11 Top Social Media Recruitment Statistics to Ramp Up Your Hiring Strategy

Time to read: 8 minutes

Social Media Recruitment Statistics Summary:

• Broad Outreach: 92% of recruiters use social media to reach a wider and more diverse talent pool.
• Enhanced Branding: Social media platforms boost employer brand visibility, attracting both active and passive candidates.
• Targeted Engagement: Channels like LinkedIn and Facebook allow for more targeted recruitment, increasing chances of finding top talent​.

This article was updated on 10/15/2020, originally posted on 3/22/2016.

Social media recruitment has solidified itself as a sustainable tactic in attracting and hiring top talent. 91 percent of companies are using social media within the recruiting process with millennials driving this shift in social media recruitment practices. In fact, 73 percent of young people, ages 18-34, found their last position through a social media platform. With social media users checking all accounts daily, social and professional networks are highly regarded by job seekers as viable channels for their search.

While this is fantastic progress, companies still work to ensure they are utilizing social media effectively to secure the very best talent. Additional social media recruitment statistics confirm the increased usage in the industry. Below are 11 important stats to support a diverse social recruitment strategy.

Diversity is Key to Social Media Recruitment Success

A social media recruitment strategy mainly consists of main four channels: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Each provides its own function, contributing to the overall strategy. For example, LinkedIn is popular with employers, given that its primary focus is professional networking, whereas Facebook and Instagram tend to be a tad more casual in messaging and posts. With a diverse lineup of channels, your digital presence is covered on all bases.

It is important to note that while it is beneficial to have a diverse lineup of channels, it is also just as important to keep tabs on what is working and what is not. No need to waste time and energy on a platform that is not contributing to the goals of the strategy.

The Stats

• 49 percent of professionals are following companies on social media with the intent to stay aware of their jobs – via LinkedIn.
• Nearly 90 percent of surveyed companies had successfully hired a candidate through LinkedIn – via Capterra.
• Are you utilizing the Facebook “Jobs” tab? 81 percent of job seekers were cited saying they wish to see more job opportunities listed on Facebook – via Link Humans.
• 59 percent of recruiters cited finding high-quality candidates when sourcing from social media – via SproutSocial.
• Twitter still has a fairly young user base with 70 percent of usage coming from 29 year-olds or younger. Another note is 32 percent of Twitter’s user base is college-educated or higher – via SproutSocial.
• 70 percent of job seekers are searching for jobs on mobile – via CareerBuilder. Is your application process optimized for mobile?
• Images are also key. 63 percent (or two-thirds) of social media feeds are made up of images. With that, content with relevant imagery reports 94 percent higher response than content without – via Buffer.

A Round of Applause for Hashtags

Hashtags have grown in their purpose. A few years ago, hashtags were used to group alike posts together. Users could search a hashtag and view the posts under that tag. Now, social users can actually follow hashtags (just as they would an account) on each social platform. We saw the importance of this shift in the use of hashtags when LinkedIn essentially launched and promoted the use of #nowhiring.

To drive home the importance of including hashtags within posts – according to a RiteTag search, #jobs sees 24.9M views per hour. Use a combination of popular and niche hashtags (appropriate to your post and industry) to further social reach.

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Social Media Recruitment and Employer Branding

What we can gather from the above is that job seekers are active on social media, whether they are active or passive in their search. Social media is a strong channel to reach the appropriate audiences. With that comes the responsibility of the employer to not only keep up with social maintenance but also the brand and reputation as an employer. Ever heard of employer branding? Social media is the bread and butter of an employer brand, and here are the statistics to prove:

• 62 percent of job seekers have reportedly used social media as a way to evaluate the employer brand of a company – via CareerArc.
• 75 percent of candidates will research a company’s reputation before applying for the job – via LinkedIn.
• 75 percent also stated they would not take a job with a company that had a bad reputation, even if they were unemployed – via Staffing Industry Analysts.

Social Media and Recruitment Marketing with Profiles

As the above social media recruiting statistics demonstrate, it is obvious that digital technology and social media platforms will continue to grow as part of job recruitment. Organizations keen to hire the finest talent should invest considerable time and effort in devising a comprehensive social media recruitment strategy. However, implementing the right strategy can be tedious. If you are having difficulties creating your campaign, contact Profiles, and see your job supported by our veteran recruitment marketing engine paired with a dedicated, seasoned marketing and creative recruiter.