You want to brand yourself as a social recruiting pro.

Developing your social media skills is a fantastic way to advance your career. If you don’t believe me, ask me (connect on Linked in and ask away; it’s fun!) Or read this blog post about how adding social recruiting to your resume is an excellent career move.

To start getting social you've got to decide which platforms you’ll use. There are so many social networks out there and you don’t have to stick to just one. What is important is that you select platforms that match your organization’s goals.It is also important that you keep an open mind about which networks those may be.

Most recruiters fixate on LinkedIn and job boards because they are very obviously recruitment oriented and they are already familiar with how those platforms work. Basically; most recruiters play it safe.

But, if you want better results, to stand out from the crowd, and to take your career to the next level, you can’t just do what everyone else is doing.

Not only that, but most of the data we have on job seekers shows that they are actually far more active on other social platforms, Facebook in particular.

Here are team Jobcast’s top 4 choices for social recruiting and employer branding:

Facebook:

• Only 65% of recruiters are using Facebook to recruit, compared to the 96% percent who use LinkedIn = Less competition for you!

• 83% of job seekers use Facebook, compared to the mere 36% who use LinkedIn = More candidates for you!

• 81% of job seekers want to see job opportunities posted to Facebook career pages = Improved candidate experience from you!

• Candidates are more likely to update their professional information on Facebook than either Twitter, or LinkedIn = More information at your fingertips!

Facebook is a great choice for general recruiting and employer branding. Facebook’s user base is broad, but their targeted ads allow you to narrow your focus when looking for candidates with specific skill sets.

No matter what field your organization specializes in; expertise in Facebook recruiting is highly valuable, and implementing a Facebook recruiting and employer branding process is a sure way to make a name for yourself as socially savvy!

Twitter:

• 2 Million Jobs are posted on Twitter per month!

• Reaching out to candidates through Twitter is less invasive than adding them on LinkedIn or Facebook and the casual nature of tweets makes engagement more casual.

• Twitter is an ideal way to promote your other social channels or your company career site

I firmly believe that every company should use Twitter. It is one of the easiest ways to communicate with clients and customers, promote your events, or handle complaints. It is also a great network for driving candidates to your job posts.

Use relevant hashtags such as #location (the location of your job), #hiring, and #retail (or whatever type of position you are hiring for, to announce your new job openings, then link to your Facebook Career Page, job board postings, or company career site.

Twitter and Facebook is basically the perfect recruitment combo!

But, that doesn't mean you shouldn't try...

Google+:

• G+ has over 540 million active users, but no job posting facility = Lots of candidates, but very little competition for you!

• The ability to create “Circles” that are specific to your talent communities which makes it easy to create content strategies customized to specific candidates = A more personalized touch, and more effective content strategy and candidate targeting for you!

• Google Plus boosts organic SEO = More candidates eyes on your online job posts, shared content, and employer branding!

Google Plus is a great general recruiting choice as well, but not quite as good as Facebook. Where it wins out is technical recruiting. If your company is tech related, or you are looking to brand yourself as a specialist in that field, then Google+ is the network for you.

YouTube or Vine:

(YouTube has a broader audience, but if you are looking for younger recruits, Vines your network!)

• Job postings that include video receive a 36% higher rate of application = More applications and greater selection for you!

• Content that includes video is 53% more likely to appear on the first page of a Google search = Better SEO for you and your organization!

• Mobile video ads that include social media buttons drive 36% higher engagement (interesting how the engagement stats mirror application stats huh?)

Does your organization need to improve its overall engagement, brand, and online reach? If so, then showing off your video recruiting skills is a great way to make a splash.

Video centric networks are also an easy sell if your superiors are socially reluctant, because using online video for recruiting improves your organizations SEO, which is great for marketing and branding overall. It’s a win-win situation!

We’ll delve into some more niche platforms next week, but for most organizations, focusing on a couple, or even all of these networks will see the best return on investment.

Become an expert in social recruiting, and you’ll brand yourself as an innovator in no time.

I believe in you!

Happy social recruiting!