What you will get from this article
- Get to know Instagram features
- Understand how Instagram act as a recruitment platform
- Pros & Cons of Recruitment on Instagram
- How to Use Instagram for Employee Recruitment
- The Importance of Using Attractive Copywriting
- Real Use Case of Instagram Accounts for Recruitment
Introduction
Considering using Instagram in your company's job search and recruitment process? Well, you need to read this article.
According to a report by We Are Social and Hootsuite, Instagram is the third most-used social media platform after Facebook and YouTube worldwide.
With a total of 2 billion active users as of January 2023. Most Instagram users are dominated by India, the United States, Brazil, and Indonesia.
So, how to maximize Instagram social media as a recruiting tool? Here are the tips
Get to know Instagram features
Instagram is a platform for creating, sharing, and viewing information from around the world.
There are several menu options that can be utilized by users on the platform that was launched in 2010, namely;
- Feed; is a menu used to share photo content. Users can even upload more than one image/photo content in the form of a slider.
- Reels; medium that creates, shares, and views short videos that are entertaining, informative, business, and educational. Users can upload short videos according to their wishes (15, 30, 60, 90 seconds). Users can also include available audio in short videos to make them more interesting.
- Stories; one of the menus that functions to share videos, and photos of user creations, either directly or share from post feeds and reels of Instagram accounts. This tool will usually appear for 24 hours in the profile.
- Highlights; a column to save stories on the Instagram account profile that users can see when visiting the profile.
- Messenger; tools for sending messages, photos, and videos to friends or groups.
- Shopping; tools to see trends from Instagram users' favorite brands or creators.
- Search and explore; tools to make it easier for users to find the desired content and creators.
- Instagram Ads; tools used to promote or boost Instagram content in order to reach a wider range of users (who follow or do not follow the Instagram account in question).
- Broadcast room; a private messenger column that users can follow and read.
- Threads; a threads platform for posting photos, and information in the form of text with letter restrictions connected to Instagram.
How does Instagram act as a recruitment platform?
The large number of Instagram users around the world and the current platform model have a great opportunity to get employees who match the company's criteria.
This is supported by the fact that the content on Instagram social media has reached and is reached by a wide range of people. It is also a great way to reach passive candidates that may possess great talent.
Companies can create content that contains recruitment information and upload it to the company's Instagram account so that job seekers can easily find job vacancies.
They will apply if the job position matches their criteria.
Another interesting thing, with many tools available on Instagram, you can showcase the company's work environment in a positive way.
This is a way to attract the attention of job seekers to be interested and have the desire to join the company.
You can upload office activities, career prospects obtained by employees, benefits obtained by employees while working, or work facilities for employees.
Pros & Cons of Recruitment on Instagram
Pros:
- Saving costs. This platform, which is easy to use by the public, both for individuals and businesses, can certainly save costs for job advertisements. You can directly post job vacancy information on Instagram, in photos, videos in feeds, or in reels.
- Broad reach. Job vacancy information can easily reach people around the world. Of course, you need to create interesting, informative content and use appropriate hashtags.
- Good for branding. Instagram allows companies to share behind-the-scenes photos and videos that can give potential employees a real sense of the company culture. This transparency can attract applicants who align with the company's values and work environment.
- Tracking Engagement. Instagram's analytical tools allow recruiters to track the success of their posts and ads. This can be extremely useful in tweaking recruitment strategies.
- Direct Interaction. Instagram's direct messaging feature allows potential candidates to interact with recruiters easily. It also allows for quick and informal preliminary discussions.
Cons:
- Limited Audience. Despite Instagram's popularity, its user base is skewed toward younger demographics. This could limit your reach if you're looking to recruit from a broader age range.
- Time-Consuming. Creating engaging content for Instagram can be time-consuming. It requires high-quality images or videos, well-thought-out captions, and regular posting to maintain visibility, which can drain resources.
- Less Professional. Instagram is primarily a platform for personal and lifestyle content. It may not be viewed as a professional platform for job-seeking compared to platforms like LinkedIn. This perception can potentially limit the number of qualified applicants who see your job postings.
- Lack of Depth. Instagram is designed for short, visual content. It may not be the best platform for conveying detailed information about job roles, expectations, qualifications, etc.
- Privacy Concerns. Direct messaging potential candidates on Instagram could be seen as intrusive or unprofessional since it's primarily a personal social network.
- Ineffective for Certain Industries. For industries or roles that are not visually oriented, it might be challenging to create engaging and relevant content on Instagram.
- Potential Bias. Relying on visual content and profiles could inadvertently lead to bias in the recruitment process, contrary to the principles of equal opportunity employment.
How to Use Instagram for Employee Recruitment
Set up an account
The first step is of course your company must create an Instagram account according to the company name.
Provide a bio in the profile to make it easier for Google and other users to find your company account.
In creating a bio, make sure to use keywords that are often used by users.
In addition, include links or links that contain company contacts (email, office telephone, website, etc.) to make it easier for visitors or prospective employees to apply for jobs.
Build up your account
Build an Instagram account to have followers or get attention from Instagram users at large.
You need to do several things such as posting feed content & reels consistently.
Every company has its own category of information or content.
Instagram should post several contents a week to maintain consistency.
The effectiveness, in increasing engagement on Instagram is to post at least 25 posts in one month, both in the form of photos and videos.
Posting Job Vacancy Information on Instagram Accounts
- After the company's Instagram account has good engagement and has reached many users. You can post job vacancy information, both in the form of photos and videos. Make the content of the vacancy by containing complete and clear information. Write 'We're Hiring' or 'Open Recruitment' and so on. Provide some detailed requirements such as employee criteria, job responsibilities, qualifications, requirements, and deadline for submitting job vacancies.
- Make the job vacancy information stand out and get noticed. You can use video polls, or GIFs with creative concepts to attract the attention of the audience and encourage them to see the vacancy information. You can even encourage them to apply if it fits their criteria.
- You can clarify the job vacancy information by writing a description or caption by including link information that applicants must visit in the Instagram bio.
- Use hashtags that match the type of information to reach users who are looking for work, such as #career #hiring #job #recruiting and others.
- Using Instagram stories; the Instagram stories tool is one of the most effective ways to reach potential workers or other users. You can repost content (reels/feeds) into stories regularly to get more attention from prospective employees or other Instagram users.
- Save recruitment information in the Highlight column. You can save recruitment information in the highlighted column to make it easier for users to find job vacancy information.
- Engage with followers to attract quality talent. You must be proactive with users by responding to questions, liking comments, and expressing good bonds. These efforts also serve to build relationships and trust in the company.
- Consider using Instagram Ads. You can use this option if the company's Instagram account is newly created or does not yet have a large number of followers. In addition, these ads also serve to attract job seekers who match the qualifications needed by the company. This is because job seekers also often search for job vacancies through search tools. If your hashtag and fish concept match, the vacancy information will automatically appear in the users' search or Instagram stories column.
Showcase company culture
Use Instagram to showcase your company culture and give potential candidates a glimpse into what it's like to work at your organization.
Share photos and videos of team outings, company events, and behind-the-scenes moments to give candidates a sense of your workplace environment.
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The Importance of Using Attractive Copywriting
The choice of sentences and writing of captions on posts is very important to attract attention and make it easier for users to receive the message in the content.
So, creative captions are also more effective in job vacancy information. The components that need to be considered in copywriting are;
- Job title
- Description for the job posting
- Use the AIDA approach (attention, interest, desire, and action)
- Call to action (if possible) "Let's join our company", "Are you our next Copywriter?" "Email Us"
- Using power words in captions or descriptions in content (talented, your passion, work according to your hobby, happy, etc).
The steps above are strategies for using the Instagram social media account platform in employee recruitment.
You can follow the tips conveyed so that you can recruit employees who match the company's criteria needed.
Real Use Case of Instagram Accounts for Recruitment
Lifeatblibli (Blibli)
Blibli's Instagram account lifeatblibli is used for branding the company and employee recruitment.
The uploaded content also includes an overview of the work environment, the duties of each section, some tips related to work tasks for employees, and activities that support employee health.
In addition, Blibi also often shares tips such as "A Positive Stress", how to become a UX Writer, and others.
The bio profile includes a career link that makes it easier for prospective employees to find job vacancies available at the company.
Aseanfoundation (ASEAN Foundation)
The aseanfoundation Instagram account displays the ASEAN Foundation's work program, and activities carried out.
Posts inform the profile and activities carried out by the ASEAN Foundation.
Even information about the opening of free Data Science training is also uploaded by including conditions, and registration links for colon participants.
Visitors also get educated by seeing the content uploaded by the ASEAN Foundation in accordance with the vision and mission of the organization.
In the profile, job vacancies, internships and others can also be accessed easily through the career link included in the ASEAN Foundation bio.
Lifeatsap (Life At SAP)
Lifeatsap's Instagram account is used to brand its work activities as well as its employee search space. Visitors can access the career link in the profile bio.
Activities uploaded in the feed such as internship programs, achievements, photos of employees in the office environment, the best office achievements, and tips on improving skills and others.
In addition, SAP also describes employee activities outside of work, such as outdoor gathering activities, sports programs and holiday celebrations.
Lifeatgoogle (Google)
With the bio "Ready to be a Googler? We're hiring! Keep up with our job opportunities, offices, and everything else that makes up life at Google", this account shares the activities, work environment and work opportunity at Google.
Google posts several tips such as career tips directly at an event, shares employee achievements while working at the company, and many more.
In addition, programs shared in the lifeatgoogle account such as activities with several universities, internship activities, international day celebrations.
This Instagram is also a place for Google to provide information on innovations or menu updates for its users in the world. Google also shares career tips that help job seekers.
