Can’t Find Good Talent? Invest in Social Media
There’s a line from the show The Office where boss Michael Scott (Steve Carrell) says to his HR director (Amy Ryan), “You have to put up a lot with a family.” She reminds him, “It’s a business, not a family.”
Decades ago, it was black and white between your personal life and work life. But that has become more than just a grey area since 2020. Human beings are human. They cannot always separate work from a bad morning - or week - at home. We saw this with humility and humor for two years, and now some businesses are struggling to understand why they can’t keep employees or find the right fit for their company. The world really hasn’t gone back to normal even if we are seeing fewer masks when we walk into the grocery store. Because no matter what the rest of the world looks like, we’re still the same people wearing sweatpants under the computer monitor.
In a previous post, we discussed the importance of living the core values of your business and showing future employees that you’re more than a logo on a polo shirt. But how does that translate to a consistent, authentic social media presence? Here are three tips.
Engage your team - especially leadership
Scroll through your LinkedIn feed and you’re going to see plenty of selfies and group photos from all industries. And as much as you might shudder at the idea of a selfie - consider what this is saying. People are happy to be back in public with people they enjoy. And if the people they enjoy are your team - that’s amazing! Set the example within your organization that posting to LinkedIn (or Facebook or Instagram if that’s where they’re more comfortable) is encouraged and that tagging the company or using a company hashtag is a normal part of the culture. Speaking of…
Create a social culture
Consider promoting a specific hashtag during an event or a hashtag that captures your mission such as #turnthenextpage or #BeTheBridge. Invite employees, guests and even people passing by your table at a trade show to follow you on social media. Have your channels and handles in multiple places and make those profiles easily accessible (hello, QR code my old friend). With 72% of adults having at least one social media profile, the chances are good that on any given day, you’re coming into contact with people who will follow you online.
Inject positivity (especially when it seems impossible)
Not a news flash: it’s kinda bleak out there. News, science even sports (especially for us Panthers’ fans) are depressing. That being said, unless your business is to sell ice cream, there is probably a lot of things in your industry that are not very uplifting. That’s why it’s so imperative for you to push more positive than negative in your social media. Anyone can tell you that the world is going to end if you don’t buy their product (and you might believe them), but the analytics of the last few years prove that people love dogs, babies and funny memes - even if none of those things are related to your business. When you can, and when it makes sense, add these into your content rotation.
Most executives know they need to start somewhere. The biggest hurdle is probably a mental one. But - I can’t believe I’m going to say this - you might want to take a lesson out of Michael Scott’s playbook as you begin your social media journey: don’t overthink it.