Social media has become an undeniable force in recruitment in the last decade; whether you’ve had success in attracting and sourcing candidates, engaging with clients and existing candidates or branding your recruitment agency within the market.
However, despite the figures that support its resounding success, we often hear from our clients that one of their key challenges is targeting the right audience on the right channel and this comes down to identifying social media demographics.
Social Media 2017/2018
- 2.8 billion active social media users worldwide
- 37% global penetration
- +22% increase in last year
- 28% social media users are active on 1 site only, whereas 8% are active on 4 sites
If you thought 2017 was the year social media would finally slow down, you were very much mistaken. It has grown a huge 22% in the last year and with the help of Mark Zuckerberg, who is investing resources into achieving his goal of ensuring everyone in the world is online, this figure will continue its rise.
But what channel should your agency devote most attention to, based on the demographics below?
- 1.9 billion monthly users worldwide
- Predominantly female users
- It is the best place to reach millennials and generation X
- Generation X spend almost 7 hours per week on Facebook
- 75% of users spend 20 minutes or more on Facebook everyday
Facebook can be extremely effective for recruiters, but not without a cost. Facebook Ads can create targeted adverts based on location, work place, education level and more. So, if you’re recruiting Rail Engineers based in the South West, you can spend your money wisely by specifically targeting a selected audience on the channel they are most likely to be active on.
- 600 million unique monthly users
- Predominantly female users
- 90% of Instagram users are under 35
- 53% of Instagram users follow brands
Instagram is the network for creative Millennials and the rising Generation Z but it can be a difficult channel to directly recruit candidates. Instagrammers do not appreciate being overloaded with advertising and sales messages so best practice tends to be using it as a platform, predominantly, to monitor and engage.
YouTube
- 1 billion unique monthly users
- Predominantly male users
- YouTube reaches more 18-34 and 35-49 year olds than any cable network in the USA
- There are 2 million video views per minute
If you really want to set your agency apart, creating video content offers a unique opportunity to connect with candidates and clients in a more effective way. By targeting key search phrases, such as “How to prepare for a job interview”, you can demonstrate your expertise, spread brand awareness and provide guidance to your target audience cost effectively.
Learn about 5 video marketing tips for recruitment agencies in our blog.
- 317 million unique monthly users
- Predominantly male users
- Mostly 18-29 year olds
- 53% of Twitter users never post any updates
- Users only spend an average of 2.7 minutes on Twitter’s mobile app per day
It is not breaking news that Twitter is steadily declining but that doesn’t mean you should drop it altogether. Twitter is an incredibly valuable channel for social listening and monitoring. A simple way to do this is to create lists to monitor your competitor activity, prospective clients or to curate recruitment news channels to save you time on sourcing compelling content.
- 106 million unique monthly users
- Slightly more male users
- 45% of people making $75,000 (£58,550) or more use LinkedIn vs 21% of $30,000 (£23,400)/year or less
- LinkedIn users are typically slightly less likely to use other social networks
LinkedIn is still by far the most popular network for recruiters and for good reason. Its search function is unparalleled and it has the added bonus of being a social network devoted to job searching and professional networking. With all these positives, you might be wondering why you’re not seeing even more ROI.
What is prevalent is that each social channel has its own distinct audience and its own pros and cons and this needs to take this into account when building a social media strategy. Take advantage of each channel to target and engage with different sections of your audience and you will begin to see a rise in engagement. But, if you continue to use a uniform social media strategy across all channels, at best, your engagement rate is likely to stay the same or reduce, and you risk tarnishing your agency’s brand.
Learn how to incorporate a social media strategy into an effective inbound marketing program for your recruitment agency by downloading our free eBook below.
