3 Ways to Start Measuring Social Media ROI

Unless you’re living in the dark ages, you’re bound to know that you should be using social media as part of your agency’s recruitment strategy. But without a definite ROI, you might be reluctant to unleash your recruiters on social media – no matter how much you’ve read about the benefits. So what can you do to start tracking the return your agency is getting from using social media?

1) Decide which stats are important to you

Social media is a great place to promote the brand and image of your agency. Put the effort in on social and you will be rewarded with likes, follows and shares which strengthen your brand. The value of long term relationships that can be built off of the back of a successful social media following should not be under-estimated either. Recruiters I speak with say that they have to be on all the social channels because their competition is already there - I AGREE! When you're getting started on social media I suggest you track:

• Where was the candidate sourced?
• Quality of the candidate (perhaps you might want to give them a rating out of 5)
• Number of hits and applications from each social channel
• Placements from each social channel

2) Who clicked on what?

The most intuitive Applicant Tracking Systems will give you a unique link to apply for a job on your own website. This link can then be shared out on the different social media platforms you use- that way when you log back into to your ATS you can run a report to see where the candidate came from. You can then analyse this data using your ATS reports to see which channel is giving you the best return and either invest more time in it, or come up with a plan to strengthen the weaker channel. It’s worth noting that the “type” of candidate you are looking for might prefer one platform to another and this will become obvious when you start to track it.

3) Check your #tags and your subject lines to reach more candidates

Now that you are tracking the views / clicks and you can see what works best, it’s time to start looking for patterns. If your five most successful social media posts all had the same hashtag or keyword, then you need to track this and use it to your advantage. This way, you can develop a consistent social media strategy which will drive the best results. Once you’re tracking this, remember to experiment! You’ll be amazed by the difference a new #tag or a different title can make in the success of a post, especially seeing as the landscape of social media is always changing and evolving

Social recruiting is only getting bigger for agencies, so getting a grasp on the ROI your social channels are giving your business is essential. They must be measured to determine what is working and what is not. If something isn’t working don’t be afraid to change your approach!

Images: Wilfred Iven, Duron123