty of other avenues to explore. Each social media platform has its own conventions and unique features. It’s a vast playground for finding candidates who aren’t very active on more “traditional” channels. Everyone uses social media, regardless of their profession or educational background. In other words, by expanding your search channels, you also increase your ability to broaden your talent pool and, as a result, find that rare gem more quickly.

5. To complement Inbound Recruiting

This is a comprehensive strategy based primarily on employer branding and the creation of rich content. Its goal is to raise awareness of the company, its values, and its strengths, but above allto attract and recruit the best candidates —who will become its future talented employees, motivated to help the company grow. (Digitaweb)

Having a social media presence is a way to attract visitors and turn them into active candidates who are excited about your company’s potential. This means you no longer have to go out and look for candidates—they’ll naturally come to you. And that’s what every company dreams of.

Why is it important to have a presence on all social media platforms when recruiting?

At Bonanza, we don’t want to be biased when it comes to our clients’ choice of social media platforms. Our policy is to follow a “test and learn” approach to maximize effectiveness. This approach involves keeping all options open by testing all platforms and then optimizing your job ads based on the results obtained on each social media platform.

To give you a clearer picture—and perhaps dispel a few misconceptions— let’s take a closer look at the strengths and unique features of each social media platform. If I told you that Facebook is still the most widely used platform, would you believe me? You should know that this platform is a powerful tool for generating applications; that’s what we’ve observed in our campaigns.

And if you'd like to test the power of social media for your campaigns, just let us know!

Recruiting on Instagram

Instagram is known as a highly engaging social network. As proof, it generates 10 times more interactions than Facebook. Another plus: it ranks among the top three platforms in terms of monthly active users in France (22 million), just behind Facebook and YouTube. Visual content (photos and videos) plays a prominent role on the platform.

Recruiting on Facebook

Facebook is undoubtedly THE most well-known social network in the world thanks to its long history. Forty million French users log in regularly, making it the largest pool of potential candidates for recruiters. Yet many companies are still hesitant to use it.

Recruiting on TikTok

TikTok is a social media platform that’s exploding in popularity. The numbers are skyrocketing! Nearly 15 million regular users in France every month. It offers virtually endless possibilities for creativity, but above all, it provides ways to break down the barrier between recruiters and candidates.

Recruiting on Snapchat

People aged 15–34 are particularly fond of this platform, as 70% of them use it daily. In fact, this platform has surpassed Instagram in terms of user numbers; however, many companies are still hesitant to use it for advertising campaigns.

Recruiting on Twitter

Twitter delivers real-time information. It is the ultimate social network for monitoring trends, and that’s what the 16.8 million French people who log in to the platform every month appreciate. Fifty percent of active Twitter users monitor industry trends on the platform, and one-third of users keep an eye on the market. In other words, this network is a prime destination for recruiters looking for that rare gem.

Let's discuss the strategy that best suits your needs.

What are the steps to follow when launching a recruitment campaign?

The first step is to identify your target audience and the campaign that will help you reach them. We’ll walk you through the entire process you need to follow to ensure the success of your social media recruitment campaign.

1. How to Successfully Target Your Audience

Social media is all about defining your target audience. In other words, defining your target audience is an absolute must. You need to create a detailed profile of your ideal candidate and put yourself in their shoes. This step will also allow you to choose the most effective strategy based on the criteria you’ve selected.

2. Set SMART goals

This step helps you set specific and realistic goals. For example, if you choose to pursue a goal of brand awareness, the metrics you should track will be different from those you would use if your goal were to generate qualified candidates. Once you’ve defined your goals, you’ll need to set your performance thresholds—that is, your KPIs—to measure your progress against them.

Some examples of KPIs:

• Ad click-through rate
• Networks that generate the most candidates
• Visuals that generate the most engagement
• The cost per lead
• The Cost of a Qualified Candidate
• Number of applications received

3. Involve your internal teams

Social media offers an opportunity to promote your company’s image and enhance customer relationships, as well as a chance for your employees to expand their professional networks. To be effective, your strategy must align with the goals you’ve set. It is therefore essential that all members of your team be involved to facilitate the implementation of a coherent social media strategy. This is known as the internal employer brand ambassador strategy. Your employees then become your spokespersons on social media and share your messages. You can encourage them, train them, and recognize them for their efforts.

4. Making Good Use of Your Time

In the world of social media, timing is key. You need to be present and active to communicate with your candidates and build your reputation and brand image. An effective strategy requires proper time management to meet candidates’ expectations and make them want to accept your offers. To do this, you need to analyze your key metrics and regularly take a step back to assess both your successes and your failures. By adjusting your efforts, you’ll be able to optimize your future recruitment campaigns.

5. Take Care of Your Candidates

Implementing a social media strategy is pointless if you are unable to respond promptly to candidates who apply for job openings or who want more information. This requires planning ahead and perhaps automating certain tasks to ensure a quick and appropriate response.

What mistakes should you avoid on social media?

When we talk about social media, we often discuss best practices. We’ve decided to list the three mistakes to avoid when recruiting on social media.

1. Thinking that recruitment is limited to younger generations

It’s true that the younger generation is very active on social media, but at the same time, social media is used by all generations, including seniors. You should therefore tailor your recruitment strategy to the different audiences you’re targeting.

2. Don't take social media too seriously

Building a social media presence can’t be done on the fly—it’s essential to have a solid strategy and take the time to develop it. That’s the mission we’ve set for ourselves at Bonanza: to support you on social media and help you tap into this vast pool of talent. If you’re just getting started with online advertising, we can help you launch your first campaigns. If you’re more experienced, we can help you generate a high volume of qualified candidates. No matter your level, we have solutions to offer you.

3. Getting started without defining an overall recruitment strategy

It’s essential to define your recruitment strategy before diving into social media; otherwise, you risk wasting your time and getting disappointing results. Social media is certainly a very powerful tool for achieving your recruitment goals, but it remains just one part of the HR equation. It seems difficult to succeed without a targeting strategy, a recruitment plan, clear positioning, and a vibrant company culture.

What We Can Do for You in Practical Terms

We help you unlock your recruitment potential on social media in three steps:

• We advise you on defining the scope of the target audience, campaign, or hiring need
• We turn your offers into images or videos to make them suitable for social media
• We automatically post and optimize your job postings using the Bonanza tool to attract candidates who meet your needs.
• We pre-screen candidates to ensure they meet your criteria 100%

Our tool is designed to be intuitive so it can adapt to your organization’s needs. In fact, it has earned the satisfaction of many companies, which recommend us to others.
Our team of experts guides you through the entire process—from scoping and campaign launch to regular reporting—to train you and help you optimize your campaign.

Shall we launch your first campaign together?