Go ahead, try to find pickled Daikon radish at Target on a Tuesday. You probably won’t unless you happen to be shopping in Asia. Likewise, if you’re combing through 750 million people on Facebook, finding the right candidate for a specialized job can feel like crashing on Supermarket Sweep.
Strike a Social Balance
While resourceful social recruiters add search parameters and narrow down results, it’s possible to miss people that haven’t added professional details to their profile, log on infrequently, or have never signed up. Some sources even suggest job seekers hide or deactivate their Facebook account when they start searching for jobs in order to protect things that could affect their personal brand.
In the land of networking, Facebook is king, but communities that cater to niche audiences are the secret societies linking people with similar talents. Practice your secret handshake, because here’s three of our favorite niche networks primed and ready for targeted social recruiting:
deviantART
One of the most successful, and oldest networks, is deviantART. The site has created a community of artists, ranging from amateurs to pros, and they have been doing it since 2000. This makes them Internet equivalent of the Freemasons, argued to be the oldest secret society in the world. Although they are a focused community, deviantART is the 13th largest social network, attracting 36 million visitors annually. If you are looking for artists and designers, there is no better place.
FohBoh
Narrowing further, sites like FohBoh are exclusive and available to only those in the food industry. In restaurant lingity, FohBoh stands for “Front of the House, Back of the House” and boasts 40,000 members. The site requires approval before granting users a profile, you can be sure everyone there is who they say they are. If Facebook is the casual hello of social networks, FohBoh is the super-secret handshake of the Illuminati. So if you have a job opening for a distributor that handles pickled Daikon radish, this is probably the place to start sourcing.
Epernicus
If FohBoh is the handshake of the Illuminati, then the Epernicus network is the lost language of Atlantis. The scientific network connects current and former research scientists, allowing them to share resources and help peers advance ongoing work. Any employer who can help advance the work of the world’s most connected science minds would be a welcome addition to the community.
More Niche Social Networks
There are hundreds more social networks out there that connect specific types of workers; from military veterans to doctors, and stay-at-home moms to lawyers. Facebook may have broad appeal, but targeting specific talent groups will help you tap interconnected networks already thriving online.
Strategic Takeaway: A solid recruitment marketing mix should include a branded presence on broad appeal social networks. But, when allocating social recruiting time, slow down and balance this presence with meaningful interactions on targeted niche sites.
Photo credit: icanhascheezburger
Author: Jon Nelson
Jon Nelson has been living on the mean streets of the Internet since Napster was the new kid on the block. Over a decade of social media use, a graphic and web design background, and a degree in journalism armed him to do battle with the modern-day beasts of the web. When you find yourself at a shady corner of the web, he’s there to get your back.
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