I’m a member of many groups on LinkedIn. Like many of you, I’m sure receive dozens of emails every day updating you about your LinkedIn Group activities, hundreds of email newsletters you’ve subscribed to and hundreds of other emails each day. All of these email alerts probably could provide some value to what you do on a day-to-day basis…if only you had time to dedicate to read every single one.
So, when a discussion thread popped up on my radar from my group, Recruiting in Social Media, that highlighted “6 Social Media Mistakes Your Company Should Avoid” caught my eye.
Just prior to reading the article, I was feeling like my brain was on information overload…over tired, overbooked and overwhelmed. So the word “avoid” popped out in my eyes. Sarah Hartshorn had some great ideas in this article.
One idea popped out to me (and my current mental state), “Tailor your strategy to each platform before you implement.”
This is a key component not many HR (or anyone else for that matter) understand. It’s not about adding hundreds of fans in an hour using a PPC campaign or thousands of followers in two days through services like TweetAdder (although, these type of automation software does have it’s place in any campaign…just not the driver’s seat). You must be genuine. You must be authentic. If anything I’ve learned from the hundreds of webinars I’ve viewed or conferences I’ve attended, this concept of a ‘platform specific campaign’ is essential. What works on Facebook to your unique audience might not work as well on Twitter or Digg.
So, what’s an HR person to do in this social media craze for recuitment exposure? Look to experience. Look to seasoned professionals (ahem, like Alstin). Watch, observe and learn and THEN plan your strategy. Social media takes time. And, yes, it can be overwhelming at first but stay the course and the results will follow.
Connect with me on Twitter @JenHitchens if you’d like to chat about this topic or post your comments below on some areas that are a challenge to you within social media recruiting!
