Advertising jobs on Twitter

Socially Recruited wanted to understand who was advertising job roles on social media (Twitter). We ran a Twitter poll requesting information from businesses about whether they were continuing to hire staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Business owners in the UK, do you see the need to recruit in the coming months? (Results)

• Hiring or undecided – 52%
• Stopped Hiring – 48%

52% of businesses polled still saw the need to recruit.

Preferred method of attracting candidates currently? (Results as of 8^th April 2020)

• Job Boards (16%)
• Recruitment Agencies (24%)
• Social Media (51%)
• Other (10%)

51% of businesses polled would use social media as their preferred recruitment method.

Many industries have an urgent need to recruit a large number of staff whether this be in healthcare, retail, logistics or any other industry currently experiencing a high demand.

Advertising your jobs on Twitter

Many businesses from care providers to supermarkets have worked with us to recruit quickly in response to the pandemic.

Google and Twitter initially banned COVID-19 related paid messages. This is because these platforms rely heavily on automated content moderation. A full ban on mentioning the pandemic was initially deemed necessary to stop the spread of fake news. This has now been lifted as they saw value in businesses being able to reference the pandemic and respond to the situation. (Campaign Live)

We noticed the benefit first hand working with a leading supermarket on campaigns for multiple roles created in response to the pandemic. These ads generated so much interest they had to be ended early. We noticed an increased interest from applicants previously working in hospitality.

What is Twitters response to COVID-19?

• There is a COVID-19 related Tweet ever 45 milliseconds. (Twitter)
• #Coronavirus is the second-most-used hashtag of 2020. (PR Week)
• Facebook, Reddit, Google, Microsoft, Twitter and Youtube – all said they are battling misinformation and advised user caution. (The Sun)

Twitter guidelines have been released on how brands should communicate during the crisis.

Twitters boss, Jack Dorsey has also pledged to donate what equates to 28% of his wealth ($1bn) towards efforts to tackle the coronavirus pandemic. He will reportedly fund donations using his shares in Square. It has not yet been laid out where the funds will be sent. (BBC)

Communicating with the public

Both politicians and celebrities are taking to Twitter, including JK Rowling (The Times) discussing mental health and Barack Obama (SkyNews) spreading healthcare related information and championing social distancing.

• Twitter is teaming up with the NHS and several other platforms to tackle fake news by verifying an extra 800 NHS accounts. (Nursing Times)
• NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens commented that “Ensuring the public has easy access to accurate NHS advice however they search for it, not only will support people to take the right action but will also help the country’s response to coronavirus.”
• The health secretary Matt Hancock said today’s actions were “more crucial than ever” in helping tackle misinformation.
• Rishi Sunak held a video Q&A on Twitter after business queries from bosses in the UK using #AskRishi (BBC)
• Twitter has created a handwashing emoji backed by the World Health Organisation and shows how social media can be used to tackle the outbreak. Emoji is triggered by hashtags: #handwashing, #SafeHands, #HandWashChallenge and #WashYourHands. (The Sun)

Deleted Tweets

Facebook and Twitter have rarely interfered with world leaders’ posts, even when they cite verifiably untrue information. World leaders and other verified accounts are having their tweets deleted to combat fake news.

• Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro claimed hydroxychloroquine was effective in treating the virus. He encouraged Brazilians to ignore medical advice and social distancing. (BBC)
• Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro tweeted a homemade treatment for the virus.
• President Trump promoted the idea of hydroxychloroquine as an effective cure last week and his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, had a tweet deleted for claiming it was 100% effective in treating coronavirus.
• David Clarke had 3 tweets removed including tweets urging bars and restaurants to defy orders and stay open. (The Verge)
• Alyssa Milano had a tweet removed as the image she posted contained incorrect information.
• John McAfee has also had tweets removed.
• A fake account posing as a hospital in Andover has been deleted. (Nursing Times)

Final thoughts

Twitter is proving to be a blessing and a curse when it comes to the spread of information. Whilst the platforms are attempting to combat fake news, there is still a lot of work to be done and user caution is still advisable.

People are spending an increased amount of time on social media. Advertising roles where potential candidates are looking for information is a smart bet.

To help support businesses in these difficult times we’re here to offer free advice, guidance and ideas around how our technology can help you. We can even offer a trial of our services.

If you are interested or if anyone you know might be visit: https://sociallyrecruited.com/contact/.

In the meantime, keep safe and stay home.