8 Ways to Recruit Effectively on Instagram

The visual nature of Instagram offers a unique way to highlight your company’s culture and lure like-minded caregivers to your business.  Check out our ideas below to build brand awareness and maximize your reach.

An illustration representing the effectiveness of using Instagram to recruit employees.

1. Make It Pretty

Craft all job postings deliberately with an understanding of the platform.  Remember, Instagram is all about pictures.  So be creative. 

Identify a key value of the open caregiving role (compassion or relationship building, for example) and then share an image that visually portrays that value.

Use filters and cropping to create a pretty picture. Keep captions brief and to the point, but be sure to let people know where to go to apply.

2. Time It Right

As with all social platforms, there are optimal times to post for maximum visibility. 

According to HubSpot, the best time to post content to Instagram is from 10 am-3 pm CDT, but the best days to post vary by industry.  So do a little research.  Note what types of content-photos or videos-get the most interaction and when.  Schedule a posting calendar around your findings to ensure maximum reach.

3. Hashtag It

Instagram allows each post to contain up to thirty hashtags, and Instagram Stories can contain up to ten.  Research shows posts with hashtags perform better than those without. 

Plus, hashtags give you heightened visibility in search results, which is always important in SEO. So, definitely use hashtags. But be strategic about how many (and what kind) you use.

4. Count Those Tags

Be careful.  Using the maximum number of hashtags for each post or story can be overwhelming and can come across as spammy.  There’s some debate about the optimal number of hashtags to use per post, but the general consensus is that less is more.

To find the perfect number for you, track your posts for effectiveness. Then, see what posts-and which hashtags-receive the most engagement.

5. And Make Them Count

If your company has an established online presence, always include one hashtag with your company name or tagline.

Also, use relevant hashtags targeted towards your specific post and audience. 

For example, when posting a job opening, include a few general hashtags that candidates may search for across social platforms, like #nowhiring or #cnajobs.  But also include specific tags just for Instagram like #instacaregiver, or #instaseniorcare.

6. Use Live Rooms

Instagram recently enhanced its live feature with the addition of Live Rooms, an option that allows up to four people to live stream at one time.  This presents some valuable recruitment opportunities. 

Consider hosting an informal “job fair,” featuring some of your best caregivers as facilitators.  Or, present a panel of professionals outlining some of the specific on-the-job training caregivers will receive if they join your team.

7. Seek Out Passive Talent

You can also use Instagram to build relationships with people who share the same values as your company. 

These new connections might not even be looking for a job at the moment, but reaching out to them now could pay off down the road. 

First, search your own branded tag to discover who has used that same tag in their own posts.  Then, start following their accounts and engaging in their content.  Also, search hashtags relevant to your industry like #seniorliving, #homecare to find and follow users with similar interests.

8. Optimize Your Content

Finally, make sure what you’re posting is performing well.  Monitor your progress through Instagram’s Professional Dashboard, a new suite of tools available to all business accounts on the platform. 

Dashboard collected tools previously available, like Branded Content, and combined them with other, newer tools into one consolidated resource. 

The features on Dashboard track account performance so you can see what’s working-and what’s not working-and adjust accordingly.

Be Deliberate

As with all recruiting efforts, it pays to be strategic. 

Understanding how Instagram works and optimizing your content will allow you to connect with people in creative ways that will build trust in your brand and attract the right caregivers to your company.

If you need a hand with using Instagram to recruit potential hires, contact the social media professionals at Home Care Marketing Pros today!

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