A Tactical Look at Social Media Recruiting for Landscapers - The Edge from the National Association of Landscape Professionals

We recently updated our Privacy Policy. By continuing to use this website, you acknowledge that our revised Privacy Policy applies.

A Tactical Look at Social Media Recruiting for Landscapers

Halstead Media has previously explained the importance of social media when it comes to job recruiting; it can boost a company’s ability to find potential job candidates.

Halstead specified that with social media, you can broadcast your company’s beliefs, reputation, company culture, and so much more. So, how exactly do you get your company’s name out there? What can you do to spread your company’s core values and beliefs out to potential job candidates?

Here are the answers:

Paid Social Versus Organic Social

There are two major sides to a fully optimized social media approach – organic and paid social. When engaging in social media recruiting, it is important to work with both sides to obtain the best results.

Paid social deals with running targeted ads to gain recognition on social platforms. For the landscaping industry, social ads are incredibly popular when it comes to using social media to reach out to potential job candidates. Halstead says that paid social is practically paid advertising.

For most, it is much easier and less costly to just post on their social media feeds. However, you might not get as much reach as buying an ad would.

According to Halstead, ads are located on the back end of your page and can reach a large amount of your targeted audience. Posts are seen on the front end of your page, and only reach a small fragment of your target audience.

Users also can interact with ads, such as clicking on them or submitting forms, whereas posts drive their engagement by allowing followers to like, comment, and share the post.

Ads also have the ability to appear multiple times on a person’s feed, while posts can only appear once and are likely to be missed by followers.

Organic social deals with any activity on social media that increases exposure but was not paid for.. It is often published by the company, but outside agencies may strategically support it.

Organic social can include photos and videos of the company’s team at work, job listings, testimonials, branded content, and more that highlight the company’s culture.

According to Halstead, Instagram is currently the most popular social media platform for those participating in organic social posts. The use of hashtags, such as hiring and the location, can be incredibly effective. It’s important to select a hashtag that isn’t too popular, so your post won’t get lost in the mix. However, a hashtag that no one uses is not going to be effective at all, so it’s critical to find the middle ground.

Halstead says that organic social posts takes time to gain momentum, so patience is important. You need to build a following first for the social platform to create an algorithm, that way, your posts will be seen by others.

Overall, paid social and organic social both target different things, so  one isn’t better than the other. Halstead emphasizes the importance of participating in both paid and organic social, which will give your company the best shot at recruiting potential job candidates.

Social Media Platforms and Where You Should Prioritize Your Efforts

Halstead conducted research on the different demographics based on social media platforms. Halstead researched Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Halstead cited an article written by SproutSocial, and was able to conclude the following:

The largest percentage of Facebook users are between the ages of 25 and 34, and a bit over half are male.

Instagram has similar age groups to Facebook, with the largest percentages of its users also between the ages of 25 and 34. Once again, there are still more males on the app, and since hashtags can be used, more specific characteristics and locations can be targeted, which helps to narrow down your target audience.

TikTok has much younger users, with an age range between 10 to 19, and over half its users are female. Due to TikTok’s younger audience usage, this is a great way to target the new faces of the workplace, even if some users have not yet entered the workforce.

Twitter’s users are primarily between the ages of 18 and 29, again making this appeal to the younger generations. Twitter is common amongst job seekers, making it a popular platform for job recruiting.

LinkedIn has a slightly older user population, with most users being between the ages of 25 and 54. LinkedIn is primarily used for professional reasons, so users are consistently looking for job opportunities through the app.

How Social Media Offers Recruiting Opportunities for Landscapers

Halstead states that joining your town and city’s Facebook Groups is a great way to scope out potential hires. After joining, it’s critical to ensure that you post regularly to develop a close relationship with your audience, securing a positive reputation.

Some Facebook groups have stern rules, so it’s important to always read over and follow the group rules.

You also may want to engage in the group to add value. You don’t need to spam the group with information about your company, just subtly promote it.

Including videos and images can help to reach your audience as well as keep them interested; your way of communicating with the group may be more interesting this way.

Lastly, make sure you are focusing on building relationships and gaining trust. Once you have created strong relationship and established a sense of trust, the results will be evident.