Newcastle University on SnapChat

This is the my 1st in a series of blog posts from my ‘SnapChat Family’ whom you can find on the Recruiting SnapChat Directory post I created. 

Matthew Horne from Newcastle University whom recently been featured in the Guardians article UK Universities make their messages more SnapChatty. 

Has very kindly agreed to be interviewed in a bit more detail on how he is making the platform work for the University.

Here’s what Matthew had to say…

When did you first become aware of Snap Chat as a platform?

As a university we’ve been using it since April 2015 after it became apparent a large proportion of our target audience were using the channel.

What do you like about it?  

It’s quick, simple and fun. The stories feature is a great short form content creator, and the number of tools built in to the app to get creative is fantastic.

How do you engage your students with it?
We use our Snapchat account for all kinds of different things. From advertising the latest vacancies available on and around campus to showcasing student life through account takeovers and providing short form content for them to engage with like polls and doodle shares.

Do you engage with employers (eg takeovers)?

We keep our takeovers specifically for current students so they can show off what they get up to on their course or with their society/sports team. 

We do work with our Careers Service to help promote the huge range of employment opportunities available to our students, whether it’s recruitment fairs, vacancies available or Q&A sessions with advisorsexperts.

How are you measuring your ROI?

Unless you’re a huge brand with access to Snapchat Discovery, the analytics in Snapchat is difficult to be honest. We have a manual process of logging the stats for each story so we can see engagement rates and audience retention. 

These are our key KPIs with the channel. We also receive ad hoc questions through Snapchat from current students, applicants and alumni. Unlike other social networks, at the moment there’s little invested in the channel other than staff time , so investment is small.

Which Snappers do you take inspiration from?

A great place to see the kind of content our key audience engage with is the Snapchat Discovery section. Also, we get a lot of snaps sent to us from our followers which helps us get good ideas about the content being shared by our audience.

What your biggest success story from the platform?

Over the summer we were able to run three different takeovers from research expeditions around the world, including from the base of a volcano in Chile which was a great way to showcase student experience. We also got great feedback on the “Ask us Anything” sessions we ran in the run up to various key application stages such as UCAS Deadline Day and Results Day.

What tips can you give to a recruiter starting out on the platform?

As with any social network, you need to use it personally to know how to use it professionally. Learn what features are available and the kind of things your target audience us it for then experiment. Just don’t go hard on sales messages – Snapchat is a fun space for sharing short content, not a serious sales message in a suit place.

Who are the best people to follow?

Other than Newcastleuni? Arnie is a genius on Snapchat and captures his events around the world well. Father Marquette is another great example of a fun way a university can use the channel. Also, weratedogs but that’s just because dogs should take the internet crown from cats.

SnapChat Directory

What’s the future for Snap Chat & Recruitment ? 

Tough to say but there’s probably going to be a move more towards opening the platform up to smaller companies wanting to advertise. Hopefully decent analytics will follow. 

With the use of geofilters recruiters could get smart and target users close to where top jobs are. But as with other channels, with more advertising comes an increase in people jumping to the next big thing.

End

Thanks again to Matthew for letting us into his world of SnapChat.

I hope this was useful. 

Find Newcastles snapcode on my link Recruiting on SnapChat Directory

Ros 🤓

Recruiter Cox Purtell on making a success on Instagram

I have been blessed having recently to connected with some amazing recruiters making full use of the digital space. 

When I started my Instagram I must admit I was a Lone Ranger 18 months ago.  The UK recruitment agencies had not really grasped how to utilise the platform. But now I certainly see it gathering momentum.

At the time, I did notice that in the USA and Australia there where agencies doing some incredible work. Specifically using Instagram for talent attraction, advertising jobs and brand.  

One of the agencies that stood out for me is a company called Cox Purtell based in Sydney. 

Whom have kindly allowed me into their world. They have given me some amazing insight as to how they have used the platform and have made themselves a huge success. 

Please see the interview below with Christina Knock Cox Purtell’s Brand & Digital Marketing  Manager…. 

When did you first become aware of Instagram as a platform?

When we started on Instagram, a couple of years ago, not many agencies were utilising it at the time so we saw it as an opportunity to grow in unchartered territory.

What do you like about it?

Instagram is my favorite platform because it allows us to showcase our personality in a fun and informal way – The best part is we get to be a little bit cheeky while still staying true to the CP brand.

How do you engage your candidates with it?

We encourage and sometimes incentivise our candidates to post their experiences with us on Twitter and Instagram. We also make sure to monitor our comments and DM inbox to make sure we’re picking up any enquiries.

Do you engage with anyone else?

It’s really important not to just post and forget – social media should always be a two way conversation. 

A great way to engage with users outside of your candidate pool is to run a competition. 

We ran an Instagram competition for local followers to submit photos that demonstrate why they love Sydney.

The secondary purpose for the #WhyILoveSydney campaign was to use the winning entry in our next LinkedIn campaign, aimed at attracting Recruiters from the USA & UK.

Not only did we increase our Instagram followers by 228 during the 6 week campaign period, but the key for us was running a competition that matched our broader business objectives, not just running a competition to grow our account.

How are you measuring your ROI?

We monitor our website referrals from Instagram so we can see how much traffic the platform is generating for us. We regularly have candidates, often in the digital and marketing space in particular approach us for job opportunities because they are interested in what we’re doing on Instagram.

We also utilise Instagram to amplify our employer branding hashtag #LifeAtCP. Since we began really pushing our #LifeAtCP hashtag we have found we were able to reduce our Rec2Rec spend dramatically as we are able to generate candidates organically through our employer brand messaging.

Is the platform used just for the Company/Staff or Both on Instagram?

Cox Purtell has a company account and many of our consultants post about #LifeAtCP on their personal accounts. They do not have individual professional accounts.

Which Instagram accounts do you take inspiration from?

Companies who are at the top of the Instagram game such as @Instagram themselves, also big brands who really push the envelope such as @Nike and @RedBull.

It’s important to spend some time on Instagram initially and identify companies who have a similar style and tone that you would like to build on. 

While it’s always beneficial to see what your recruitment competitors are doing, our real success came from marching to the beat of our own drum – so don’t be afraid to take a different path and take risks!

What your biggest success story from the platform?

The most surprising development for us was how our Instagram page began to act as a customer service platform for us. 

We receive DMs and comments from candidates who, for example, are unable to apply through a job board so come to us on our Instagram page for help. This is huge for a social platform that isn’t considered to be business focused. 

We feel we have really been pioneers in this area.

What tips can you give to a recruiter starting out on the platform?

Before posting anything on Instagram, or even writing your bio, have a think about the message and brand you want to project, and also the tone. 

You don’t necessarily need to have posts pre-planned, and your tone will probably evolve as time goes on but you do need to have a clear purpose. 

Think about it if you will be posting as a brand? If so, what’s the wording? 

Messaging needs to be “we” and “us”. If you’re building your personal brand on the platform everything will be in the first person. This is a really small detail but it’s vital to get it right.

Also remember that Instagram is a visual platform, your images need to be attractive and eye catching – why else would anyone want to follow you? 

Accounts that only post motivational quotes a few times a week are not going to stand out!

Who are the best people to follow?

Make sure to follow your candidates and the people who interact with your brand on Instagram the most! 

For every 500 followers there will likely be one or two brand advocates. They may not even be potential clients or candidates, they may just be somebody who really believes in what you are doing. 

Identify these brand advocates and reward them accordingly.

What’s the future for Instagram & Recruitment ? 

Moving into 2017 I think more agencies are going to see the benefits of investing in Instagram. 

The power of this platform isn’t about instant conversions, but relationship building with candidates before they are looking for a job, so when they reach that critical decision making phase of their career, you will be front of mind.

I also wrote a Social Recruitment Toolkit that may be of interest. It has a huge amount of information that is relevant to the questions above: 

Cox Purtell gives advise to Recruiters Starting out on Instagram 

End

I hope this was useful guys ! Thankyou so much to Cox Purtell tell for letting me in! I totally agree with the attitude they have regarding engagement on social platforms. 

Some of my biggest advocates aren’t recruiters but they are my funnel to the audience that is. 

I wish you every success!

Are you a recruiter making full use of Instagram or another digital platform? Get in touch and share your successes.

Incidentally if you are looking #MaketheMove to Australia speak to Cox Purtell 👏😀

SnapDex Directory releases a new ‘tag’ to help employers and recruiters match SnapChat users with jobs…

Further to my release of my blog Recruiting on SnapChat and here’s who’s using it and my mini  Recruiting on SnapChat Directory

I caught the attention of Laurent Van Winckel  founder SnapDex 

SnapDex is a directory of Snapchat users. It let’s you easily discover new people on Snapchat that may be of interest to you. It does so by providing a searchable database of interesting people who use Snapchat, including their username, snapcode, some snaps, related accounts, and more, giving you a better glimpse of what’s out there.

They made Snapdex because they missed a place to find interesting Snapchat users to follow. Snapchat is full of people who share interesting content which is usually exclusive to the Snapchat audience. 

In my opinion it’s the best SnapChat directory for businesses and business people to utilise. 

So it got us talking.

I asked Laurent how can we help connect people/graduates/interns with employment opportunities. They are all mostly on SnapChat so how can we get their attention.

So after much deliberation we decided to come up with an appropriate tag that SnapDex business users can use to showcase that they are using SnapChat to hire and recruit from.

We launched #WeAreHiring on 15th Nov and immediately had employers such as Experian_US adopting the tag.

Laurent says ‘’ we are excited to help bring a niche and inventive group of employers and staffing companies together in this way. We hope this will create more access to job opportunities for the millennial market’’

I am so grateful to SnapDex for their curiously and genuine desire to give a good service to the people using the directory. 

Good Luck

Ros Milton 

**my views are my own**
 

Recruiting on SnapChat has started to work and here’s who’s doing it!

 

What is Snapchat?

Snapchat is a video messaging app which is now used by over 100 million people per month. It allows users to create videos and take photos, add text etc. At the start of 2016, Snapchat reported a record high of 7 billion daily video views.

Video is no longer an “up-and-coming” marketing tactic — it’s here, trust me, and it’s a powerful way to communicate your brand story, and build relationships with your customers and prospects.

What differentiates Snapchat from others is that the images and videos only have a set time limit for how long they can be viewed. The user can decide how long their message can be viewed once opened by the recipient before it is deleted.

Things to consider…

1.      Is my target audience on Snapchat?http://www.shaunayala.com/is-your-target-audience-on-snapchat/ 

2.      Can I consistently create the content needed to maintain a worthwhile presence on the platform (if using it for employer branding)?

3.      Do I have the necessary budget to market our openings to our target audience on Snapchat (if using it to fill specific vacancies)?

Where do I start?
If you are a recruiter considering starting up on SnapChat the best thing to do is to firstly set up a profile and download the app onto your smartphone. http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Snapchat-Account

Then make full use of the free information out there. I HIGHLY recommend the below people/persons when starting out on the platform. Who’s daily wisdom I certainly couldn’t be with out

Karina Collier – Guru 

http://www.thesearchologist.com/recruit-on-snapchat/

 

To help demystify Snapchat and ensure you use it well, I’ve created a free training course. Get started here. No catch!

It’ll give you all you need to get started, create a good profile, find people, and start sharing snaps. Plus with a little help from my friends, you’ll find 10 tips for great Snapchat social recruiting.

Link Humans (run by Jörgen Sundberg)

http://linkhumans.com/tag/snapchat

Social talent (run by Johnny Campbell)

 

http://www.socialtalent.co/blog/how-to-use-snapchat-for-recruitment

Who to Follow

Now you can start your research by following members that are currently using SnapChat to recruit. There are plenty of employers, universities, and recruiters to choose from.

 

You’ll be pleased to know that I have already done the work for you! This is the list of the SnapChat accounts that are successfully recruiting, giving recruitment advice, advertising jobs etc.

Recruiter SnapChat Directory

 

Other ways you can search for recruitment relevant followers is the SnapChat directories. The most popular being

GhostCodes https://www.ghostcodes.com/ and Snapdex https://www.snapdex.com/

I will be interviewing these guys over the coming weeks to showcase how they are making this platform work for them in the world of recruitment.

Let me know how you all get on.

Ros Milton MIRP

Recruiting on SnapChat Directory

Do you think your competitors and employers aren’t recruiting on SnapChat?  Think again!

Here’s a list of active recruiters and recruitment Snapchat gurus whom are doing just that! (& have the ROI to prove it)

You’ll be pleased to know I have already done the work for you! This is the list of the SnapChat accounts that are successfully recruiting, giving recruitment advise, advertising jobs or just experts at SnapChat

These are a mix of recruiters, experts, companies and UK Universities.

All you have to do is screenshot the SnapCode logos below to your smart phone camera album. Then you can go into your SnapChat and select ‘Add Friends’ then ‘by SnapCode’ then click on your saved photo in the camera roll. SnapChat will scan the codes into your SnapChat friends.

Other ways you can search for recruitment relevant followers is the SnapChat directories.

The most popular being

GhostCodes https://www.ghostcodes.com/

Snapdex https://www.snapdex.com/

Happy Snapping!