Video: Surprising Social Media Recruiting Statistics

Think social media recruiting is only hype? Jason Ginsburg explains just how popular - and effective -  it really is.

Thanks to my Curators and Creators - From Your #1 LinkedIn Voyeur

Last summer, Pew Internet Research reported that 46% of adult internet users were Creators; that is, they have shared photos and videos that they've created. 41% are Curators; they've reposted, retweeted or repackaged information that they've found online. 32% are Creators/Curators.

I presume it also implies that 54% are Internet Voyeurs -- neither posters nor creators. And while I don't fall into that category (I'm in the 32% batch), I have been getting a tremendous amount of inspiration from my LinkedIn network of generous professional friends, many of whom I've never actually met or spoken with. 

Today I want to thank:

Kate Billing

We've never met but share a passion for branding and bagels. Your updates  about leadership, happiness, and inspiration are always uplifting and I'm sure you are too. Also loved this great video about putting purpose into marketing (imagine that?).  I promise to get together on my next trip to New Zealand.

Debbie Laskey

According to my inbox, we're actually celebrating a 2-year anniversary of connecting.  Your updates are tailor-made for me. From the hottest trends in digital marketing to matching a consumer brand with a consumer experience, I'm always clicking, reading, and agreeing. Please keep it up.

And thanks to Michelle Sybert for this image!

Davar Azarbeygui
You made my morning with your share of TBWA Transforms Briefs into Art, from Branding Magazine. Inspiration is everywhere and today you brought me mine.

Pat Wadors

Finally, someone I actually know. Making The Most Of Your "Aha!" Moment was a fun read. I can only hope I have more of them because those gamma activities are the foundation of Brandemix's creative currency.

A friend recently wrote that thinking doesn't start when you arrive at the office and end when you go home. It starts when you wake up and continues when you read the news, when you look around, when you read books and blogs. It doesn't even stop when you go to bed. You dream your job. That's how you become great.

So thanks for all my #1 LinkedIn connections for helping me be great every day.

Free Webinar: Socialize Your Healthcare/Non-Profit Recruitment

This inside look at best practices from hospitals, healthcare organizations, and non-profits will be presented on Wednesday, March 13, at 2 pm EDT/11 am PDT.

Register for free here!

Free Webinar: Socialize Your Talent Strategy

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Social Media DON'Ts

I’ve told you about Social Media Superstars and various best practices – but what about worst practices? What are some tactics to completely avoid?

Here are some of my personal pet peeves for each major social network. Think of them as social media don’ts.

Twitter

Ignoring questions and comments. Twitter, like all social media, is supposed to be a dialogue – that’s the “social” part. Only broadcasting and never replying is almost like shouting continuously. Everyone can see that your Twitter stream has no @mentions or retweets and they’ll know it’s pointless to communicate with you before they even try.

Facebook

Not using all the features. Believe it or not, some brands post only text and links. The Photos tab is empty, or maybe has their logo as a default. And don’t forget that Facebook allows you post videos, as well. In fact, you can have 10 custom Facebook tabs. Use them! Tabs can be used for posting jobs, holding contests, or creating interactive experiences. Look what Coca-Cola offers, for example.

YouTube

We make a lot of videos here at Brandemix, so my pet peeves are production-based. Bad lighting and bad sound absolutely ruin videos for me. So are videos that stretch three minutes of content into ten minutes of agony. And some people don’t understand the concept of a second take, stammering their way through a presentation. Take the time to do videos right or else they may go viral for all the wrong reasons.

LinkedIn

If you’re in a LinkedIn Group, please add to the conversation and comment on others’ posts before posting a blatant advertisement for your services. Yes, we’re all on LinkedIn for business purposes, but that doesn’t mean civility and etiquette don’t apply.

Pinterest
Maybe it’s just me, but I’m not a fan of Pinterest accounts that only repin others’ pins. To me, it’s like only retweeting on Twitter and never posting something original. You don’t have to be an artist or designer to have access to some kind of visual collateral. Post photos of your office, or your employees, or your neighborhood. Do you have a pet? One category that never fails for me: dogs wearing sweaters.

Those are the worst offenders for each of the major social networks. Google Plus suffers from the same problem as Facebook, and Instagram abounds with the same poor production quality as YouTube.

What are your social media pet peeves? Have any examples? We’d love to see them.

And, of course, if you’re having trouble achieving social media best practices, we’re happy to help.

How to Use Facebook's Social Graph for Recruiting

The Week's Most Important HR Tweets

I follow lots of influential HR, recruiting, and employer branding professionals on Twitter. They’re a great daily resource of developments in talent acquisition and retention. I retweet as many of these insights as I can, but it’s impossible to keep up with the constant stream of news. So I thought I’d take this opportunity to share some of this week’s most important HR tweets.

Tom Bolt, the popular and prolific CEO of Leute Management Services, joined a number of other HR professionals in tweeting about the article, “Five Ways to Get The Most From LinkedIn in 2013.” The article, written by Certified Professional Resume Writer Kelly Donovan, reminds job-seekers to use LinkedIn’s newest features, such as endorsements, projects, and videos and slide shows. Most intriguing was the idea of sending a follow-up letter after an interview via LinkedIn mail instead of email; it’s an idea being touted as “the new cover letter.” With this piece, Kelly highlights another way that LinkedIn is changing the entire job search experience.

I noticed lots of tweets about another “top five” article – this one by Meghan Casserly in Forbes, titled “The Top Five Reasons Employees Will Quit in 2013.” Meghan cites a survey from executive advisory firm CEB that named “stability” as the most important thing workers are looking for in a new employer: “It’s about going to a place that has its act together and can offer both long-term potential and stability.” The next four things employees look for are compensation, respect, health benefits, and work-life balance.

Lastly, professionals from many different business fields were tweeting Fast Company’s piece, “Secrets of America’s Happiest Companies.” In this fascinating article, Lydia Dishman points out something we at Brandemix know all too well: that disengaged employees cost their companies money – in fact, a total of $350 billion a year. The article is based on CareerBliss’ 50 Happiest Companies List, which offers some surprises. “Fun” companies like Disney and Google didn’t even make the top ten. #1 was Pfizer, followed by NASA, the Department of Defense, KBR, and Cisco.

Why? Lydia lists the “5 rules of employee happiness,” which include role mobility and having a meaningful impact on the world. The third rule focuses on employee recognition, which I always tell brands is important to workplace happiness. The fourth and fifth rules involve work-life balance and common-sense policies that make workers’ lives easier, not harder. If your company isn’t following at least a few of these rules, you may be hurting your bottom line more than you think.
 
For more thought-provoking HR tweets, be sure to follow Tom, Kelly, Meghan, and Lydia – along with Brandemix and my personal Twitter, of course. And if you know of more HR Twitters worth following, drop me a line.

Recruit on Social -- Because That's Where The Job-Seekers Are

Jobvite just released their annual Social Job-Seeker Survey, which tracks social media use by people looking for work. The changes from last year’s survey are eye-opening. They show that social media is now a major part of talent acquisition -- and will only keep growing.

Jobvite talked to more than 2,000 adults. 60% were currently employed and 86% had at least one social media profile. One item that grabbed my attention was that only 318 of the 1,266 workers were not open to a new job; that means more than 60% of employees are willing to leave their current workplace.

Let’s get to the numbers:

16% of respondents said an online social network directly led to their current or most recent job. In fact, 15% said they found their favorite or best job on Facebook.

Social media is becoming a search engine for job-seekers. 34% of respondents say they’ve used Twitter to find work. 38% have used LinkedIn, while 52% have used Facebook. I’ve heard people joke that they only visit LinkedIn when they’re looking for a job, but apparently half the country isn’t going even that often.

Speaking of Facebook, 14% of respondents said they specifically “searched for jobs” on the network. 20% said a contact shared a job opportunity on Facebook. 9% used it to research an employer before or during the application process; how does your organization’s Facebook Page look to job-seekers?

In fact, we can look at Facebook from the recruiter’s point of view. Jobvite recently asked recruiters about content they found on candidates’ Facebook profiles. Their answers may affect job-seekers everywhere.

78% of recruiters had negative reactions to content involving drug use. 66% didn’t like sexual content and 61% didn’t like profanity. Even if you’re a sober, chaste, polite employee, you should proofread your posts – 54% of recruiters had negative reactions to poor spelling and grammar.

Content that generated the most positive reactions? Anything involving volunteer work or donating (66%) and membership in a professional organization (80%).

It’s clear that job-seekers are using social media to connect with recruiters, employers, and each other. They’re researching companies before they apply and updating their profiles with professional information. They’re even starting to search for jobs directly on social sites, which should give Monster and CareerBuilder something to think about.

If you’re interested in joining this exciting trend and recruiting on social media, Brandemix has plenty of experience. We’d love to hear from you.