Social media serving a purpose at work

Love it or hate it, there is no denying, Social Media is a great way to reach a wider audience. More and more businesses are now turning to social media as a part of their recruitment strategy, but how effective is it?

Recently the 2012 Social Recruiting Activity Report from software firm Bullhorn, drew some interesting statistics on how effective Social Media is as part of a Social Media Strategy. More than 35,000 recruiters from around the world participated in the survey.

The report found that;

• LinkedIn drives three times more job views than Twitter and six times more than Facebook.
• LinkedIn drives nine times more applications than Facebook and three times more than Twitter.
• 48% of recruiters globally use only LinkedIn
• 21% use a combination of all three Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

So when would you use Social Media and how would it work?

According to LinkedIn's own data, there are now over 3 million LinkedIn users in Australia and 600,000 in New Zealand. 80% of all LinkedIn are passive job seekers, meaning they are not actively looking for work. This is a market of 2.4 million in Australia and 480,000 in New Zealand. A massive market that are not browsing online job boards.

So how can you as a recruiter or HR specialist tap into this market? Talent Propeller is working with clients to help build a profile on LinkedIn and help tap into this market. Managing Director, Sharon Ballantyne feels it is a great way for businesses to increase their reach. "The fact that 48% of recruiters globally use LinkedIn exclusively over other Social Media, is too hard to ignore," Sharon comments, "we need to make sure that we are giving our clients every opportunity to find the right talent."

Are there drawbacks? "Yes there are," replies Sharon, "when tapping into a passive market, you can always be a bit hit and miss, let's not forget that this is a market not actively looking for work. However if you can get a few really good quality candidates on tough roles on occasions, then it is all worth it."

If you would like to consider using LinkedIn as part of your recruitment strategy, contact Talent Propeller.