The Role of Social Media in Education Recruitment

HR professionals working in the education field know there is a teacher shortage. And, according to research from the Learning Policy Institute, the deficit in talent is growing.

This shortfall not only means that HR professionals must work harder to recruit candidates, but it also means they’ll need to get creative about where to reach the most qualified people with their messaging.

Increasingly, social media is playing a key role in the job search. If you are not leveraging your school’s social assets to assist with your recruitment efforts, you’re missing out on a big opportunity. Here’s how to start capturing their attention online.

Know Your Options

Let’s start simple: Your school needs to have a presence on the most relevant social media sites. Candidates want to research their potential employers, and they’ll often head to social media to do so. An official page on social sites like LinkedIn and Facebook allows your candidates to learn more about your school, get a sense of the culture there, and begin to understand what it would be like to work for you.

Target Potential Candidates

While it’s great for candidates to be able to discover you, you can also use social to recruit qualified teachers. According to a survey from AdWeek, 96% of recruiters use social media to find qualified candidates.

LinkedIn has a tool specifically designed to assist in the recruiting process. But it’s possible to get creative with recruiting tactics on other social sites like Facebook too. Whether you’re looking for a physics teacher in Phoenix or a history teacher in Helena, chances are you can find them in a relevant Facebook community and targeting them based on demographics, grads, interests and more.

Consider Advertising on Social

Those already aware of your school can use social to search and learn more about your programs and mission. However, social advertising can also be a great way to reach qualified candidates who haven’t yet heard of you. According to a study from the Society for Human Resource Management, HR professionals in the education, health, and social assistance industries were more likely than those in other industries to expand advertising efforts on social media.

Social media platforms allow you to create custom audiences for your advertising. This means you can direct your campaigns at people who possess the attributes you’re looking for in candidates whether they’re already aware of who you are or not.

For example, you can indicate that you’d like your ads shown to people with a Master’s degree in teaching, living in a certain location, and with an interest in science. This specificity in your social advertising allows you to bring qualified candidates to you, rather than having to rely solely on recruitment outreach.

HR professionals in the field of education know how difficult it is to find qualified candidates. Fortunately, social media provides a lot of opportunities to both recruit and get discovered by great teachers. If you need help polishing your social media approach, we’re here to help.

As your complete marketing partner, LOCALiQ provides extensive marketing solutions powered by smart optimization technology, marketing expertise and data and insights to help you find and acquire the right talent for the position.

Let’s talk.