How to Grow an Employer Twitter Chat

By Jessica Miller-Merrell 

Twitter is a unique recruiting tool that just keeps getting stronger. I mentioned in part one of this Twitter chat series that there’s something wonderfully challenging about parsing your message down to 140 characters or less, but it’s what makes Twitter a great recruiting tool and so digestible as we read dozens, if not hundreds (or for some of us, even thousands) of Tweets each day.

It’s for that reason that I began holding Twitter chats years ago, and why I still think they’re incredibly valuable in recruiting. They’re simple to host, can be low cost or free (depending on how you advertise) and give candidates a rare opportunity to connect with recruiters. What more could you want?

As great as Twitter chats are, though, success doesn’t happen over night. Most start out small and expand slowly over time as word spreads and your following grows. They require a great deal of planned guerilla marketing and consideration of the value they bring to the talent community. If you want people to spend their free time engaging in this way, your Twitter chats need to serve a purpose for candidates.

If you’re ready to reap the benefits of an active, engaging Twitter chat, here are the ingredients you need to make it happen:

A short, simple hash tag

Your Twitter chat hashtag helps participants keep up with the conversation and files all the messages in the conversation for reference later. Choose a hashtag that has staying power (don’t base it on a weekly theme – keep it the same every week), is simple to type and isn’t being used elsewhere on Twitter.

Actively involved candidates

How do you get candidates involved? Ask them! Put out a call for them to suggest questions and topics for your chat. They’re much more likely to participate or tune in if their specific question is going to be answered.

Regular hosting

People have to get in the habit of attending, so keep a regular chat schedule. I recommend weekly chats for the best results.

Broadcast your chat

Yes, it is work related, but that doesn’t mean your friends and family aren’t interested. They may even pass the info along to a potential candidate. Don’t be shy about what you’re doing; let the world know.

Seek help from allies

Invite guest hosts from within your company, particularly if you have multiple openings in that area or a lot of interest from candidates about a specific department.

Guest host other Twitter chats

Gain exposure and experience by guest hosting job search chats like #internpro, #jobhuntchat and #omchat, which already have a following.

Creative marketing wins on Twitter

Get creative in your marketing, shout it from the rooftop and focus on growing your Twitter following beyond the chat because it’ll give you an even broader audience. And don’t forget to take advantage of email signatures and LinkedIn headlines to market your Twitter chat.

Find an ally in marketing

Connect with other people or organizations for a mutually beneficial relationship that will help you grow your following.

Use social advertising

Don’t be afraid to advertise outside of Twitter. Cover all your bases and use Facebook and LinkedIn advertising to promote your chat as well.

Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR is a workplace and technology strategist specializing in social media. She's the Chief Blogger and Founder of Blogging4Jobs. You can follow her on Twitter at @jmillermerell.

How Can Recruiters Use a Twitter Chat?

By Jessica Miller-Merrell 

Since 2008, Twitter has been my favorite social network because it provides you access to millions of potential candidates, friends and resources 24 hours a day. It requires users to parse down their message to just the essentials in 140 characters, which makes it easy to take in a lot of information without drowning. However, with so many ways to use the social network, I think one of the most valuable is hashtags. Hashtags are the Dewey Decimal System of Twitter. Users post the pound sign, followed by a series of words or characters (no spaces) to catalog or file the tweet. It helps you keep track of related tweets and helps other users find all tweets under that hashtag, such as tweets related to a certain topic, event or Twitter chat.

Hashtags were developed by Twitter users themselves and have become an integral part of how we search, navigate and find topics to research and people to connect with. Twitter has remained the third most popular resource and search engine second only to Google and YouTube, so it’s no surprise that people take to Twitter to discover, learn and of course, chat.

After hashtags were born, conversations began to focus around them and people began hosting Twitter chats that users could participate in simply by meeting up on Twitter at a scheduled time and using certain hashtag.

The how to

The great thing about hosting a Twitter chat is that all it takes to do so is a following, a hashtag and a time. You don’t have to handle RSVPs, meeting space or any other aspect of a traditional event, and yet you get the benefits of one. Announce your Twitter chat a week before through your Twitter, careers page and perhaps even an email announcement. You can let participants know what topics will be covered and then encourage them to come with their own questions and responses. Of course, let them know to use the unique hashtag you’ve created for the chat. Then when the time comes, simply moderate the conversation. Start with an opening call for questions or begin by sharing. Respond to as many tweets as possible and hopefully, candidates will also connect and chat with each other.

At the end of the chat (and even throughout if you have the chance to), take the opportunity to direct participants to your talent network, careers page and other social networks. If you plan to make the Twitter chat a regular event, you can let them know when the chat is wrapping up.

Why it makes sense for recruiters and candidates

Twitter chats provide candidates the opportunity to interact and engage with your recruiting and talent acquisition team in a real time engaging way that has never been accomplished before. It helps increase your bandwidth, your messages and grow your community in a way that no other tool can.

Watch for part two of this series on using Twitter chats to find out how you can take your chats to the next level and see growth.

Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR is a workplace and technology strategist specializing in social media. She's the Chief Blogger and Founder of Blogging4Jobs. You can follow her on Twitter at @jmillermerell.