Earlier this year, Facebook announced the release of Facebook Jobs for their users in the U.S. and Canada. This functionality within the social media platform makes it easy for employers to list open positions in companies. This feature was introduced not only to compete with other job boards, but also to continue to grow Facebook loyalty and usage. The idea is simple: By offering more features on Facebook, you’re less likely to go somewhere else.
As enticing as that is for Facebook and its advertisers, Facebook Jobs has a lot of benefits for employers, too. In this article you can read about some of these advantages, find out how you can use those tools to hire more people, and learn ways to get more exposure for your job openings.
According to Saqib Shah, writing for Digital Trends, about 1 billion people visit business pages on Facebook every month. This means that users are regularly engaged and look to these pages for content and information about topics that are of interest. And because Facebook is over a decade old, users have integrated the site into their everyday lives. It’s estimated that almost 80 percent of all online adults in the U.S. use Facebook.
This means that no matter which industry you’re hiring for, chances are the right candidates are already on Facebook. Some businesses are concerned that because most users are on Facebook during their personal time, they aren’t interested in businesses or jobs on the social network. However, studies of Facebook users found that they enjoy engaging with pages: Almost half say they like Facebook pages to “support a brand they like” and 41 percent say they like pages in order to receive regular updates from the brand.
Because a new job is something that affects every facet of someone’s life, sharing information about available positions will be of interest.
Another benefit of Facebook compared to job listing sites like Glassdoor is that it has a much higher active user base. Facebook has almost 2 billion users worldwide: A listing on Facebook Jobs may lead to more exposure, more applications, and a higher chance of finding the perfect candidate for the job.
While the key function of job listings is to attract the perfect candidate, there is a side benefit to posting your opening on Facebook Jobs: Your business page will receive more exposure.
When Facebook launched its Live video feature in 2016, it came to light that its algorithm actually favored posts that had live video over regular posts. The same thing happened when Facebook introduced native video uploads: When users uploaded a video directly to Facebook, that video was usually shown more often than the same one that was shared as a YouTube link instead.
This means that embracing this latest feature from Facebook could lead to more organic visibility for your job postings on users’ timelines, especially when compared to simply sharing a link to the job listing on another site. While this hasn’t yet been proven with Facebook Jobs, if its history with Live and native video are any indication, the social network loves promoting its own content and features over external resources.
Most job sites offer paid options for advertising positions, and depending on the industry, these can get quite costly. LinkedIn, for example, is notorious for charging significantly higher advertising rates that don’t necessarily result in high conversions. If advertising open positions is part of your standard procedure for recruitment, you may find that Facebook advertising costs are lower than other platforms.
This is likely due to many factors, including the fact that Facebook wants to be competitive and have businesses spend more of their ad dollars on their platform. Facebook also offers highly niche targeting options, which can help bring costs down.
Facebook job listings can be promoted, which can bring even more exposure to your ad and help you find a candidate for less money than you might spend on the same job listing placed elsewhere.
Once you decide to give Facebook Jobs a try, there are basic guidelines to keep in mind that will give you the best possible chances of finding the perfect candidate.
1. Complete All The Fields
Complete all of the available fields in the job postings to help you find the best possible candidate. The more information you include about the position, the more knowledgeable and prepared applicants will be when starting the hiring process.
Completing all job listing fields also makes your company or agency look more professional. If a listing looks like not much thought was put into it, then potential employees may wonder if that’s reflective of how seriously a business takes their team members or new recruits.
2. Clean Up Your Facebook Business Page
Along the same lines, make sure all the information on your company Facebook page (which hosts the job listing) is complete. Most applicants look at this page to help them determine whether they want to apply for the job or not. Having an inaccurate or outdated page may lead to a poor impression of your brand.
3. Include a Photo
Facebook job listings allow you to include a photo. This is a great feature, as it allows you to get more attention for your listing. Social media posts with videos or images usually get 2.3 times more engagement, so find a photo of a company function, your office, or even just your logo that can make the listing more prominent on your page and in users’ newsfeeds.
4. Don’t Focus Solely on Applicants’ Profiles
While you know to make sure your business page best represents your company, an applicant’s profile may not do the same for them. Users let information become outdated (or leave their profile empty), as their time on the site is usually spent viewing the News Feed and catching up with contacts. In his Digital Trends article, Shah speculates that job seekers may revise their profiles to be as professional as what they would put on LinkedIn—but don’t expect that just yet, since Facebook Jobs is still so new.
Facebook Jobs has many potential benefits for employers and job seekers. Both are able to find the perfect fit for what they are looking for on a platform they didn’t necessarily expect. While results may vary depending on the industry, Facebook Jobs could be a more viable platform for recruiters and staffing agencies due to higher visibility and more reasonable advertising costs. Consider using this tool alongside your regular job listing sites and analyze the results. You may be surprised at the engagement levels and new candidates you reach.
Thanks for sharing the info but in my opinion, job seekers should contact to the direct recruitment agencies, who are responsible to recruit directly to the specific companies.