Social Media Optimization For Staffing Firms

Employers are having a hard time finding people to hire, so they are starting to see workers as more valuable. Staffing firms are looking for new and innovative ways to attract quality candidates for their clients.

Social media optimization helps give you the leverage you need, but some firms are still not using social media to attract new talent.

Here are some of the reasons you are not seeing the results you want on social media:

• Very few followers on social media channels
• Not posting consistently
• Posting content that doesn’t attract the right audience
• No engagement with followers

However, in this article, we discuss strategies, tactics and the nuances of social media optimization to get you moving in the right direction.

What is Social Media Optimization?

You have heard of SEO (Search Engine Optimization), but what about SMO?

Social media optimization is the process of creating and enhancing your social media marketing plan to give measurable performances. Besides increasing your online presence, it brings in new interested clients and candidates, using it as a conversion tool.

Not only does it allow you to create more qualified leads, but it also optimizes your social media pages and improves your sales numbers. Once your followers trust you and know what they’re getting into, they’ll be much more likely to want to invest their time with you.

How to do Social Media Optimization (SMO)

SEO used to be the standard for internet marketing. Nowadays, social media and SEO produce a similar level of success–both in terms of generating traffic and raising awareness for your staffing firm.

More recently, social media has become a critical resource. It’s possible to use it as your main marketing tool, but for optimal results, it must be a key player in a bigger strategy.

SMO o broadens your audience’s reach and increases your visibility in the online space. In addition, optimizing your social media pages allows you to carry out lead-generation campaigns more efficiently.

What are the Benefits of Social Media Optimization for Candidate and Client Acquisition

Increase in Candidate/Client Traffic

SMO increases visibility on social media allowing you to connect with candidates and clients on a personal level.

Market Insight & Foresight

Track followers on social media to determine what content they want to see. If it’s not clear, try creating a few different strategies to see which one the majority is most interested in.
Brainstorming marketing ideas for your staffing firm is a challenge but analyzing where, when, and how to market helps.

Generate Better Leads

The need for leads differs depending on the needs of the business. Some businesses want to focus on increasing clicks on a button while others want to gain more followers and views.
There are various ways to gain leads through social media:

• Hyperlinks to restricted content
• Focus on a specific region, individual or community.
• Advertise on geo-targeted media
• Getting the brand mentioned on other websites with links back to the website. (this helps your search ranking)
• Customize your website with social tabs

8 Ways How to Optimize Social Media for Increased Job Applicants and Client Growth

Improve reach with hashtags

It’s important to find hashtags that relate to your content. It will get your posts in front of more people who are interested in what you publish.

For example, if you are a technology staffing firm, hashtags like #itrecuiter #techjobs or #itstaffing might be relevant to what you do. Being specific is key. If you are posting an open Cyber Security position, make sure your hashtags reflect the job itself. The more specific you are, the more targeted your audience is.

Consistently refresh your content

Consistently refreshing your content is a great way to keep your audience interested. You don’t have to do it every day, but try at least once a week, or twice a month. This keeps readers coming back for more and helps you grow an engaged community.

Become a thought leader

The concept of thought leadership is simple. It is becoming the go-to person in your field or industry. The first thing that you need to do is identify a topic that you are passionate about and start creating content around it; infographics, blog posts, data sheets, etc.

In addition,  share your thoughts and make sure that they are relevant to the industry you are targeting. Potential clients and candidates will see you as a source of knowledge on important topics in the industry.

Utilize organic search and PPC

Organic search and PPC are the two most common ways to promote content on social media. However, they work by targeting specific keywords to drive traffic from search engines or paid advertisements to a social media page or website.

Practice relevancy

Make sure when you are writing content, you keep your audience in mind. This helps to improve the impact of your message to them and makes your content more memorable.

Content Marketing

Create promotional content like videos or blog posts to show your knowledge in action. This goes along with being a thought leader. However, content marketing isn’t selling your services, it is merely centering you as a fountain of knowledge in your industry.

Creating valuable content is shared more than ads. For example, write a blog on the current tech job market or tips on interviewing. These are both topics people are more inclined to share than an ad about the services your staffing firm offers

Be consistent with posting schedules

Consistency in posting schedules helps optimize social media because it helps followers anticipate what will be posted. If, for example, you post every other day at 8 AM, followers will likely check more often than if you posted sporadically.

Also, social media algorithms tip in your favor when you are consistent with posting. Your posts will show up in your follower’s feeds more regularly.

Make sure your posts have a call-to-action

What is a call-to-action? It is right in the name! It calls your audience to act in some way. For instance, what do you want your target to do? Apply for a job? Contact your firm for more information?

Posts without a call-to-action are incomplete. Your goal with content, most of the time should be actionable.

Conclusion

In conclusion, social media is an integral part of marketing in staffing. The idea is to use social media to attract more potential candidates and clients. However, not all companies are succeeding in their social media efforts.
If you’re looking for help with social media optimization, talk to S.J.Hemley Marketingy today!

About S.J.Hemley Marketing

S.J.Hemley Marketing is a marketing and sales consulting firm focused on driving tangible results for professional services firms. Brand matters, but not without ROI. With over 20 years of sales and marketing experience within staffing and recruiting, we have helped to drive successful branding, sales training, lead generation activities as well as defining marketing strategy for top organizations. www.sjhemleymarketing.com