Social media has grown to be an essential tool for brands—not only do Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube create opportunities to market products and services, but these platforms allow businesses to engage with their market; learn about their followers; market to their audience. The value social media can provide to B2C and B2B operations can be extraordinary, but is there another use for social media?

Yes. Social media can be used, not only to engage with consumers, but also to present the advantages and uniqueness of working for you company—focusing on the areas that are likely to appeal to quality talent: work culture, benefits, previous work, etc.

Impressive talent won’t consider joining your team without research. Potential applicants are going to Google your brand name—which will inevitable lead them to your LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, or any other branded social media profile. What will they want to see?

The work culture will be important and a great social sharing opportunity. Do you hold a chili cook-off? Share photos of it on Facebook. Are you having a holiday party? Tweet a photo of it. Do you have employees who aren’t camera shy? Record a video of their day for YouTube. Did you win an award or complete great work with solid performance? That makes great LinkedIn content. It’s this type of social media activity that attracts the desirable hires.

Social media is a great tool to showcase your brand, and can be a great resource in learning more about your applicants. Obvious red flags when investigating a potential employee’s social media profiles are 1) discussion of criminal activity, 2) foul or offensive language, and 3) disparaging remarks about his or her employers.

That said; do not rely solely on the results of a Facebook check to determine if the candidate is appropriate for the position. All potential hires should be subject to a pre-employment background check to minimize the risk of criminal activity, lack of credentials, or drug use endangering your workforce.

If you’d like to receive more information on pre-employment background screening solutions to protect your workplace, contact eVerifile today.