Social Media For Recruiters

We share social media tips & ideas to help you recruit smarter & faster. Helping get your recruitment brand seen by passive candidates + increasing placements

[Social Media For Recruiters @HiringOnSocial]

Join us for our next call as we explore what you need to do to make social media produce far better results for your business --> https://t.co/dzIrHVoVHT

[Tony Restell @tonyrestell]

Answer Engine Optimisation doesn't care about key phrases.

I was discussing this with Lynnaire Johnston on a podcast recently, and the shift for B2B founders is massive.

Traditional SEO forced everyone into an endless race to rank for isolated search queries.

AEO works completely differently. You win by owning the big-picture answer in your niche.

At Social Hire, our focus is making sure Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Claude know without doubt that we are the go-to social media agency for professional services like recruitment agencies and consultancies.

Once you establish that foundational positioning, prompt phrasing stops mattering.

Whether a prospective buyer asks "Who do you recommend for...?", "Name the top...", or "Which agency should I hire for...?", the AI serves your firm up in its answer. You've become the definitive recommendation.

So - are you building your presence to be the obvious answer AI engines suggest, or are you still spending hours chasing fragmented keywords?

[Tony Restell @tonyrestell]

Had a Zoom call with a 4-year LinkedIn connection.

They finally booked after seeing Social Hire recommended in Google's AI search.

Years of content built the trust, and the AI answer triggered the call.

DM me to check if you show up in AI search recommendations.

[Social-Hire.com @Social_Hire]

Results at the end of month 1, for an AEO client that previously didn't rank highly on Google.

Now, they're right at the top of Google - ahead of every one of their competitors!

Who's next?! --> https://t.co/4uevAWqm01

[Tony Restell @tonyrestell]

The first weeks of our new AI search optimisation service have taken off faster than expected.

We've already had clients sign up across recruitment, consulting and SaaS, spanning the UK, US and Canada.

Drop me a DM to explore how AEO could transform lead flow for your business.

[Tony Restell @tonyrestell]

Which B2B social media agencies have a good reputation in the industry?

I can only really address from the point of view of Social Hire - and the traits I'd want to see in another agency to feel comfortable working with them...
https://t.co/jF5nnF0LE5

[Tony Restell @tonyrestell]

Organic reach on X is far from dead. What is dead is broadcasting generic advice into the void.

When you share real founder experiences, challenge common business assumptions, and ask direct questions, engagement follows - be that in the comments or the DMs.

If your reach feels quiet, look at your most recent posts. Are you sharing conversation-starters, or just broadcasting?

[Tony Restell @tonyrestell]

Cultivating a modest number of warm relationships outperforms massive cold outreach sequences for B2B firms every time.

At least, that's been my experience.

Pumping generic email or DM sequences into people's inboxes burns the market before conversations even have a chance to start.

Suggested action for this coming week: focus on 20 to 30 high-value relationships and focus on adding value and being conversational first.

Are you still relying on high-volume cold outreach, or have you already shifted to relationship-led selling?

[Tony Restell @tonyrestell]

Let's quickly take a look at what can be achieved on Google, ChatGPT and the like if you invest just a few weeks getting your firm recommended.

Who else has been having success with this?
https://t.co/ffYWuOul9g

[Tony Restell @tonyrestell]

In over 13 years running Social Hire, search habits have never shifted faster for B2B firms than they are right now.

We spent the last few weeks onboarding our first wave of existing clients onto our new AI search optimisation service. The service is now open to the wider market, but with strictly limited onboarding slots each month to maintain delivery quality.

Throughout September, Social Hire is offering a free assessment report for B2B firms.

The report shows exactly how you currently perform and rank in AI answers across ChatGPT, Claude, Google, Copilot, and Perplexity, with pointers on what needs improving.

Send me a message or drop a comment if you want a free report run for your firm.

[Tony Restell @tonyrestell]

This is how you know when you've cracked AEO...

Ask for recommendations (in an incognito browser), as if you were your ideal client looking for a firm to engage.

Do you come up consistently as the top recommendation?

I can happily run a report for you to see how you're currently performing?

[Tony Restell @tonyrestell]

Cold email response rates across high-ticket B2B have dropped, but founders keep pumping out more volume to compensate (aided by AI, no doubt!)

Sending generic cold messages every month rarely produces qualified sales conversations. Senior decision-makers delete them on sight.

In over 13 years running Social Hire, we have watched the firms that consistently win business take a different route. They build familiarity before they ever try for a sales call.

The sequence that works through social selling is as follows:

- Audience: Connect with the specific decision-makers you want to work with.
- Content: Share posts packed with real case studies and lessons from your work.
- Credibility: Discuss challenges in public, via comment threads and demonstrate expertise.
- Timely invite: Start a conversation to arrange a meeting or get someone along to an event, but only after they've had the chance to warm to your expertise.

By the time you start a conversation, you are a recognised peer sharing relevant insight rather than an unknown salesperson pitching in their inbox.

In short - conversations turn into clients when trust is already established.

[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

[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?

[Tony Restell @tonyrestell]

How much do small B2B businesses need to budget each month for AI search optimisation services?

I was researching this on Google and the answer I got back was way more than I'd anticipated!

There are some less costly options, though:
https://t.co/O9fK0EBwQ2

[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]

We spent the last 3 months on a quiet experiment at Social-Hire.

The goal: get our agency recommended by all 5 major AI search tools for the niches we serve.

Google, Perplexity, ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot. All 5 now recommend us.

That changes the game for how B2B firms think about where their next client comes from.

We're now offering this as a service. More on that soon.

[Social Media For Recruiters @HiringOnSocial]

@tonyrestell Gonna be an exciting few months ahead!!

[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]

One of the most common questions B2B founders ask us is: "How do I get more post reach?"

That's the wrong question IMHO.

The better question is: "Am I actually talking to the right people here?"

I couldn't begin to guess how many conversations I've had with founders who've poured months of effort into creating content calendars, devising hashtag strategies and pursuing company follower growth.

But when I ask: "How many of your new clients this year have come from what you've been doing on social media?..."

... I'll leave you to imagine the awkward laughs that follow, as they'll usually concede that they can't think of a single one!

So, here's the thing to focus on. The founders winning business here and on LinkedIn aren't louder / more visible. They're simply having better conversations with fewer, more relevant people.

Maybe it's time to rethink your approach, too?