Complete Social Media Plan From Scratch

First question: What is your target audience, where do they spend time? Brand yourself in social media with them in mind.

Here are a few of the major social networks and what you can / should accomplish with them:


1.LinkedIn:
A. Make your profile 100% full of content.
b. Join lots of groups in your field and put yourself out there to network through discussion postings
C. Create an alumni network (group) and drive traffic to that page by inviting all past and current employees to join. You can have all new employees sign up for a company LinkedIn account (I don’t do this)


2. Facebook:
A. Create a designated work profile, or make your personal profile safeguarded and work appropriate
B. Create a company group page. Use this to advertise jobs, post real time company news / events / pictures. Make this a place that is updated multiple times a week and a relevant place for people to go
C. Head hunt profiles by searching jobs and company info…directly message potential candidates and drive them to your web page
D. Head hunt other company and industry groups and drive them to your web page

3. Twitter:
A. Create a Twhirl account, much easier to navigate
B. Join a twitter group on LinkedIn and promote yourself
C. Search Twitters database using keywords and location to “follow” those in your field
D. Make 10-20 tweets a day with about 75% business or advertising related but the rest semi personal…it is a long term relationship you are developing on twitter. You are keeping a real time eye on your specific community

4. Blogs:
A. Create a blog and try to blog once a week or at the least every other week
B. This establishes your brand
C. All blogs / LinkedIn and Facebook posts you need a tag line with your name, company and link info…it will up your Google search engine optimization

5. Viral:
A. Depending on the size of your marketing department you can create a video to post virally and on Facebook.
B. You can consult on second life – very advanced (I don’t do this)
C. Create a company Wikipedia page

6. Social Media Manager
A. Consider designating one or two people to investigate what social media has to offer and make it their job to establish your presence. Make sure they meet with you prior to posting anything on the net to ensure they are keeping your vision in mind.

Consider embarking on social media not as turning your back on traditional recruiting methods, just as a new source of generating candidates and clients. The number one rule is once a connection is made in any social media realm to pick up the phone and establish a “real” relationship. Always move out of social media as soon as possible, use it as a place to court long term candidates and advertise but never primary mode of conversation.

Making a Real Connection

Consider embarking on social media not as turning your back on traditional recruiting methods, just as a new source of generating candidates and clients. The number one rule is once a connection is made in any social media realm to pick up the phone and establish a “real” relationship. Always move out of social media as soon as possible, use it as a place to court long term candidates and advertise but never primary mode of conversation.

Working From Home

Working from home should not hinder your productivity one bit with all of the technology available. You should have access to all of your candidates information through databases, you can still make your calls on a personal line. If you have face to face meetings or interviews, these can still be conducted over a web cam. Often final rounds of interviews involve negotiations and culture fit discussions and you loose the advantage if you can not see your opponent, invest in a web cam, they are only around $20.00 now.

Finally I find it much easier to stay productive by having a dedicated home office. It is set up much like my office at work so once I get into the swing of the day I do not notice any differences in how I conduct my daily tasks. If you are dedicated and driven you can use bad weather and working from home to your advantage, because chances are people will be slacking off. If you are one of those who isn't viewing being snowed in as a vacation day then you will have the advantage over your competitors. Stay creative and aggressive to find ways to complete all of your normal tasks.

Identify and promote your personal brand

It is important to think of the bigger picture and beyond your current situation. Who you align yourself with now will determine the opportunities and networks you will have down the road. If you can put a concrete stamp on who you are as a recruiter and what you bring to the table, then you have a brand. Recruiting is as much of an art as it is a job and to excel at it you must perfect and master the finer points of the craft that so many people overlook. Once you have perfected your methods, that is your brand.

My personal brand is I offer a blend of traditional recruiting methods that have been proven effective over the years with the newest cutting edge technology of social networking. It is what I do. I can develop long term loyal candidates who become friends while simultaneously marketing myself and my company. I have found it is very important when looking for technology to further my brand to investigate, and really get to see if it reflects the values I have determined as part of my brand. If the next new bright shiny object technology does not reflect or take into account what I deem valuable, I will not use it.

All recruiters need to be honest and to identify exactly what makes them unique, special and valuable. If you go to any job boards right now you will see that there are countless recruiters out there looking for work, how does one set themselves apart from another? The development of a brand makes you an asset and not just a head count.

Great People Great Opportunities

If your not doing these 5 things your behind in the game

I have compiled a list of things all recruiters / companies need to be participating in, in addition to the typical recruiter responsibilities.
1. LinkedIn: Form an alumni group, network heavily
2. Facebook: Form a group page and attract talent there, use it to source passive candidates
3. Twitter: Connect with your target audience directly
4. Blogs: Promote yourself and your company through personal blogging
5. Video Recruiting: Establish a brand and demonstrate what potential candidates what career experience would be like