Have you ever wondered why big companies like Apple or Google always attract top talent? We’ll let you in on a little secret. It’s not just their products or services that are great. These brands are also pros at employer branding.
Employer branding is a strategy that improves the perception of your company among current employees, stakeholders, and the general public. It shows why employees want to work for your company by highlighting core values, employee perks, career opportunities, etc.
Companies with strong employer branding will always have a distinct advantage in recruiting and retaining top talent. 75% of job seekers consider an employer’s brand before applying, and 69% of candidates would reject an offer from a company with a poor employer brand.
To leverage your company’s reputation as an excellent employer effectively, you'll need strong employer branding campaigns. These campaigns will help you strategically manage how to market your employer brand and craft your reputation as a desirable workplace, which in turn, will attract talented individuals who want to work for your company.
In this article, we’ll explain the impact of successful employer branding campaigns, highlight examples of successful employer branding campaigns for employees, and share what missteps to avoid in your campaigns.
Launching successful employer branding campaigns can have a positive impact on company growth. A strong employer brand has the potential to attract qualified candidates who share your values and fit your company culture.
Candidates seek companies that are highly respected and admired in their industries. They want to work for employers that match their values and offer a supportive and inclusive work environment. They are attracted to financially stable companies with a solid record of success for long-term employment.
A solid reputation also helps recruiters source talent naturally through employee referrals and social media, reducing companies' spending on job advertising or staffing agencies.
Now, let’s take a look at the role big companies play in shaping employer branding.
Big companies play a significant role in influencing employer branding for their industries. Their competitive salaries and benefits packages, unique work cultures, and strong corporate social responsibility are all desirable qualities that other companies want to emulate. As a result, the best employer branding companies set the branding standard for smaller organizations.
Big companies can also influence the culture within a specific industry. For example, Google and Apple have both had a significant impact on the tech and SaaS industries. Google’s employer branding is synonymous with innovation, creativity, and an employee-centric culture, while Apple’s is focused on purpose and innovation.
Source: Google
Their employer branding efforts underscore certain values or work styles that can become attractive to potential talents within the industry, influencing them to find a job in that sector and the overall perception of career growth within it.
As big organizations become more open about their work environments and cultures, the entire job market becomes more transparent. This benefits everyone by giving potential employees a clearer picture of what different companies offer, guiding them to find the best fit.
The primary goal of employer branding campaigns is to engage and retain employees while attracting potential applicants.
Here are some examples of effective employer branding campaigns for inspiration:
Staff testimonials and stories add a human touch to the employer brand as they share their experiences and lessons from working for their organization. You can feature them on your careers page, social media, and internal communication channels.
Source: Spotawheel
Encourage employees to refer qualified friends and colleagues to apply for open positions in their company. Offering commissions and incentives can motivate staff to participate in recruitment programs and help attract talent.
Source: MyWorkChoice
Providing employees with company-branded merchandise like shirts, water bottles, or mousepads creates a sense of pride, belonging, and exclusivity. Employees can proudly display their employer's brand inside and outside the workplace, making them brand ambassadors.
Source: Sobhi Smat
Conducting employee workshops for professional development, diversity and inclusion, and team building demonstrates the company’s commitment to employee growth. These events also provide opportunities for employees to interact with each other outside of everyday duties and connect with the organization’s leaders.
Source: Bain & Company
Supporting employees’ involvement in community service and volunteer initiatives demonstrates the company's commitment to social responsibility and fosters a sense of purpose among employees.
Source: Eben F.
Now that you’ve seen the role of big companies in shaping employer branding, let’s dive into how social media can boost your employer branding efforts.
A social media presence is another thing top brands with strong employer branding have in common. Utilizing social media in employer branding campaigns is a powerful strategy. Statistics show that 79% of job seekers use social media for their job search, and 84% of organizations use social platforms as a recruiting tool.
Social media employer branding campaigns can increase engagement and productivity, improve employee morale, and promote positive company culture. And that’s not the only reason to boost your employer branding on social media. Having a strong employer brand can also reduce the cost per hire by up to 50%!
Posting the right content is key to building brand awareness and a solid reputation. Here are five employer branding ideas for social media to help you get started:
Share videos and photos that give a peek into team events, employee achievements, and the daily office environment to give potential hires a preview of what it's like to work for your company.
Highlight individual employees and their contributions within the organization. Employee spotlights are an excellent way to boost employee morale and motivation by recognizing employees for their hard work, talents, and unique qualities.
Source: FRAMOS
Share information about professional development programs, mentorship initiatives, and success stories of employees who have grown with the company.
Source: Jay-Jay Ilagan
Show how these values are reflected in everyday work-life and company initiatives.
Source: Irene Hornero Garrido
Recognize your staff members through monthly rewards programs, quarterly awards ceremonies, or social media posts that acknowledge exceptional performance.
Source: Kedar Lele
Not only do you need to post engaging content, but you also need to engage with your audience. Here are some ways to boost your brand engagement on social media:
Source: wework.in
Remember, it's not enough to post and forget. You also need to track your social media analytics, such as reach, engagement, and web traffic, to measure the effectiveness of your campaigns. Review which content and campaigns generate the most engagement so you can tailor your employer branding on social media strategy accordingly.
As promised, we’re highlighting the best employer branding campaigns for employees. In these employer branding campaign examples, you’ll see why these brands attract (and retain) the best talent.
Workflow automation tool Zapier uses its social platforms to feature employee testimonials, highlight team culture, and promote campaigns like its #ZapierLife campaign. Its employees also act as brand ambassadors, enabling Zapier to tap into its employees' social networks.
In this example, a Zapier employee posts a picture on his personal Instagram account showing a “view from his remote office” using a couple of Zapier hashtags. This not only gives his social network a glimpse into the remote-friendly culture and work-life balance that Zapier promotes, but it also exposes Zapier’s brand to anyone who searches the hashtags #ZapierLife, #zapiermakesyouhappier, or #remotelife. Brilliant!
Source: edceltejare
Cleveland Clinic, a leading medical academic center, is committed to providing exceptional patient care, medical research, and education. Its social media, videos, and employee stories emphasize the clinic’s empathy, collaboration, and innovation values. In turn, its social media posts resonate with healthcare professionals who are looking for opportunities to make a meaningful impact on patient care. In fact, Cleveland Clinic’s content is frequently shared by its employees, as seen in this example.
Here, Senior Director Nancee Long shares the latest “State of the Clinic” video with her LinkedIn network.
Source: Nancee Long
Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a global consulting firm, credits its success to elevating a diversity of thought and experience. The company provides insights into DEI trends, challenges, and best practices on social media. Sharing original and authentic content drives conversations around diversity, equity, and inclusivity issues, positioning its employees as thought leaders.
Source: Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
Feel free to use one or all of these employer branding campaign examples to inspire you.
As you’re crafting your employer branding campaigns, there are some missteps that you’ll want to avoid. To avoid ending up on the bad employer branding examples list, avoid making these four mistakes:
Your employees are your strongest employer brand ambassadors. They know the day-to-day life inside your company, what your culture feels like, and what your brand represents. Ignoring their feedback could damage your brand when they share their frustrations on social media and employee review sites.
To avoid this mistake, conduct regular surveys and meetings to acknowledge your employees' concerns. Implement practical strategies to address their issues. Communicate the impact of implemented changes to reinforce the value of employee feedback and keep them engaged. Measure your strategies’ effectiveness for improvement.
When you create a brand image that doesn’t accurately reflect your company culture, it breeds distrust. Failure to meet current employees and potential candidates’ expectations can negatively impact your reputation. They will resent working for employers that don’t live up to their promises and will likely look for another job.
To avoid this misstep, be true to your authentic employer brand by following your mission and values. Also publish transparent content, including videos that showcase what worklife is actually like so candidates can picture themselves in the position and your organization.
Building a strong employer brand doesn’t happen overnight. It takes effort and time, and it’s an ongoing process.
As your employees’ sentiments change along with the emergence of new technology and changes in the job market, you’ll need to adapt your brand strategies to stay relevant and attractive to job seekers.
As such, you need to monitor your employer's branding efforts. Ask employees what they think about your initiatives, culture, leadership, and overall satisfaction. Stay current with employer brand trends and best practices to remain competitive and attractive to potential hires.
Employees undoubtedly seek competitive salary and benefits packages, but what do they want for the long term? PeopleScout’s Candidate Experience Report revealed that mission and purpose were Millennials' second most important factors when considering a new job.
So, in addition to your fantastic benefits package, don’t forget to spotlight your company’s purpose and values. As employees spend most of their time at work, they want to ensure they work for an organization that aligns with their beliefs and values.
Employees connected to their company’s mission are also more likely to stay loyal to their organization longer. They will invest their time and energy to contribute to its success.
Your most valuable asset is your employees. By integrating them as brand advocates into your employer branding campaigns strategy, you’ll amplify your brand awareness and boost brand trust.
An employee advocacy tool like GaggleAMP can help you streamline and optimize your employee advocacy efforts. Schedule a demo today to get started.