As the saying goes, “Less is more,” usually proves to be true in all areas in life—over-spending during a shopping spree, indulgent dinners, dessert and… recruiting via social media? Logically, they don’t pair together unless you eat at your computer, but on the topic of content-posting frequency the two have more in common than one might think!
Simply stated, for recruiters, posting on social media too frequently is one of the top faux pas. Done right, social recruiting is an exceptional asset. But if recruiters aren’t careful, social recruiting can turn into a spammy, content generator that pushes followers closer and closer to hitting the potentially irreversible Mute Button.
The Cookie Analogy
You love cookies (who doesn't?)—chocolate chip, peanut butter, pick your poison! If you eat too many, however, taste goes from scrumptious to bland. Your appetite goes from excited to ambivalent and nauseous. So, you start switching it up, cutting down to one cookie on special occasions; rather than whenever you feel like a sugary treat, you save your cookies for those must-have moments. That first cookie after your self-inflicted hiatus, probably the best cookie you've eaten in months.
Why?
Because that cookie is a treat, it means something. This same strategy applies to recruiters sharing updates and job openings via social media. If you post open positions and every job description multiple times each day, followers are going to view your posts as that 15th cookie—bland, boring and something they need to cut out of their diet.
Ideal Social Media Posting
We want followers to view our recruiting updates as a treat and look forward to our educational and opportunity-filled posts. If you send updates a few times each day, complete with witty intros and unique images attached, followers are going to be more likely to follow along and read your content/open positions. For example, hashtags are a creative way to post open requisitions while keeping the fun, community feel to your posts. Specifically, the #IWantThatHat hashtag campaign by the Minnesota State Police worked wonders for the department.
Research suggests the optimal number of times to post updates on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, among other social platforms, ranges from 2-5 times per day. If you exceed that limit, your followers will begin scrolling right on past your posts and that hard-to-fill requisition. Any less, you won’t gain the traction you need to engage followers and build lasting connections.
Treat posting like you would dessert; make your content of the utmost quality and your frequency just often enough (check out this posting guide!) to keep loyal followers coming back for more and new ones checking in to find out what the buzz is about. Like too many cookies, indulging in too many social media postings will leave your followers looking elsewhere for something healthier, something that better satiates their appetites.
Post contributed by Abby Bayatpour, Cielo Social Media Specialist. Connect with Abby on LinkedIn.