Social media: Build connections to find employees

A. Social media provides an excellent way for companies to promote their message and engage with fans in a way that builds customer loyalty and directly supports marketing. But social media can help your company in many ways beyond just marketing. Are you ready to use social media for recruiting?

If so, join the crowd. According to the Jobvite Social Recruiting Survey 2012, 92% of recruiters currently use or plan to use social media to recruit employees; 93% recruit on LinkedIn; 66% recruit on Facebook; and 54% search for employees using Twitter.

Recruiters who used social media also reported several benefits, including 49% saw an increase in quantity of candidates; 43% reported an increase in quality of candidates; 20% reported it took less time to hire; and 31% saw an increase in employee referrals.

The target audience of social media marketing is one that both understands and is interested in the HME industry. Often, the traits that make these people engaged are the same traits that would make them excellent employees. With its focus on business professionals, LinkedIn is an excellent venue for social recruiting, but so are Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

For LinkedIn, I recommend starting your search by building connections to people you know. This could include former co-workers, manufacturers, suppliers and even friends/ family. You should also join related industry groups. Once a member of the group(s), find ways to begin discussions with members, as well as post job opportunities. Notice the people who are active in the group. Are they always asking questions and answering other questions? They might be the people you hone in on for job opportunities.

Dave Bargmann is a social media consultant with Duckridge Advisors. He can be reached at dbargmann@live.com.