How to use Instagram Stories as a Recruitment Tool

Every single day, over 500 million people are active on Instagram – and over half of them are between the ages of 18 and 34. This gives businesses and schools good grounds for considering Instagram a recruitment tool when it comes to targeting today’s youth.

One increasingly popular way to use Instagram is the Stories feature. This feature allows users to upload full-screen pictures or videos that automatically delete after 24 hours. Get familiar with how today’s youth use, view, and rate Instagram Stories in 2019.

It’s no secret that most companies are taking advantage of social media for marketing purposes. The secret lies in being on top of the trends and ahead of the competition. It isn’t enough to know that young people are on Instagram. The platform’s original feature is falling to the wayside, due to an overflow of feed content. In 2018, Stories had over 500 million daily users, and continues to gain popularity into 2019. Read on to discover how you can use this marketing trend in a recruitment context to improve candidate experience.

Use Instagram Stories like a pro.

Instagram Stories provides you with a channel in which you can let the public see ‘behind the scenes.’ By showing what daily life is like at your company or school, you can personalise your employer brand.

As a Story only lasts 24 hours and usually contains a series of content, the expectations for quality are lowered. The goal is to come across as authentic and transparent. It is critical that your content does not remind your audience of traditional marketing – being pushy will get you nowhere with the youth. You could promote an open house event or advertise for a newly available position. Just remember to make it feel more informative than promotional.

In order to make sure that your Instagram Stories appeal to a younger audience, it is vital that you get the young people within your organisation involved. Use their familiarity with social media to make the best impression – get their input on how and what to film and photograph, or make sure there are young faces in front of the camera as brand ambassadors.

Instagram features for increasing interaction

One of the great advantages of Instagram Stories is that they can be so much more than just one-way communication through storytelling. Stories provide you with a few features that can help you start a dialogue with and gain some insights from a younger audience.

Being familiar with these functions will modernise and market your employer brand. Here are three examples of how you can use Stories has part of your recruitment strategy.

Questions – Interact through inquiries

One way to engage with potential candidates is by uploading a Q&A ‘sticker’ along with the picture or video. This prompts your followers (or whoever is viewing your story) to respond to a specific question or statement, for example: ‘Tell us your biggest challenge when choosing a university’ or ‘Do you have any questions about our career opportunities?’.

You can then also post each response to your story, add a comment if needed, and let the quiet followers benefit as well. The responses to your Questions sticker will appear anonymous to the public – but here is the best part: they are not anonymous to you. In this way, you can start a private dialogue with curious potential candidates. Remember the platform you are on when connecting via direct message. Keep it casual, including gifs, and use emojis tastefully.

Q&A allows you to demonstrate to a younger audience that you want to engage and interact with them on their level. This puts you one step ahead of your competition, simply by making communication comfortable, easy and authentic.

Poll – Collect & share opinions

Another popular Instagram Stories feature is the Poll. Add a question or statement to your story and let your viewers interact by voting on the answer; for example, true or false, with a quick tap of the thumb. Once they have voted, viewers can see the results in real time.

The feature is a fun, informal way for you to gather data on today’s youth – take advantage of this tool and use it for feedback. Instagram makes it easy and fast for users to engage via Stories. Using these features helps brand your business or school as young and engaging.

It is without a doubt that Instagram Stories will continue to push the popularity of stickers in 2019. Use stickers to let followers know what event you’re attending, who you cooperate with, or what there is to look forward to. Keep an eye out for updates and new features, as not to be left behind.

Take advantage of Live Video

One of the strongest and most ambitious tools that can be used for recruiting is Live Video. Here you have the best opportunity to build your authenticity. Film a behind-the-scenes segment or simply explain a job position, and interact with users in real-time as they write comments live.

What makes Live Video so attractive is how high of a priority the feature is to Instagram. Live Videos are automatically displayed as the very first of their followers’ Stories. In addition, followers receive notifications when Live Video is starting.

In a recruitment strategy context, your Live Video could include an employee or a brand ambassador giving a tour of the workplace. It could also be structured as a Q&A session, where students ask questions in the comments. It is important to keep in mind that this is meant to be a casual interaction.

When your Live Video is finished, you can share it replayed as in your Stories, where it can be viewed for 24 hours. This means those who were not online to see the video live have a chance to see the interaction and possibly answer some of their own questions.

How to be successful with Instagram Stories

Using Instagram as a part of a recruitment strategy is still a relatively new concept. Instagram Stories provide a great opportunity to show potential candidates how authentic and modern you can be. When you demonstrate to a younger audience that you want to engage and interact with them on their level, it makes them feel comfortable with you as an organisation.

Not only is it important for your employer brand, but it is also a fantastic (free!) tool for communicating and gathering data. Jumping on this trend gives businesses and schools the unique opportunity to see how today’s youth think approaching the application process.

Some of this is easier said than done – how can we know what is the ‘right’ content? When is the right time to post? How can we attract more viewers?
Much of it is trial and error. The best advice is going to come from those already within the target audience, so use them to help you market promotions. At CompanYoung we are always ready to help you get started, and develop the right storytelling strategy to improve your employer brand.

Four ways CompanYoung can help you use Instagram Stories for Recruitment

1. Strategy and Brand Image: Your Stories must take a position that can be recognised as your own by your target audience. This position should be attractive to them specifically.
2. Assign Ambassadors: Throughout the years, CompanYoung has helped all kinds of businesses, schools and organisations find young role models for their social media channels. We happily do the same for Instagram Stories.
3. Use Instagram for Advertising: You can’t guarantee that the younger audience you want to reach follows your social media channels – or for that matter, knows you exist. For this reason, it is a good idea to consider expanding your marketing budget to include paid advertising via Instagram Stories. We can help you target a specific audience, gain followers, and redirect them to your homepage.
4. Track your Performance: Instagram for Business comes with tools for performance analyses. It is important that you have the right insights in order to understand the numbers and make adjustments accordingly. CompanYoung has the experience and the knowledge to assist you in getting the most out of this database.