In a recent survey of 1,000 companies, Business Network International (BNI) explored the use of social media for SMEs. The findings revealed that they could be losing sales and damaging their reputation, with three quarters of business owners admitting to being ‘put off’ using organisations that have ‘misused’ online networks.
According to the results, there are three common mistakes being made; some businesses have profiles and accounts but fail to keep them updated with regular content, others post too many promotional messages, and a large proportion don’t engage at all. At webrecruit, we see huge value in social media, so what can HR take from this survey?
First of all, you need to get past the fear of online tools. Yes, by using them incorrectly, you could risk a disengaged audience. But if you don’t have any presence on these networks, you’re in danger of missing out when it comes to finding potential talent. Not only this, but you’ll be unable to react to any damaging comments – people will be online talking about your brand regardless of whether you’re on the platforms.
So if you’re yet to start using social media to engage with potential candidates, or you’re struggling to manage all of the channels, the best thing to do is to start small. It’s better to focus on one site and do it well rather than have all of the profiles set up with very little content on each. The key is to choose the right social platform depending on the audience you want to reach. For example, whilst LinkedIn is an obvious choice for recruitment, graduates often spend more time on Facebook so this might be the better choice for your company.
Over time you can then branch out in order to reach a wider audience. But remember it is important to keep each network regularly updated. At webrecruit, we recommend spending at least two hours a week on LinkedIn, tweeting twice a day, sharing three posts a week on Facebook, and blogging once a week. This may sound daunting at first, but remember that you can share activity across the sites. For example if you write a blog post, you can tweet it out and add it to your Facebook page.
As well as frequent posts, you need to make sure you’re sharing the right information. The content you provide shouldn’t be too promotional. Instead, focus on what potential candidates would be interested in, such as top tips and responses to big news stories. If you’re constantly writing irrelevant posts, you’ll lose followers which may have been future talent for your organisation.
Social media isn’t something you can afford to ignore anymore and, even if you are already using it, you may not be utilising the tools in the most effective way. It takes time and effort to be successful, and you shouldn’t expect to have hundreds of followers at once, but the important thing is not to give up too soon.
