TikTok for recruitment marketing?
Is this something you should consider?
I think you should!
If you hire talents between the ages of 16 to 34, TikTok has massive opportunities for you as a recruitment marketing platform.
Based on what I’ve seen and discovered, I believe TikTok has much potential for all talent marketing, but for recruiting is probably even more so than for employer branding.
Hi, my name is Susanna Rantanen. I teach branding, marketing and communications for the HR industry for people like you who are motivated to create a successful career in employer branding or talent acquisition.
This and next week in the Building a Modern Employer Brand podcast, I talk about TikTok for employer branding and recruitment marketing.
If you are a recruiter or employer brand marketer curious about using TikTok in your work, these two episodes will have some diamond content for you!
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TikTok for recruitment marketing and employer branding
When I first discovered TikTok, I was overwhelmed because it has a different vibe from other social media platforms. I think it takes a minute to grasp it, especially if you happen to be 47 like I am right now! But if you are in your 20s and 30s, you’ll crack it immediately.
And that’s, by the way, why us, umm, seniors, need to either copy and learn from you in your 20s and 30s or leave it to you to ace this platform.
Based on what I’ve seen and discovered, I believe TikTok has much potential for all talent marketing.
However, I think probably more so for recruitment marketing, especially if you, as a recruiter, create and post the content.
What about employer branding, then?
I think TikTok is probably a really good social media for employee ambassador type of employer branding content, especially if your target audience matches most TikTok users. We’ll focus on employer branding on TikTok in next week’s episode 123.
TikTok for recruitment marketing
Let’s crack this thing with recruitment marketing tips and ideas for TikTok!
I believe this platform has so much potential for you as a recruitment campaign platform.
What makes TikTok an excellent tool for recruiting is that it is packed with tech-savvy and creative potential employees, especially for roles where understanding and using social media is a huge asset.
Roles such as talent acquisition, employer branding, sales, marketing and communication all benefit immensely from creative talents knowing how to use social media in their work.
And if you are hiring Gen Z for any roles, TikTok is probably your ideal recruitment platform at this point!
What makes TikTok special for talent marketing is that it runs on originality, as your talent marketing should too.
At the core of all modern employer branding and recruitment marketers is to make your marketing drive on your company’s authentic juices and stories.
If you are a corporate marketer heavy on policies and rules, stay out of TikTok. There is a strong chance you’ll stand out as an account that didn’t get the memo on TikTok culture and comes across as boring and inauthentic.
If you are a corporate marketer heavy on policies and rules, stay out of TikTok. There is a strong chance you’ll stand out as an account that didn’t get the memo on TikTok culture and comes across as boring and inauthentic. It is really important to let loose on TikTok. Something I’m personally also still learning.
But this does not mean you have to go crazy and create content that has nothing to do with what you represent. You still talk about your jobs, opportunities, cultures and values. You just let your company’s authentic vibe come through strongly and leave the polished corporate videos elsewhere.
8 ideas on how to use TikTok for recruitment marketing
#1 Promote your vacancies on TikTok
Especially those vacancies that are targeted to graduates, interns and students looking for summer jobs or part-time opportunities can benefit from recruitment marketing on TikTok.
Most TikTok users are currently in their 20s, making this platform excellent for running recruitment campaigns for younger talent audiences.
However, the second biggest user group are users up to 34, so you should pay attention to those target audiences looking for their first promotion or step forward on their career ladder.
When I say “promote”, I mean you preferably let your current employees in the same age groups and roles create the content so that it vibes with this audience.
Tip! Get some inspiration from TikTok’s account on how they speak to their younger target audiences about their career opportunities.
They are probably your best resource for TikTok career content inspiration, sharing a day in the lives of many of their employees and tips for landing a job at TikTok, showcasing their offices, etc.
These types of content are recruitment marketing content as they promote a specific job and call relevant audiences to take action and apply for those roles.
#2 Don’t create a video describing your expectations for the applicants
Recruitment marketing content on TikTok should not be one video describing your expectations for those applying for the role.
- Think of several videos where your employees in the role showcase what the actual job is about on a video, share tips on how to land this job and explain what they can learn and what benefits it has for them.
- Remember, each video is short and should contain just one key message.
#3 Check out if your key competition for the same talent is on TikTok and learn how they utilise this platform
When you are just starting on this platform, it can be difficult to come up with content ideas.
Especially because the TikTok vibe is just so different from LinkedIn, Facebook and even Instagram.
Start learning what kind of content similar companies are creating on TikTok. You can also see how well their videos perform when you go to their profile which makes it easy to jump right on those videos that seem to have taken off.
What is the style of the video? What key messages are they communicating? How did they edit the video? What is the call to action? What hashtags did they use? Who performed in this video?
#4 Don’t make your recruitment campaign content the most obvious
Do what Chipotle, a restaurant, did when they highlighted some non-traditional benefits of landing a job at Chipotle.
These perks were meant to be silly, entertaining and catchy and that’s why the video has been liked more than 71 000 times already!
Their perks included:
- wearing a silly hat
- getting a free chipotle beauty shot
- free education
- learning how to cook
This is a great example of what works on TikTok, and your version of it will be true to your culture. If it’s boring, your video will be boring. If your culture is fun and open, your video will be a testament to it. That’s how it works!
#5 Discover what kind of content really works in recruiting by browsing through relevant hashtags
Browse through hashtags like the following listed below to learn what kind of videos have been viewed more than others.
- #opentowork
- #worklife
- #jobtips
Each video shows the number of views so you can easily see which are the most popular.
This is an excellent way to find inspiration and examples of what kind of content to create to reach your target audiences on TikTok.
Remember to use the same hashtags for your own recruitment content to help people find it!
#6 Learn from small businesses on TikTok how they use TikTok for hiring
If you are a small business and want to take advantage of TikTok for hiring, a sustainable outdoor apparel company Alde Apparel has a really good example video they used in their recruitment.
In the video, they share five reasons why you should join their team while showcasing their people, key benefits, office and how to apply for this job.
I quite like Alde Apparel’s other content too for branding and marketing their small business for their audience on TikTok.
You can find other small business accounts on TikTok with the hashtag #smallbusiness for inspiration!
#7 Benefit from the TikTok algorithm, which ensures your content is tailored to your ideal target audience’s location and interests
Did you know the content you see on TikTok is primarily tailored to you based not only on your interests but also your location?
This is great for your audience who is already in your location and looking for inspirational local content. They don’t have to search for it.
The algorithm shows it to them if your content matches their interests. That’s why it’s super important to create content that looks like native TikTok content.
How you help your recruitment content to be found locally? If you are looking for a UX designer in London, add hashtags #London #UXdesign and #opentowork to your video.
Last tip from this episode:
#8 How Target, Chipotle and Shopify use TikTok as a recruiting platform
Check out this blog post from Recruiter.com sharing inspiration from these there employers and their way of using TikTok as a recruitment platform.
Jump on to TikTok and see for yourself!
Did you listen to my episode 121 in which I compared TikTok with Instagram for recruitment marketing and employer branding? Find it here and pick up my points!
Ok, that’s all for this week my friends!
Come back next week for more modern employer branding juice to keep you going! I’ll talk about TikTok for employer branding!
My name is Susanna Rantanen, and I teach branding, marketing and communications for the HR industry who want to build a successful career in employer branding or talent acquisition!
Moi moi!