LinkedIn has become the most popular and well-established professional network available, and is a top way to get a brand or business noticed by other likeminded companies. As a recruiting tool it has seen marked success but some businesses are unaware of the ways in which it can be utilised to search out top candidates. Here, we look at how to implement some digital techniques for attracting talented employees through LinkedIn.
Follow the Leaders
This year, LinkedIn published their ‘Most Engaged Marketers 2014’ report, which discussed the industry leaders who were using LinkedIn to its full potential and creating excellent opportunities for themselves and their businesses. One way in which to get to the top in terms of an online presence which will attract talented employees through LinkedIn, is to follow those already at the top! The top three most engaged marketers according to the LinkedIn report are Coca-Cola Enterprises, Starcom Mediavest (also known as SMG) and Xchanging.
Xchanging, a business process services company, tops the leaderboard in terms of engagement. The marketing director has cited LinkedIn as being a primary tool for leveraging marketing as well as promoting his own personal leadership insights through blogging. Second highest on the list is SMG, who have improved client relationships via LinkedIn’s social side. A deeper knowledge and understanding of client behaviour can be gleaned from LinkedIn’s various profile questions for example – from business connections in common to personal and work-related backgrounds, as well as the smaller aspects such as birthdays.
Following these industry leaders and observing the way in which they interact with online connections could help multiply the scope of reach for new candidates. The top ten on LinkedIn’s list are:
1. Gareth Case, Global Marketing Director, Xchanging
2. Frank Durrell, Digital Strategy &Technology Director, Starcom MediaVest Group
3. Simon Miles, Digital Director, Coca-Cola
4. Kerry Ritz, Chief Marketing Officer, Euromoney
5. Pete Markey, Chief Marketing Officer, Post Office
6. John Watton, EMEA Marketing Director Digital, Adobe
7. Jenny Burns, Group Communications, Brand and Social MediaDirector, RSA
8. Ben O’Hanlon, Head of Community Management, Visions Live
9. Dana Poole, Senior Global Campaigns Manager, Unilever
10. Jason Wills, Marketing Director, Merlin Entertainments
Digital Tricks for Recruitment
Of course, LinkedIn’s popularity is not just for marketing brands but also recruitment. There are a few tips and tricks that can help to maximise your search for fresh talent as well as promoting your brand as one that is socially savvy. Some of the top tricks to use are:
• Create saved searches: If you have a specific role that needs to be filled, LinkedIn allows users to create up to three saved searches with the same criteria. The platform will also email users any time new results are added to that particular search, meaning less time spent sifting through results pages and more time targeting specific criteria, such as area, industry and job title.
• Let candidates know you’re interested: Letting potential candidates know you have viewed their profile is a great way of encouraging them to search out the opportunity you have on offer. Changing the privacy level to allow the company name to be visible stops it from just being ‘someone’ looking, to an established company being interested in the candidate’s talent. Do this by going into the Privacy & Settings section and changing the options in the ‘Select what others see when you have viewed their profile’ tab.
• Export your connections: If you have been creating connections for an extended period of time, it is advisable to back them up or export them to your personal address book. This is beneficial for contacting interesting candidates on the move without necessarily having to be in front of a LinkedIn screen in order to do so. To do this, go into the Connections tab and on the top right there is a link to Export LinkedIn Connections, allowing potential candidate contact details to be available any time.
• Get help from the experts: LinkedIn has many teaching and training aspects on offer as part of their service to professionals. At the bottom of every page there is a section titled ‘Help Center’ which has a great deal of information on LinkedIn as a site as well as offering the chance to apply for webinars that can give vital information on how to utilise the site for different aspects of business.
• Group together for success: One of the most popular techniques for attracting talented employees through LinkedIn involves the joining of groups. Not only does it get the company name and ethos in the minds of potential candidates, but companies are able to message all members of groups regardless of whether they are first degree connections or not. This is a great tool to engage candidates too, by asking them questions and gives businesses the chance to glean valuable information about group members which could be a huge timesaver and even act as a pre-interview.
• Send out profiles as resumes: Equally beneficial for candidates, LinkedIn offers users the chance to aggregate all their profile data into a PDF document which can then be used as a resume. Click the print icon on the profile screen and most of the data (excluding group information) will be printed in PDF format for further use.
LinkedIn has become the primary platform for businesses to promote themselves, their ethos, their thought processes in terms of industry, but also helps connect them with both active and passive candidates. Using the aforementioned tips and techniques to maximise reach is the best way of attracting talented employees through LinkedIn.
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Castle Hill House