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Why you should be using the ‘rule of thirds’ in your social media strategy

One of the most common dilemmas facing recruitment marketers when it comes to producing a social media strategy is deciding on the content mix. What should you be posting? How many job posts is too much? Should you be sharing articles from third-parties?

In steps the social media ‘Rule of Thirds’ model and how it can benefit your recruitment firm...

→ For the full low down on using social media for recruitment - read our  comprehensive guide

What is the Rule of Thirds?

The Rule of Thirds is a model used by the team here at BlueSky PR to ensure that the content of our clients is balanced and doesn’t lean too heavily in one direction – after all, do you ever pay attention to the social media feeds of recruitment firms that are job post followed by job post?

By implementing the Rule of Thirds into your social media strategy you will be able to produce content that is relevant, timely and engaging for your audience – allowing your recruitment business to stand out in their oversaturated feeds. So what exactly are these thirds? And what content should you be posting on your social media channels?

One third of your content promotes your recruitment business and converts the audience

meet the team

If someone is following your firm on social media then the chances are they already have an interest in your services and as such you should be promoting these.

However, don’t be too ‘salesy’ with these posts – ensure that the amount of promotional content is varied and not too pushy in tone. Below are just a few examples of what you could post:

Job of the day/Job of the week – Rather than posting vacancy after vacancy on your channels, why not simply post a job of the day or job of the week? This, combined with the other types of content posts I outline below, will create much more variety in your users’ feeds and they will take much more notice of your job posts this way.

‘Meet the team’ – Meet the team posts can be a fantastic way for your candidates and clients to put faces to the names that they so often speak to via email or phone. These can be produced by creating a branded image with their photo on and some details about them. Not only is this a much more subtle way of staying top of mind but by including a fun fact or two it is more likely to be remembered by a potential client or candidate and helps build rapport between them and your consultant.

Services offered – Occasional posts about the services your firm offers can be an effective way of raising awareness about supplementary services - such as salary surveys and benchmarking reports - that your audience may be unaware of.

Interacting with followers – This is often overlooked by brands in the recruitment industry as many businesses use their channels as a one-way messaging platform and forget to put the ‘social’ in ‘social media’. It is essential that you monitor your social channels for any questions or queries that you receive and reply to them promptly.

One third shares curated content

reviews

Many marketers can be sceptical about sharing third party content but by gaining an understanding of what content your audience consumes and then curating it on social media, your recruitment agency’s channels can also become a ‘go to’ for the latest news and insights.

To do this you should develop candidate and client personas which will provide insights on what sector and industry news publications these individuals read. Once you know this, actively visit these sites and share popular articles that relate to your audiences’ current job roles or career paths.

Content curation helps demonstrate that your agency is aware of what is going on around them which can be a major differentiator for both potential clients and candidates.

Here are some examples of the types of content you could share:

Breaking sector/industry news – By closely monitoring key publications of the sectors you recruit in, you can stay on top of the latest news stories and ensure that you’re one of the first recruitment firms to share this valuable information.

Trends and insights – What are the latest industry reports saying regarding topics such as the impact of automation, diversity and inclusion or job satisfaction? By sharing information related to your audiences’ job roles they will be more equipped when it comes to making choices regarding their own careers.

Career advice – If your website doesn’t feature any resources aimed at providing candidates with advice such as CV or interview tips it can be beneficial to curate articles from job sites that you advertise roles.

User generated content (UGC) - If you are lucky enough to be tagged or mentioned (hello social listening tools) in social media posts by happy clients and candidates - make sure you use it (with their permission of course)! The same goes for screenshotting Google reviews.

One third is branded content

blog images (4)

The final third is about showcasing your brand and the value you can add to clients and candidates.

This should consist of owned content including:

Blogs – Any blog posts hosted on your website that are candidate or client facing.

Careers resources – Content for candidates such as ‘how to’ guides, e-books and webinars.

And earned content such as:

Press coverage – You should use your social media to amplify credible media coverage that your business has secured – whether that’s in local, sector or national publications.

Testimonials – Sharing branded social images of positive testimonials from placed candidates and existing clients can be an incredibly engaging way to highlight how good your consultants are at their jobs.


By demonstrating the credibility of your brand on social media you are much more likely to attract new followers and generate new leads.

Using the Rule of Thirds will help shape the key components of your social media strategy and provide you with an effective way of balancing your recruitment agency’s social media content.

21 ideas for engaging social media content

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