Blog Layout

A practical guide to using social media in recruitment

Lisa East • Jul 27, 2022

A practical guide to using social media in recruitment 

Using social media in recruitment has become standard to extend the reach of job vacancies and look for suitable candidates online. It gives you a direct line to people and makes qualifying roles easier and quicker. 


Unfortunately, some recruiters on social media platforms such as LinkedIn can get a bad rep. This happens when recruitment companies use the platform in the wrong way. You often see complaints when recruiters are hounding people with impersonal messages. Another problem is employers feel their best talent could be approached.


But there is a right way to use social media in recruitment! 


We don’t want you to be a recruitment company people shy away from, so here’s a practical guide to make the most out of your social platforms by building credibility in your industry. For help creating genuine relationships and delivering a quality service, read on… 


Example social media content for recruiters 

Ultimately, recruitment companies, like you, are there to develop strong teams to help businesses to scale. Growing the business and being more profitable comes down to having the right people in place – and it’s your job to get that right. The best way to approach using social media as a recruiter is to showcase the value you add to client businesses’ growth. 


There are different types of content you can share as a recruitment company to your social media platforms to maximise your success. 


  • Growth content – presenting yourself as an industry expert by giving away free information to increase your audience
  • Nurture content – building relationships by explaining your process and sharing testimonials to get your audience to know, like, and trust you 
  • Money content – persuading people to take the next step in working with you 


Ideally, you want to use a mixture of these three social media content types to cover different aspects of your business, your values, and how you help people. Target all your social media content to your ideal client profile. 


Covering these topics in a 40/40/20 split (respectively) will build authority, trust, and credibility within your network. It opens a dialogue with your connections/followers and gives you an opportunity to create meaningful business relationships.



Growth content examples for social media in recruitment 

Think of this as sharing your thoughts on industry news, showcasing your expert recruitment knowledge, and giving away handy tips. The free advice should be useful to your ideal client and answer their key pain points. 


Examples would include sharing tip sheets about how you can ease your growing client’s recruitment gaps. List top recommendations for attracting great recruitment candidates. When businesses are expanding and need help with recruitment, explain the process of how this works.


Discuss your point of view about how industry-related news affects your audience and ideal client base. This could include topical conversations around how the ‘big resignation’ affects companies and how you advise they deal with it. Share how you feel about popular industry trends and respond to what other experts are saying in their social media content. 


This social media content can also be used to encourage downloading a free industry-related lead magnet and creating a funnel to capture your prospect’s data for email marketing. 



Nurture content examples for social media in recruitment 


This type of social media content is meant to nurture your existing audience to build credibility. For social media in recruitment, use this to share success stories. Showing your audience reviews, customer case studies, and testimonials of how you’ve helped grow a client’s team. 


Use the nurture content to show your personality and tell personal stories. Explain why your background makes you a great recruitment company to work with. Share personal stories from favourite moments in your career. Tell your audience what your hobbies/interests outside of work are. Be friendly and don’t be afraid to show your personality! 




Money content examples for social media in recruitment 

The term money content is not simply for direct sales, but more to nudge people to find out more about working together. Your money content should encourage connections to enter your funnel. 


Example call to actions (CTA) in your social media include – 

  • Talk to our team 
  • Book a discovery call 
  • Get a free quote today 


After these events take place, you can take them outside of the social media platform to your database or CRM. This means you can reach out and nurture them until they’re ready to engage your services.


Engaging on other people’s social media content 

Sometimes, it can be hard to know where to start when it comes to engaging with others. As a recruiter, you can connect with a variety of people and see a broad range of posts in your feed. So, how do you know which ones to interact with? 


When commenting and liking social media posts, it’s an opportunity to showcase your knowledge and personality. Engage with anything that resonates with you – whether that’s to do with your industry, values, location, services, or customer pain points. 


Not every comment has to be related to the recruitment industry. Show support to people in your network and they’ll notice your profile, being inclined to reciprocate kind words. If you read a personal story you can relate to, share your perspective. 


Be careful to offer a balanced viewpoint and avoid any strong political or religious topics. Staying neutral on some subjects will make sure you’re not offending anyone in your network. 


FACT: Did you know admin of your company LinkedIn page can now engage as themselves and also as the company - in their home feed? By doing both you can get your recruitment company name out there in front of more people in a more conversational way. 

Watch my video here to see how easy it is.


Using LinkedIn as a recruiter 

LinkedIn is by far the best way to use social media in recruitment. First create an All-Star profile and start posting content to build a personal brand and be yourself on LinkedIn. Then post regular growth, nurture, and money content, tailored to your target client and your success rates are guaranteed to rise. 


Hopefully, using social media in recruitment feels less daunting now! For people who want personalised support using LinkedIn, The Thinking Cap’s new course LINGO is perfect for you. 



How you can improve your visual communications in marketing your business
By Lisa East 15 Apr, 2024
On paper, you may well have all the bases covered in terms of providing information and a good experience for your clients, but if your visual communication in marketing isn’t coherent and polished, it can undermine all the positive messaging around your branding and product. Read our article to see where we can help.
Our blog will help one-service brands keep their social media fresh when it starts looking 'samey'
By Lisa East 18 Mar, 2024
To keep your social media marketing fresh for single-service/product brands, you need to understand your audience and address their needs with interactive content. Share customer reviews and behind-the-scenes insights, and engage with industry-related topics and other accounts. At The Thinking Cap, we specialise in refreshing social media strategies tailored to your brand.
Why using customer feedback in marketing is your new superpower
By Lisa East 22 Feb, 2024
Implementing customer feedback not only enhances the customer journey and experience, but in turn will also boost your marketing efforts. Being customer-centric in marketing means prioritising the needs, preferences, and experiences of the people you serve
By Lisa East 06 Feb, 2024
Why your business needs a marketing team with creative flair It’s no secret that most marketing is now done online, and many businesses are looking for an external marketing team to help them to see the wood for the trees when it comes to their online presence. My top recommendation is to find yourself a marketing team with creative flair. 
The Thinking Cap started working with Leeds-based Hemingway Tailors as their social media partners.
By Lisa East 27 Jan, 2024
Read our case study to see how we elevated a simple tailored products into a quirky loveable tongue-in-cheek social media campaign. Which really helped our Leeds-based tailor gain traction and brand awareness and really got people talking about the Hemingway Tailors’ brand'.
We delve into how we became instrumental marketing partners for Holmeshaw Property Investment
By Lisa East 26 Jan, 2024
In the competitive landscape of property investment, Leeds-based Holmeshaw sought to elevate its brand presence and solidify its position in the market. Enter The Thinking Cap, a dynamic marketing agency renowned for its innovative strategies and client-centric approach. This case study delves into how The Thinking Cap became instrumental marketing partners for Holmeshaw, driving transformative results and shaping a new era of success.
Creating effective business social media not just fluff!
By Lisa East 19 Dec, 2023
There are huge opportunities for companies to market themselves to new audiences and play to their strengths using effective business social media accounts
Keeping social media social… to make sure your marketing stands out from the crowd
By Lisa East 14 Nov, 2023
Social media is named social media because of its huge ability to bring people together and bring connection in a fractured world. This means that as well as giving individuals a place to keep in touch with friends and family, social media offers huge opportunities to brands too, who can display their personality and company culture by showing the human side of their company to the world.
How bringing in a marketing team will give your company a fresh perspective
By Lisa East 23 Oct, 2023
Many businesses find it difficult to raise their profile, and growing companies in particular may not consider it a viable option to bring in a marketing team, opting instead to manage their marketing strategy themselves. We’re a husband-wife team with decades of experience in marketing and social media for both small and large businesses across the world, including blue-chip companies such as Barclays and Lloyds, as well as Nike and can help.
9 common content marketing hurdles every business owner faces
By Lisa East 19 Sep, 2023
If you’re coming across some frustrating content marketing hurdles when trying to generate more leads and business, know this: you’re not alone. Almost every business owner will face at least one (but usually more) of these common challenges. Let’s run through what they are – and how to solve them.
More Posts

I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post.

If you’d like further help, let’s jump on a call and have a chat.

Share by: