Computer keyboard keys displaying now hiringTo find top talent and the best fit for your company, you have to go where the best hang out. Your next great hire may be at a local job fair or on CareerBuilder.com, but social networks like Facebook and Instagram are where individuals digitally live, connect and stay informed. To reach them, you need a social media recruitment strategy. Why?

Ninety-two percent of companies recruit using social media, according to a Staff.com infographic. Alongside LinkedIn, here’s why social media networks should be recruiting mainstays.

Visual Connections & Branding

Your company doesn’t selfie! So why should it be on Instagram? Here’s why: The photo and video-sharing app has 150 million active monthly users who scroll daily through photos of their followers and post their own pictures.

Instagram shares about 55 million photos and 1.2 billion likes per day. It’s a branding platform that also creates a network of connections.  Turn Instagram users into loyal followers by attracting them with your branded photos, and you’re subsequently creating a pool of referrers and potential candidates who could provide the exact talent your company needs.

You can also use Instagram photos and videos to creatively advertise a job opportunity and give insight into your company culture through aesthetic visuals and short story-telling films. For example, create a docu-video series of “The Day In The Life Of [Your Company or Employee].” Candidates can experience who they’ll be working for and what they’ll be doing.

Out-Of-The-Box Applications

Eventually formal cover letters and pristine resumes seem to mirror one right after another for a hiring manager. Attract standout candidates by providing a unique application process that encourages innovation and creative thinking. Ask interested candidates to submit a six-second Vine video that shares:

  • Why they’d be a great fit for your company
  • What stellar qualifications and skills they can offer
  • Exceptional experience or past special projects
  • Outstanding talents and achievements

Global Recruiting Marketplace & Digital Home

Facebook is the top social networking site that connects 1 billion users worldwide. It’s a behemoth, and offers the largest opportunities for communicating with consumers in the most non-obtrusive way, according to a Leverage infographic. Aside from your website, Facebook is like your company’s digital home where consumers—or in this case, candidates—can authentically learn more about your company, from your products and services to your company mission and office culture.

Think of your profile picture as branding your Facebook page with a company logo and your cover photo as a marketing poster or pop-up banner that would be displayed at a company event. Your Facebook space is where you can promote your business and a job opportunity that can be liked, re-shared and commented on. For example, content aggregating and news delivery app Feedly recently used Facebook to promote their blog’s job post that tells its 32,000+ fans it’s hiring and looking for a content crafter to become the voice of Feedly.

Engaging Conversations

RecruitingDaily’s Carlo Leboffe recently discussed how while sourcing through social media, recruiters need to foster valuable relationships and build brand ambassadors on a foundation of trust to generate referrals. To develop this network of fans and followers, engage in conversations—in person and on Twitter.

Posting hashtags, cataloging your tweets, viewing content by topics and using Twitter’s search option can help you participate in influential, relevant conversations. HR consultant and SPHR Jessica Miller-Merrell highlights her top 10 sourcing hashtags, including #HR, #leadership, #HFChat (hire Friday), #dthr (drive-thru human resources), #diversity, and #SHRM (The Society for Human Resource Management). To engage in dialogue with more niche Twitter communities and specific audiences, include the hashtags #hirefriday, #internpro, #jobhuntchat, and #jobs plus location.

About the Author: Gary Roth runs a local job board and plans to break into the technical recruiting industry after graduate school. He is also an entertainment writer and Pinterest addict.