Why You Should Be Staffing 2.0
Staffing professionals once relied on the newspaper classified section, television, radio and telephone to reach their audience. With the advent of the internet, job boards (like Monster and Careerbuilder) were all the rage. From there, pro’s moved to the “big job era”, utilizing the likes of Yahoo Jobs and others. Welcome to 2008 and the “era of Social Media”.
What’s the difference between traditional media and Social Media? Simply put, there are three basic differences:
1. Social Media is just that, it’s “social” because it relies on interactions between people. This new media allows for the exchange of ideas and information, as well as an opportunity for discussions in real time. In the staffing world, this gives hiring professionals the ability to receive unlimited, current resumes 24-hours a day, 7 days a week.
2. Social Media is infinite while traditional media is finite. Television stations can only broadcast 24-hours each day, a newspaper is limited to a certain number of pages, etc. The staffing assistance rendered through Social Media is definitely limitless.
3. Traditional media cannot easily be changed. A newspaper can’t instantly change a story. CV’s can be updated, uploaded and sent anywhere in the world, to as many people as desired, in a matter of seconds.
Exactly what is “Social Media”? Well, I won’t give you Webster’s definition besides, that’s outdated already! Social Media is a broad term used to encompass any
number of activities that combine technology and social interaction – for the professionals in staffing that is a match made in heaven!
Some examples of Social Media you are probably familiar with (and may already be using) include internet forums, message boards, podcasts, blogs (like this one!), email, instant messaging, etc.
Incorporating “Social Media” in every-day staffing solutions is just smart business. There is no way to reach more people, more quickly than via the latest technology. Did you know the number of daily internet users has risen from 48 Million in 1996 to well over 1.1 Billion users today?
Social Media includes social networking sites, like Facebook (#1 in the 17-24 year-old crowd) and MySpace (with over 1 Million daily users). The United States is home to the largest social networking market, with 41 Million adults participating regularly. Most of us also commonly use media reference sites like Google and Wikipedia to gather information at the click of a mouse.
Some staffing professionals may have been dragged kicking and screaming into the brave new world of Social Media. Once there, however, the results are often immediate and users are hooked on this new way of interacting.
Around the world, companies are making the most of Social Media by:
- Use of video, photo and audio sharing sites to tell their unique story
- RSS (“Really Simple Syndication”) feeds – to get their information out beyond their own website
- Hosting “real” FAQs sections – candidates can ask questions and get their answers in real time
- Building relationships with online communities
If you’ve been considering taking the leap into the Social Media pool, “Come on in—the water is more than fine!”