It’s a well-known fact that social media can get you into trouble—that is, if you use it the wrong way. Inappropriate images, snide remarks, rants, and tantrums can cost you a job and can keep job seekers from landing one.

But can social media get you hired?

Absolutely! It’s called social recruitment.

Using social media profiles, employers are able to target and engage potential job candidates that they find have the skills they are looking for.

In an article for Forbes.com, career services expert Trudy Steinfeld wrote, “There is no doubt that social media is emerging as a vital tool in how employers recruit talent to their organizations.”

Last year, 94% of hiring managers said they used social media in their recruiting efforts, while 78% (that’s 4 out of every 5 managers!) said they hired a candidate through social media. The top three social media sites employers said they used were LinkedIn (92%), Facebook (24%), and Twitter (14%).*

LinkedIn is one of the most important platforms for professional networking, with more than 300 million members all over the world. Facebook and Twitter probably aren’t the first sites you think of when you want to look for jobs, but they are becoming increasingly powerful resources to do just that. Facebook may be your largest network, while many employers use Twitter to share links to job postings.

Today’s job seekers who aren’t taking advantage of social media aren’t doing themselves any favors. Hiring managers are now using social media platforms more than conventional hiring methods like referrals, corporate career sites, and direct sourcing.

In his book, The New Rules of Marketing & PR, David Meerman Scott says job seekers “have to stop thinking like an advertiser of a product and start thinking like a publisher of information… The new rules of finding a job require you to share your knowledge and expertise with a world that is looking for what you have to offer.”

You control what potential employers see. This means that online, Scott says, “You are what you publish.”

That is what can get you in trouble because one small lapse in judgment is all it takes for your online reputation to be tarnished. And you can bet that smart employers are doing their homework and researching applicants.

A survey by Jobvite found that 93% of hiring managers check an applicant’s social profile. Additionally, 42% said they reconsidered hiring the applicant because of their social profile.

What employers do not want to see on your profile ranges from mentions of illegal drugs and alcohol use to profanity and errors in spelling and grammar. Using privacy settings is important, but it can only go so far.

The managing director of the digital agency 88 Creative has some great advice for people who are on social media: “Don’t say anything online that you wouldn’t want to be plastered on a billboard with your face on it.