Today’s economic development market is facing a problem that is causing some EDOs hardship, that is, how do I attract new/young talent to my community? While there are many strategies out there to tackle this issue, one way that may be hard to adopt because of a generational gap, is using social media platforms. Yes, you should have a Facebook and a LinkedIn profile, but did you know that Instagram is now the 2nd largest social platform that users log into daily behind Facebook? Over 60% of users now login on a daily basis, and of these users, the average time spent on the platform is 53 minutes, giving you ample amount of time to cater to the millennial generation (Recode).

Why else should you use Instagram to attract talent? Today’s talent is so content focused that it would be hard to find someone in your talent audience NOT familiar with posting at least a photo a year.  According to Statista, the United States has roughly 110 million Instagram users. Of these 110 million users, about 78% of these are within the working age range of 18-54. This means your target talent attraction audience is waiting for you, one scroll at a time.

Since you’ve bought into using Instagram as a way to deliver your message to the world, here are some tips and tricks to help you build engagement and reach your talent.

The Work-Life Balance:

The millennial generation is taking the workforce by storm, but it comes with caveats. While this passionate generation is likely to put in 50-60 hours a week, they also value a high quality of life.  In regards to your EDO’s Instagram, understand that the content you’re posting is going to be about highlighting the “cool” things to do in your community, aka “quality of life”. Highlight leisure opportunities such as upcoming concerts, new trending attractions in your area, outdoor experiences, and any other assets that make your community unique and appealing to millennials! What makes your community different?

Hashtag City!

Hashtags allow you not only to reach the locals, but also have an undisclosed outreach. A user that can stumble onto your hashtag can be anywhere in the world, making your story be heard/seen all over the globe. Posts with at least one hashtag gain 12.6% more engagement. It’s not a bad idea to run your Instagram account in coordination with your ongoing Quality of Life campaigns. This is a perfect opportunity to support your new campaign with a “#LiveHere” hashtag.

Advertise and give the users a way to contact you!

With over 70% of businesses using Instagram, you can now use Instagram advertising and your own EDO account to gain awareness, spread the word about your community, and even create calls to action to these talent pools or have them direct message you (Mention, 2018)! Instagram advertising allows you to go after the audience you want, specifically targeting audiences based off location, demographics, behaviors, and interests.

Highlight your top employers:

Give the people what they want, in two ways! Shoutout your local businesses for what they’re doing and how they support their workforce! Doing a “Top 10 Places to Work In…” campaign not only shows support for your local partners, but also gives your Instagram audience a glimpse into what they’d be gaining if they started working for one of these businesses. You can even use the campaign as a job board by showing how many open positions there are!

Last but not least:

Use Instagram to drive users to your website and vice versa. Always use a strong“call-to-action” in your Instagram post to drive users to your website so you can capture user information and garner leads. Drive prospects to your Instagram account by putting the Instagram handle in various other channels like in your email signature, on your website, digital ads, and in your press releases.

Now go post some content!

Author: Rory Finch