8 Instagram Tips for your Social Recruiting Strategy
And examples from companies that crushed it
Instagram is a gold mine when it comes to scouting talent.
That’s right! the popular Millennial/Zoomer social media platform, known for its highly visual nature is also a vast resource for high volume employers.
And especially now.
Facebook has recently announced the expansion of the Messenger API access for all businesses on Instagram. This is a game-changer for a variety of industries that do the bulk of their marketing on the platform; and in the world of high-volume hiring, it opens up a whole bunch of possibilities to attract younger applicants.
With its emphasis on mobile use, it makes it the perfect place for quick and easy recruiting. And with the new open API, Talkpush has launched the first-ever Instagram recruitment chatbot, which can engage with candidates right on the platform. This allows job seekers to decide which channel they prefer to interact with — whether it be on Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp, Viber, SMS, email, and now even Instagram.
More than half of its users are aged 18-34, making Instagram a top resource for talent in a variety of industries. Yet the channel continues to be one of the most overlooked opportunities for recruitment.
A helpful chatbot is half the battle, but savvy marketers know that each social platform requires careful planning and a specific strategy to attract consumers, or in our case, candidates. So, let’s dive into how to make Instagram a strategic component of your recruitment strategy at large and cash in on the benefits like ease of use, popularity, convenience, and fast pace.
Table of Contents
The Job Seekers on Instagram
Every day, there are 620 million Instagram users that spend an average of 53 minutes. In that time, 200 million users explore at least one business profile daily, making Instagram an effective platform for candidates to discover your brand. However, Instagram is not just the marketer's friend, it's for recruiters too!
You can turn Instagram into an effective sourcing tool that would allow potential candidates to apply to open jobs right there on the platform. This is exciting news, especially for recruiters in high-volume markets as 65% of the demographic is aged 18-34 years old! You can touch base with your target market of tech-savvy millennials and zoomers (gen Z people) where they’re already spending a bulk of their time.
Unlike Facebook, Instagram by nature is quick and visual. Instagram users consume content that is quick to catch their eye before going over the text description. Thus, recruiters need to know how to create a content strategy that complements their hiring process all the while appealing to their target market through Instagram stories, hashtags, reels, etc.
8 Instagram Tips for your Social Recruiting Strategy
Becoming a content creator on Instagram can be hard. It’s pretty tough to decide when there are so many types of content and even more options to choose from on how to execute them. Then once you’ve finally decided, you’ve got to figure out how to make sure that your content reaches your target audience and drives engagement. At this point, you might be wondering is it really worth it? The answer is always yes!
Let us walk you through eight statistically-backed tips on how to make the most out of your content, and in the process, grow your Instagram audience.
1. Use hashtags
Posts with at least one hashtag have a higher engagement of 12.6%.
Hashtags are a quick way for users to find relevant content based on their preferences. By using the relevant hashtag to your post, you are making it easier for your target audience to find and engage with it. But remember, word placement in your hashtag plays an important role too!
For example, if you’re posting about the job openings in your company. You could choose between #hiringnow and #nowhiring. The difference is in the additional one million posts associated with the latter. The same concept applies to generalist hashtags like #hiring versus more niche ones like #hiringph that would narrow down to job postings within the Philippines only.
2. Mark your location
Instagram posts that use geolocation have an almost 80% increase in engagement compared to those that don't.
Tagging your location in Instagram posts is an often overlooked trick. The use of location tags can be a powerful tactic for local brands to be discovered despite it requiring only the bare minimum effort. The way it works is that it increases brand awareness by increasing visibility among your target audience on the Explore page and location-based stories. Just make sure to use the location sticker for your stories!
3. Emphasize your call to action
Stories that emphasize the CTA button perform better 89% of the time.
Story ads have the option to add a "swipe up" button that would automatically redirect the user to an external link without leaving the app. It's a feature that you should always take advantage of, but can also easily be missed out on by your audience. Therefore, we should draw attention to the button so we can maximize the post’s engagement.
4. Utilize videos and Instagram reels
Instagram videos have twice the engagement compared to images.
Instagram reels is a new feature the platform launched last August. It allows you to record and edit “TikTok-esque” 15-second multi-clip videos with a bunch of creative effects and tools. Unfortunately, this feature isn't available in all countries yet, but that shouldn't stop you from utilizing video content on your profile. Videos are a great way to let your audience know what your company does, and give them a glimpse of what it's like working there.
5. Post an Instagram story
62% of users are more interested in a brand after seeing it in a story.
Instagram stories are 15-second videos or images that are only available for 24 hours. They show up on the top of the screen and automatically play one video after the other, making it a high-engaging feature for the 500 million people that check out story content daily.
Another cool thing about Instagram stories is that you can select which ones you want to feature on your profile. Those can stay there forever (unless you unpin them). They’re also a quick and easy way to segregate content into different niche subjects, for example, company life, events, open roles, testimonials, etc. It makes it easier for your audience to select which ones are of interest to them.
6. Schedule your posts
On average, Instagram users are most active on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Generally, Instagram users are more active on weekdays. Knowing this can help you plan ahead of when's the best day to post for the highest visibility and maximum engagement of your content. However, if you want to plan down to the time when most of your followers are most active, you could check out the Insights tab on your Instagram account.
7. Run paid ads
Instagram has an estimated advertising reach of 928.5 million people.
Although a majority of that 928.5 million people aren't probably your target audience, paid ads are worth it as long as your target market is on Instagram. With a number that high, it's almost guaranteed that a significant chunk of your intended audience can be found there. But, and this is a big and important but, to run paid ads on Instagram, you need to have a Facebook Business account and use the corresponding Ads Manager on Facebook to do so. For detailed instructions, you can check out this how-to article by Facebook for Business.
8. Showcase authenticity
Photos with faces get 38% more likes, while mobile-shot ads outperform studio-shot ads 63% of the time.
Instagram is all about telling stories through images. That’s why it’s the perfect avenue to create brand awareness in potential candidates. When companies showcase their company culture and employer branding, it focuses on the things that a potential candidate may want in an employer.
These users should see your content as authentic—yes, even when it's an ad campaign. They tend to be more responsive to visuals that have the faces of real people since it humanizes the company and makes it more relatable. The same logic applies to why mobile-shot content is more appealing versus studio-shot content because there's a more realistic and honest feel. Candidates can actually imagine themselves there, at work, with the team, and get a true sense of whether they’re a cultural fit.
Recruiting with a Chatbot
Cool. So you’ve applied all these Instagram marketing tactics, and you’re constantly generating tons of applicants. What happens next?
You’ve got to process, filter, and reply to ALL of them. If you're in high volume and doing sourcing on social media, you already know that more often than not, the number of candidates can sometimes be overwhelming for a human recruiter to process. Fortunately, with Messenger's new open API on Instagram, your friendly chatbot can lend a helping hand!
Talkpush is the first to deliver a rich interactive experience for candidates through its recruitment chatbot that can do the following:
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Provide immediate answers to open-ended candidate inquiries;
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Allow candidates to browse through custom menus to learn more about the employer and job openings; and
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Accept text, audio, and video answers to pre-screening questions.
But that's not all! Talkpush can help automate most of the top-of-funnel workload when it comes to processing these candidates. Recruiters can set up rules or triggers that automatically filter candidates, send pre-qualified applicants a message informing them of their application status, and as well as notifying candidates that didn’t make the cut.
They can also set up automated reminders for candidates who have not yet completed their pre-screening and have shortlisted candidates proceed to the next step of the hiring process, whether that is scheduling an interview, submitting documents, or taking an assessment. Recruiters can set all this up right inside the Talkpush CRM, and that includes communicating with candidates on Instagram (and other messaging platforms like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram, text, and email).
Want your own Instagram recruitment chatbot?
Examples from the Best
There are several ways in which companies use Instagram as a sourcing tool for potential candidates. For many global companies, they create multiple Instagram accounts based on their geographies. This ensures that they are able to highlight what is special about each of these sites (e.g. could be events, their office set-up, etc.) and continue to create content that their audience can relate to (e.g. celebration of local holidays).
On the other hand, some companies create (at least) two Instagram accounts - one that is dedicated to employer branding, while the latter being specifically focused on job postings. Check out these companies that know how to use Instagram to complement their recruitment strategies.
Starbucks Coffee (@starbucks | @starbucksjobs)
Starbucks is a global coffeehouse chain that uses Instagram as its default image-enhancing platform. It has over 17.8 million followers on its official Instagram account, and a separate account dedicated to job postings that has a following of more than 63,200. In their Instagram account, you will find:
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Lots of their mouthwatering food and drinks;
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Employee stories and how Starbucks has supported them;
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Fun story ads that lead users to interactive quizzes; and
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Holiday-themed product shoots
According to former Starbucks Employer Brand Manager, Jeremy Langhans, the company's Instagram photos have made a real impact on recruiting for Starbucks by giving the company a much more fun image and turning what was, in the past, considered an uncool job into a great place people want to work for.
TaskUs Philippines (@taskusph)
TaskUs is a global BPO company with nine different Instagram accounts determined by their location. Despite it having an official account (@taskus), we want to highlight the best practices found in their best-performing account that has 13,400+ followers on Instagram. In their profile, you will see:
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Influencers that show off their themed offices and their respective facilities;
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Instagram templates for employees to share around in their own stories;
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Short videos and the use of IGTV to showcase employees; and
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The use of campaign-specific hashtags
Marriott International (@marriottcareers)
Marriott International is a multinational company that operates lodging including hotel, residential, and timeshare properties with 74,900+ Instagram followers. Like the rest on this list, it has several Instagram accounts depending on the type of lodging you are looking for. For job seekers, it can be a bit overwhelming to figure out which account should they visit; so it's a good thing that they have a singular Instagram account for all careers available at Marriott. On that account, you can find:
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An individual feature of employees from diverse positions;
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Replies to comments left on their posts;
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Employee initiative that promotes work-life balance; and
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A feature of cocktails and hotels from all over the world.
Instagram Recruiting FAQs
1. Can you use Instagram for recruitment?
Even before the recent open API on Instagram, companies have already been using Instagram for recruitment. The difference between then and now is it has always required candidates to click on an external link for them to submit their application causing a drop off in candidates; but now with the help of a chatbot, candidates can turn in their job application in your DMs (direct message) and get updates on their application on Instagram.
2. How do you recruit on Instagram?
Recruiters first need to know their target market and understand the kind of content and type of medium that would resonate with them. From there, it's all about maximizing your reach and making your Instagram content visible to your intended audience.
3. How do people find jobs on Instagram?
Active job seekers check out relevant hashtags that indicate an open position. They also follow companies that they are interested in working for, and those that they know hire regularly. For passive job seekers, it's most likely that they come across an ad on their stories or feed that would pique their interest.
4. Is Instagram good for hiring?
Unlike Facebook, Instagram appeals to a younger audience making it a great place to source for young professionals who understand their way through technology. This is a great avenue to expand your talent pool with people who already fit the profile you are looking for.
5. What are the advantages of hiring on Instagram?
Instagram has a narrowed-down demographic while having the second-largest base of active users across all social media networks. It's perfect for those in high-volume recruitment and who want to explore more of their creative side through recruitment marketing. It would give you a wider reach of your target audience and is a highly effective platform for promoting brand awareness, nurturing leads, and eventually converting those into actual candidates.
Curious to learn more about how Talkpush can help your team recruit better and faster on Instagram and other messaging platforms?
