How to promote your Employer Brand on Social Media
- Anja Zojceska
- March 12, 2018
What is the Employer Brand?
What is Social Media Recruiting?
4 rules for promoting your Employer Brand on social media
1. Establish your voice
2. Share great content
3. Be responsive to your audience
4. Choose the right social media network(s)
Employer Branding on Facebook
Example: Microsoft
Why it’s awesome:
Key takeaway:
Employer Branding on LinkedIn
Example: The Hershey Company
Why it’s awesome:
Key takeaway:
Employer Branding on Twitter
Example: L'Oreal
Why they’re awesome:
Key takeaway:
Employer Branding on Instagram
Example: Marriott
Why they’re awesome:
Key takeaway:
Importance of promoting Employer Brand on social media
Other ways to promote your Employer Brand
Applicant Tracking, Recruitment Marketing, Sourcing and Talent CRM software are powerful alone, but unstoppable when used together!
Social Media Recruiting is a simple, fast and affordable way to target top talent and promote your Employer Brand. This blog offers useful guidelines, applicable advice and inspiring examples of real-life Employer Branding on different social media networks.
What is the Employer Brand?
Employer Brand is the term used for your company's reputation as an employer.
Employer Branding is the process of presenting your company as a desirable employer.
The goalof Employer Branding is to attract high-quality candidates and position your company as their employer of choice.
According to the LinkedIn survey, 75% of candidates will research your company’s reputation before applying for your job opening.
And if they don’t like what they see, 69% of candidates won’t apply – even if they are unemployed!
So, if you want to attract top talent, you need to build a strong Employer Brand and present a compelling Employee Value Proposition. In order to communicate their Employer Brand and Employee Value Proposition to potential candidates, companies use different Recruitment Marketing strategies, activities and channels.
One of the most important and commonly used channels for promoting Employer Brand is social media. Promoting your Employer Brand on social media is a part of a recruiting strategy called Social Media Recruiting.
What is Social Media Recruiting?
Simply put, Social Media Recruiting is using social media networks (such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram) for recruiting.
⚠️ You can use social media to find, attract, engage and convert top candidates into applicants. If you are not already doing that, you are missing out!
According to the LinkedIn survey, half of all professionals are following companies on social media with the intent to stay aware of their jobs.
In order to reap all the benefits Social Media Recruiting can offer, first, you need to establish your Employer Brand presence on social media. And then you need to promote your Employer Brand.
4 rules for promoting your Employer Brand on social media
You have probably already heard that you should put more effort, time and money into promoting your Employer Brand on social media.
What nobody is telling you though, is how exactly to do that.
Many Social Media Recruiting guides offer interesting theories, but they are not of practical use.
✅ My goal is to fill that gap and offer useful guidelines, applicable advice and inspiring examples of real-life Employer Branding on different social media networks.
I will start by presenting the 4 most important guidelines for promoting your Employer Brand on social media.
In order to portray your company as a favorable employer through social media, you need to:
1. Establish your voice
To effectively communicate with your social media audience and potential candidates, you need to establish a consistent style and tone of your Employer Brand voice and post regularly and on time."
.
Your Employer Brand voice should be:
- genuine human voice
- friendly and approachable
- unique and set you apart from your competitors
- consistent, no matter which member of your team manages your social media
- a good match with your candidate persona.
2. Share great content
Social media makes it easy to be visual with your storytelling. People want to be able to envision themselves working for companies.
A great way to enable them to do it is by using photos and videos across all your social media platforms. Make sure that all the visual you share are consistent with your brand colors.
Show off your Employer Brand by sharing stories, photos and videos of:
- your employees
- your office and workspace
- educational, corporate and recruiting events
- interesting and cool projectsyour team works on
- awards and recognition you won (especially Best places to work recognitions)
- any additional perks you offer to your employees (for example: pets allowed, cafeteria, in-house yoga classes etc.).
Download the FREE Social Media Calendar template which will help you organize your content!
3. Be responsive to your audience
The most important thing to remember when presenting your Employer Brand on social media is to always beresponsive to your audience.
️ Effective Social Media Recruiting operates like a dialogue, so make an effort to engage your audience by:
- starting a conversation with potential candidates
- asking questions
- responding to comments and likes
- personalizing your answers
- establishing on time communication.
4. Choose the right social media network(s)
There are many different social media networks that can be used for Employer Branding.
The most important are the so-called “big four”:
- Instagram.
However, it is not necessary nor practical to utilize all of them.
So which ones should you use?
That depends on your candidate persona. For example, if your ideal candidates are spending their time on LinkedIn, then LinkedIn recruiting is your best bet!
Which social media networks does your candidate persona prefer? Where does your target audience spend most of their time? That is where you need to be.
Employer Branding on Facebook
➡️ If you’re planning to start with your Employer Branding on Facebook, or you’re just looking for inspiring ideas, make sure to check out our Complete Guide on Facebook Recruiting!
Now, let's check out some great examples of employer branding on Facebook by Microsoft!
Example: Microsoft
Microsoft has a great Facebook career page called Microsoft Life.
Microsoft Life regularly hosts the LIVE Facebook events for potential candidates.
In the example shown below, Microsoft Life organized a live interview with a few Microsoft recruiters. Potential candidates could send in their questions before the event and tune in during a live broadcast.
Why it’s awesome:
Let’s start with the name of their career page. It is not simply called Microsoft Careers, but Microsoft Life. This sends a strong message that working at Microsoft is not just a career, but a way of life.
Second, the concept of the event created for potential candidates is brilliant. They are basically saying: “We are here for you. We want to help. Ask us what you want to know.”
Third, the tone of their announcement is friendly and helpful, confirming their words and making them sound honest and genuine.
Fourth, they are making the most out of Facebook’s features, utilizing new technologies and live broadcasting.
Key takeaway:
It might seem complicated to pull out an event like this, but it really isn't. You don’t need any special equipment or setting. A simple table with your HR team or employees sitting around will do. Just let them talk and use your mobile phone to live stream.
When your live broadcasting is over, Facebook will automatically offer to post a recording on your company’s wall. That way candidates who weren't able to watch your live can event at the time can review a recording whenever it’s convenient for them. Cool, huh?
Watch a recording of the Microsoft event!
Employer Branding on LinkedIn
➡️ If you’re planning to start with your Employer Branding on LinkedIn, let me show you how to create an outstanding LinkedIn Company Page in 5 easy steps. It's full of great tips and real-life examples!
Now, let's check out some great examples of employer branding on LinkedIn by The Hershey Company!
Example: The Hershey Company
The Hershey Company’s LinkedIn page is an example of a great Employer Branding on this social network. Their LinkedIn Company Page is full of interesting information that helps potential candidates learn more about their business, brand, products and services, and of course job opportunities.
Why it’s awesome:
Their page is always up to date with all the latest industry trends. They also regularly posts photos from industry-leading events, followed by comments from their experts.
Key takeaway:
LinkedIn is different than other social media networks because it’s created specifically for professionals and business purposes and networking. Use it to position your company as an industry leader.
You will do that by creating and sharing interesting and engaging business-related content. Share a blog post in which your experts share their views of the new industry trends, publish photos with your expert's comments from industry-leading events etc.
Employer Branding on Twitter
Let's check out some great examples of employer branding on Twitter by L'Oreal!
Example: L'Oreal
L’Oreal’s Twitter career page is called L’Oreal Talent. Make sure to check it out because it offers many interesting good practice examples.
I singled out just one type of their Twitter posts – "Did you know" tweets.
Check them out:
Here is another one of the posts on Twitter:
Why they’re awesome:
L’Oreal is highlighting the awards, certification and recognition the company received in the best possible way. Through these awards, they are communicating their values: gender equality and sustainability.
At the same time, L’Oreal is expressing appreciation for the hard work and enthusiasm their employees put into making these values come to life.
Key takeaway:
Share the good news about your company and highlight every award, certification and recognition your company receives. Celebrate your success and don’t forget to thank your employees for their hard work and commitment to a higher cause.
Another thing to remember if you plan to do any Twitter Employer Branding is to use visuals. Though Twitter was originally all about (a few) words (140 characters to be exact), things have changed. If you go through any of the major brand accounts on Twitter these days, you’ll notice that all their tweets include a photo or a video.
Employer Branding on Instagram
➡️ If you're looking to start with recruiting on Instagram, you can find some great tips in our blog post How to Find Candidates Using Instagram.
Now, let's check out some great examples of employer branding on Instagram by Marriott!
Example: Marriott
Marriott has a great Instagram page called Marriott Careers.
I chose two great examples of promoting their Employer Brand on Instagram.
Example #1
Example #2
Why they’re awesome:
Instagram is primarily a visual platform, and Marriott is well aware of that. Their Instagram photos are real proof that a picture is worth a thousand words.
Who wouldn't be intrigued by seeing these photos on a company’s career site? You simply have to stop and…daydream a bit. Or is it just me? ️
Anyhow, Marriott is great with words, too. They complement their captivating photos with funny and inviting copywriting and their custom hashtags.
Key takeaway:
Make the most out of the platform you use. If it’s a visual platform like Instagram, you simply must have original, captivating photos. However, don’t forget to complement them with great copy and custom #hashtags.
Alos, feature your employee stories and testimonials. Share their personal stories and make it easy for your potential candidates to see what type of people you are looking for.
Make sure you also show off employee perks and benefits. Your company probably can’t offer an employee discount for a vacation on exotic islands, but you probably have something special that you offer to your employees.
A post-it might seem a bit plain compared to Marriott’s dreamy tropical destinations, but a little sign of appreciation and support can mean a world of difference. Microsoft knows is it! ❤️
Check out their simple, yet brilliant post on Instagram:
Importance of promoting Employer Brand on social media
Today’s candidates are digitally savvy and they spend many hours each day on different social media networks. They also use social media to research potential employers.
Because of that, promoting an Employer Brand on social media has become necessary for companies who want to attract top talent.
It seems that employers are very aware of that. According to research, 76% of companies choose social media to communicate their Employer Brand.
This is because new generations are on social media non-stop!
If you want to reach these new generations, you simply have to promote your employer brand on social media. ✅
Luckily, social media is a simple, fast and affordable way to target the right people and promote your Employer Brand.
Now that you’re familiar with all the facts and figures and inspired by applicable examples of leading brands, it is time to kick-start your own Employer Branding campaign on social media!
Other ways to promote your Employer Brand
Except on social media, there are also many other places where you can promote your employer brand. Check them out for additional ideas!
Applicant Tracking, Recruitment Marketing, Sourcing and Talent CRM software are powerful alone, but unstoppable when used together!