Dr. John Sullivan from ere.net has posted an interesting article about the top 30 social media recruiting errors. Many employers think that just by saying they “use social media” they are using it effectively when in reality that is really not the case. In fact, there are a number of mistakes that employers make over and over again when trying to implement social media strategy into their recruitment plans.

The common errors that Dr. Sullivan includes are separated into five major categories: strategy related errors, channel and tool selection errors, message and coverage errors, recruiter and employee support errors and process and administrative errors.

Essentially, for social media to work for your overall recruiting plan, a solid strategy is a must. You need to know who you are targeting, how you are communicating and always keep in mind your employer brand. In fact, Dr. Sullivan lists underemphasizing employer branding as one of the biggest mistakes.

What it really boils down to is that social media makes it too easy for employers to flood their subscribers with too much information that isn’t targeted or consistent. It’s important for an employer to have a plan in place and to stick to it lest they lose potential recruitments.

The fact is that social media can be an incredibly useful tool in recruitment. But unless you have a good plan in place, you should avoid it. To see the full list of common social media errors, go to:

http://www.ere.net/2011/02/07/high-impact-social-recruiting-errors-the-top-30-to-avoid/