Tell us about your business
Situations Recruitment has been in business for 25 years, having been set up by Pat and Patrick Lynch in 1986 with Patrick still being an owner today. We are a recruitment agency which places permanent, contract and temp staff at every level in both the finance and commercial sectors. All of our Consultants are professionally qualified with over 30 years’ experience amongst us and we provide a very professional and personal service.
Has social media been of benefit to your business? In which areas of business has social media been most useful?
Following a seminar by Crowd Media, we decided to meet them with a view to launching an exciting new social media campaign in 2011, so as to “keep up with the times” and increase the media by which we communicate with our candidates and clients. They have been so helpful throughout the process, including providing full training and updates on a regular basis.
How much business can you attribute to social media marketing in comparison to other forms of marketing?
Since launching our social media campaign, we have seen a big increase in the number of quality candidates registering with our agency. In times of stiff competition during this difficult financial climate, having a wide choice of candidates available for each vacancy is vital to the continuance and expansion of our business. Equally, being seen by our clients to be progressive and moving with the times is extremely important.
Have you encountered any problems using social media?
The only issue we’ve had with social media is not having enough time to focus on posting on the various networks as often as we’d like, however we solved this issue earlier this year by employing a dedicated social media administrator, which works very well.
Which social media platform have you had the most success with?
We find that Facebook is a particularly useful tool when communicating with University students who are seeking temp work during their vacations, because more and more young people do not have their own email addresses – they are using Facebook for their online communication. Also, using our business page on Facebook, we are being seen as the “voice of the industry” and experts in our field through the advice and publication links that we post.
Have you found that utilising social media has generated success or exposure both locally and to wider audiences?
Using social media in our daily business lives has certainly opened us up to the UK a bit more, as well as locally to an audience we might not otherwise have reached.
Has social media changed the relationship you have with your customers?
Many of our clients (major finance sector companies) are still not using Facebook or Twitter to their advantage/at all, however we have certainly noticed increased engagement with our candidates, and the analytics produced show exactly the market we’re reaching using these tools.
Have you encountered any misconceptions regarding social media marketing?
The major misconception is that it really does not take up as much time each week as you’d think! It is certainly a worthwhile exercise and is definitely the way forward in business.