6 Tips for Engaging Tech Pros via Twitter

Are your tweets falling on deaf ears? You’re not alone. According to a recent study by the iCIMS Hire Expectations Institute, 51 percent of all jobs on social media are posted to Twitter, yet only one percent of candidates actually expect to find a job on the popular micro-blogging site. Why the disconnect?

Build Your Network

The chances of anyone actually seeing your job advertisement are fairly low unless you build a substantial network of users, noted Craig Fisher, the head of employer branding for CA Technologies, who has managed to garner more than 69,000 followers.

“Only 3 percent of your total followers are on Twitter at any given time,” he explained. “Engage in brand building and provide relevant content to encourage referrals, increase your network, and extend your reach.”

Develop a cadence with your followers by regularly sharing relevant content such as white papers or articles. Or post a photo of your tech employees at work and at play, and encourage candidates to interact with your staff and explore your culture.

“Follow a five-to-one give-to-ask ratio,” Fisher said. “Because if you’re always asking people to do something, like look at a job posting, no one is going to take action.”

Master the Hook

Bland or formulaic job postings tend to get lost in the sea of tweets. Grab the attention of your target audience by starting with a question, tantalizing benefit or thought provoking statement. For example:

• “Want to Rock the Healthcare World? Check out This Exciting Start-Up.”
• “Software Engineers: Want More Meaningful Work?”
• “Software Bugging You? Become a Testing and QC Consultant.”

“Questions are clicked on more than statements,” Fisher said. “And titles with less than eight words, and an odd number of words, get more clicks than titles with an even number of words.”

Provide a Call-to-Action

What do you want candidates to do after they read your tweet? Make it easy for tech pros to take the next step by including a clear and engaging call-to-action and a link to your landing page, a trending Python conversation, or an email address to send in their resume. 

Make It Personal

Increasing the size of your network allows you to send more direct, personalized messages to passive candidates. Reference your last interaction or mention a recent post or accomplishment right off the bat to get their attention. Create mini-communities or lists of tech professionals that you’re interested in, and use tailored outreach or marketing campaigns to share relevant information.

Use a Twitter Card

Adding a Twitter Card via plugin or extension lets you add images, videos, audio files, links and other compelling content to your tweets. Plus, a Twitter Card lets you exceed the 140 character limit. Because of the increased visual content,#Dice141 Twitter job cards have been found to increase exposure by up to 2X.

Harness the Power of Hashtags

Did you know that tweets with hashtags get twice the engagement of tweets without hashtags? But don’t overdo it, because engagement actually drops by 17 percent if you use more than two hashtags, based on data from Buddy Media.

“Tagging each tweet with the top search term used by job seekers increases views and shares,” Fisher said. “And creating a hashtag for your employment brand and a distinctive username is a great way to collate content and build a loyal following.”

Editor’s note, this post was originally posted on technical recruiting job board Dice.com’s blog from an interview Craig did with them.

Craig Fisher is head of Employer Brand at CA Technologies.  His digital branding methods have been adopted as best practices by companies like Linkedin, Zappos, YUM! Brands, Hootsuite, and many more.

He's the author of Inbound Recruiting, and a popular keynote speaker at tech, social media, HR, recruiting, and sales conferences worldwide.

Craig created the first Twitter chat for recruiters and partnered in the first Linkedin certified training company in N. America.

He’s been detailed in the Wall Street Journal, Mashable, NBC News, NPR, The Economist, Bloomberg, and The Huffington Post; and is listed among HR and Recruiting's top influencers and most engaging conference speakers.

I co-host the Cool Tools Show podcast with Lars Schmidt -www.CoolToolShow.com.  For more great tips, connect with me on my blog at www.fishdogs.com and on Twitter and Instagram @fishdogs.