Has your company hired any new employees through social media? Did you find the process easier or more difficult than traditional hiring?

Yes, linkedin was used effectively. Going through the groups and identifying one that is active and attracts the "target" audience/candidates for open position is one key step. I would also briefly follow a candidate and access the comments/likes/links that were posted so you can gain insight to their knowledge, skills and abilities. Hope this helps.

We use linked in regularly for finding industry specific talent.

Many of my clients are approached with opportunities through Linkedin.

I find it to be a key search strategy for most recruiters, and one that allows them to do what they do best - poach candidates. They have the criteria they want and they can search for candidates who have those specific skill sets.

I'm going to assume that by "traditional hiring" you mean posting the position? That means hundreds - if not thousands - of resumes, many of whom are not qualified. It's a sifting process that quickly becomes unmanageable. That, and the fact that more often than not, you do not get the top-notch candidates through job postings.

My company uses LinkedIn almost exclusively for recruiting. We hired a professional recruiter almost two years ago to help us manage through some extensive growth and this was her recommendation. Between employee referrals and this, we have sourced 80+% of our new hires. We have pulled from both actively looking and not. Good luck.