Social Selling for Recruitment Agencies

Sharing how recruitment agencies are winning big with social media, using it to attract candidates & generate new client leads

[Social Selling for Recruitment Agencies @HireOnSocial]

81% of firms are NOT generating any client wins on social media.

Here's what the agencies that ARE consistently winning clients have been doing that differs from everyone else:
https://t.co/MDQFYhpLXT

[Tony Restell @tonyrestell]

Some thoughts on how to get more warm leads for your business, with two distinct approaches that are working well in 2026.

Your weekend reading starts here!
https://t.co/MaCguWV2g8

[Social-Hire.com @Social_Hire]

Warm outbound isn't cold calling with a nicer label.

Build the audience. Share expertise. Build familiarity.

Then make a human invitation when the timing is right.

This is the heart of effective social selling.

[Social-Hire.com @Social_Hire]

How can your firm get itself recommended by Google in its AI overviews?

(and how long does it take to achieve that?)

Here's our take, having achieved this in our business and now offering this as a service to a growing number of clients:

https://t.co/8o8tIlEnsN

[Social Selling for Recruitment Agencies @HireOnSocial]

This perfectly sums up the choice between disruptive cold outreach vs. cultivating warmer inbound and outbound buyer interest...

[Tony Restell @tonyrestell]

Your next five-figure client probably decided they'd like to work with you weeks before they ever booked a call.

They didn't fill out a contact form cold, and they almost certainly didn't respond to an automated email sequence.

What actually happened was probably much simpler. They asked three founder friends in a private WhatsApp group: "Who do you use for this?"

Someone typed your name.

Or, they asked Google or ChatGPT for recommendations, and your name was the top recommendation - with some compelling reasons why.

By the time that call happens, 80% of the buying decision has already taken place.

You can't cold-pitch your way into such a scenario. The only reason your name gets mentioned is because you have spent months sharing clear, specific expertise in public (and delivering a great service).

But don't expect you'll know of their impending interest from the engagement you've been seeing on your posts. Most of these decision-makers are lurkers - they've been reading your posts for months without ever clicking like.

That's the world you're competing in today.

So, how are you going to adapt?

[Social Selling for Recruitment Agencies @HireOnSocial]

@tonyrestell This perfectly sums up the choice between disruptive cold outreach vs. cultivating warmer inbound and outbound buyer interest.

[Tony Restell @tonyrestell]

The first month of relationship-building on social media feels like going backwards.

You're posting less, engaging more, and there's nothing to show for it yet. This is where most firms give up.

But here's what I see when firms push through that nervy period.

By week 5 or 6, prospects start recognising your name. They reply to your comments. Some DM conversations begin that feel promising but haven't resulted in anything concrete yet.

By week 9 or 10, those conversations turn into calls. The founder starts hearing "I feel like I already know you" on discovery calls. The pipeline that felt invisible starts becoming real.

The firms that push through that first painful couple of months are the ones filling their calendars three months later.

But you've got to keep plugging away and being consistent!

[Tony Restell @tonyrestell]

I've had this kind of conversation more times than I care to remember. A recruitment agency or consulting firm tries fully outsourcing their social media presence.

They hire a decent content agency with good writers, polished posts, and a consistent schedule.

After a few months they share that they've got more followers, better-looking content... but zero new client conversations started.

The problem is obvious once you see it: the posts read like marketing copy. Because that's what they are. The founder's personality, opinions, and actual client experiences are nowhere to be found.

What do we do differently? Strip it back and encourage the founder to record short voice notes about real situations they've dealt with that week. Then everything changes. The posts become rougher. Less polished. But prospects start replying or mentioning them in the DMs, because they can tell a real person is behind them.

Bottom line - you can outsource the writing and the scheduling. But the thinking and the lived experience? That part has to come from you.

[Tony Restell @tonyrestell]

How can you get your business to appear in AI search results (including at the top of Google)?

I've had loads of people ask me about this, off the back of our success getting Social Hire recommended as "best social media agency".

Here's what's working for us:
https://t.co/gJn4WSl1au

[Tony Restell @tonyrestell]

Why does every B2B firm's social media feed look the same?

Because they're all copying one another:

→ Generic industry tips anyone could have written
→ "We're hiring" posts with stock imagery
→ Conference photos with vague captions about being "inspired"
→ Reshared company blog posts that nobody engages with
→ Team celebration posts that get seen but don't persuade anyone

None of this is totally wrong. But none of it gives a prospect a compelling reason to pay attention to you more than anyone else.

The fix is simpler than most firms think. Get the people who actually deliver the work to share what they're seeing in the real world. Specific observations from client engagements. Honest takes on where their industry is heading.

Storytelling posts. Anecdotes.

That's the content prospects can't get anywhere else. And it's the content that starts real conversations.

[Social Selling for Recruitment Agencies @HireOnSocial]

@tonyrestell Getting recommended on Google is far more powerful than simply having a page 1 ranking. When Google says you're the best provider - and tells you the reasons why - that's a very warm lead arriving at your door!

[Tony Restell @tonyrestell]

Many B2B founders think the hard part of social media is creating meaningful content.

It's not.

The hard part is plugging away doing the things that are going to produce client wins for you in the long run, but that you have to keep doing for weeks and weeks when you feel like your effort's having no impact.

The founders I work with who are winning? They picked their niche. They show up consistently. They have a series of conversations on repeat - conversations that turn connections into live prospects.

No chasing virality. No looking for clever hacks.

Just consistency that compounds into pipeline, given enough time.

[Tony Restell @tonyrestell]

Should a Founder get outside help building their social media presence?

Done poorly, this can hurt your personal brand - and reflect badly on your company too.

But, done well, it can capture your voice and expertise, bring in client leads, investor interest and attract employees.

Here's what to look for if you're considering going down that path:
https://t.co/yNflzKKRLn

[Tony Restell @tonyrestell]

Independent consultants:

👉👉 some quick thoughts on what I hear from many of you about why you've chosen to work with Social Hire:
https://t.co/EkeQX8rHFR

Feel free to drop me a DM if we can be of help.

[Tony Restell @tonyrestell]

Most B2B founders are still building for the biggest possible audience.

But the platforms have quietly shifted. They're rewarding accounts that go deep in a specific niche.

(I'm looking especially at you, LinkedIn!)

Broad reach used to be the goal. Now it's becoming the thing that holds you back.

[Tony Restell @tonyrestell]

A 5-person team with AI often won't outperform a 50-person team.

But a 5-person team focusing on conversations will outperform a 50-person team focusing on broadcasts.

You see this happen in B2B firms all the time.

The ones using AI to blast more and more content out? Still struggling.
The ones focusing on how to start more conversations with the right people? They're the ones winning.

The tool isn't the advantage. Having the right strategy is.

And the strategy hasn't changed: find the right people, start genuine conversations, build relationships before you need them. Be there when they need you.

AI just lets you do some of the work faster. But if you're doing the wrong work in the first place......

[Tony Restell @tonyrestell]

Every B2B founder who's struggling on social media I'm guessing has the same blind spot.

They're measuring impressions. Follower growth. Reach.

The ones winning clients? They're measuring conversations started.

Not comments. Not likes. Actual back-and-forth exchanges with the people they want to work with.

My advice?

Shift from posting daily to posting 2x or 3x a week and spend the saved time in DMs and comment threads.

Your pipeline will thank you for making the change!!!

[Tony Restell @tonyrestell]

Hot take: the best social selling strategy is incredibly boring.

Pick 30 ideal prospects. Comment on their posts. Share something useful in their DMs. Repeat weekly.

No fancy tools. No content calendar with 47 pillars. No growth hacks.

Just intentional relationship building with the right people.

I've seen this outperform "visibility strategies" 10x over.

[Social Selling for Recruitment Agencies @HireOnSocial]

@tonyrestell Been a big focus for us these last months, and now getting calls through that have specifically originated from being recommended by an AI answer. Times are changing, that's for sure!

[Tony Restell @tonyrestell]

There are 5 reasons I'd say for why Social Hire has market-leading client retention rates.

May be a help to other agency owners out there (or those thinking of engaging a marketing agency):
https://t.co/nitLqYvPC6

[Social-Hire.com @Social_Hire]

"Too niche" is an algorithmic superpower. Specificity tells the platform exactly who to find. Stop shouting at everyone. Start winning with the clients who matter.

Is your focus too broad?

P.S. Narrow is better.