What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Instagram?
Is it family vacation photos? Cute pet pics? Selfies?
How about reels of employee testimonials or pictures of company events?
With over two billion monthly active users worldwide, Instagram has become a powerful tool for social media recruiting. Industries where visual content plays a key role, including the beauty and cosmetics, creative, technology, and health and fitness sectors, can benefit the most from this platform.
Some of the top benefits of using Instagram for recruitment are:
- Cost-effectiveness
- Greater reach
- Visual storytelling
- Engaging niche groups of communities and candidates
- Branding opportunities
Organizations can showcase company culture, share team stories, and provide behind-the-scenes glimpses of office life.
However, businesses must develop an effective Instagram recruitment strategy to stop prospective candidates mid-scroll. If you’re not using the platform correctly, your recruitment marketing efforts will fall flat.
Seven Best Practices for Recruiting on Instagram
Here are seven pro tips to nail recruiting on Instagram to attract, engage, and hire world-class candidates.
Tip 1: Optimize Your Business Profile
If you haven’t already, create a professional profile focusing solely on hiring and corporate culture. This should be a separate account from your main brand page, where you share your products or services.
Choose an Instagram handle that indicates the account is for hiring purposes. For example, if your company is called Best Beauty Business, your Instagram handle can be “Best Beauty Business Careers.”
After creating your account, include:
- A brief but compelling company bio that defines your mission and values
- Link to your careers page
- A recognizable on-brand profile picture (your logo works great)
- A call-to-action (CTA), like “We’re hiring! 👇”
It’s also essential to get a verified badge, a blue checkmark next to your profile name, indicating your account’s authenticity.
Tip 2: Post Engaging, Candidate-Focused Content
Remember, your Instagram careers page is for engaging candidates and spotlighting your work culture, not your products or services. It’s crucial for organizations to post candidate-focused content that resonates with target audiences.
Use your account to craft an authentic brand narrative. Showcase your:
- Company culture
- Daily operations
- Team-building activities
- Employee spotlights
- Open roles
This humanizes your business and gives candidates a feel for what it’s like working there.
To drive engagement, you can post fun interactive content like quizzes, Q&A sessions, and polls. For instance, you can use Instagram Stories to host a Q&A where candidates ask current employees about their roles and experiences.
Engaging with users in the comments section is just as important. Reply to direct messages (DMs), questions, comments, and feedback daily. To boost engagement even further, you can also follow professionals in your industry, influencers in your space, and recent grads.
Lastly, create a content calendar to ensure you share diverse content regularly. This will give you a high-level view of what you’re posting and when, and keep you on track.
Tip 3: Master Instagram Hashtags
While hashtag use has diminished on sites such as LinkedIn and X, it is still extremely effective on Instagram for content discovery and engagement.
Use targeted hashtags to zero in on candidates by role, industry, and location. For example, if your company is a marketing agency, you could search for and use hashtags like #digitalmarketer or #contentmarketing.
Encourage employees to post their own content about their work experiences at your company. Using branded hashtags like #LifeAtBigBeautyBusiness can expand your pool of qualified candidates. Plus, employee branding builds trust and credibility among job seekers.
Tip 4: Use Stories, Highlights, and Reels to Build Connection
Short-form video is dominating Instagram. Leverage Instagram Stories and Reels to share job spotlights, day-in-the-life clips, and employee takeovers. Accounts with over 10,000 followers can also utilize the “Swipe Up” feature to direct viewers to careers pages.
Not all your content has to be polished and pristine. Raw, unedited videos feel more authentic.
Tip 5: Invest in Instagram Ads for Job Promotion
Paid Instagram ad campaigns effectively target specific audiences based on behaviors, demographics, and interests. Running targeted ads also widens your reach, getting your content in front of users who might not have seen it otherwise.
Always include a clear call-to-action in your ads to encourage candidates to take the next step. The CTA can route them to your careers page or a job posting for a specific role.
Tip 6: Track Performance with Insights and Adjust
Tracking performance reveals how well content is performing and what resonates most with your audience.
Some essential Instagram metrics to monitor are:
- Follower growth
- Engagement rate
- Impressions
- Reach
- Impressions
- Like/comments/shares
- Hashtag performance
- Stories/Reels metrics
- Profile visits
You can use these insights to fine-tune future content and ad campaigns.
Tip 7: Partner with Influencers in Your Industry
Collaborating with Instagram influencers in your industry is an effective way to reach qualified job seekers who might be interested in your company. Influencers can share job openings, perks for working at your organization, and more.
Partnering with employees with strong followings is also effective. They can share:
- Live sessions to talk about roles
- “Day at the office” Story or Reel
- “Why I love working here” content
Real people sharing real experiences carry more weight than corporate messaging alone.
Recruiting on Instagram for Hiring Success
Instagram is more than brand awareness — it can be a serious recruiting channel if done right.
With Gen Z and millennials dominating the workforce and Instagram, meeting candidates where they already spend their time is essential. When used correctly, Instagram can help you humanize your employer brand, reach more candidates, and create a talent pipeline that feels more like a community.
Need assistance creating a powerful Instagram recruitment strategy? ProIQ’s recruitment marketing experts can help. We can help you craft compelling content, select the best hashtags, and build a compelling employer brand that captivates your target candidates.
Reach out to us today to set yourself up for success with better Instagram recruitment marketing strategies.