In this modern digital era, social media has become indispensable for social connection, cultural contexts and professional opportunities. Not just that, building an employer brand on social media has become a standard practice among organisations. With over 3 billion people on social media networks, it’s the easiest way to start building your image as a company that is great to work for in a range of ways.
Potential employees nowadays rely on social media to check not just the company profile itself, but also mentions of your brand, associations and partnerships, as well as your voice on things that matter in the world. Hence, it is essential for businesses to keep their social media presence top-notch.
So, how can a healthy social media presence help you?
1. Social Media Establishes your Personality
Your employer brand is your personality as an employer. And it is nothing without marketing efforts – Whether you want to highlight learning and development initiatives or demonstrate the healthy work environment your office has. You know what’s better than telling people you’re awesome? Telling them what makes you so awesome!
2. Social Media Attracts More Candidates to Your Open Jobs
According to LinkedIn, 49% of professionals follow companies on social media with the intention of staying in the loop on their job openings. It means that if you aren’t active on any of the social media platforms and haven’t shared the job vacancy, chances of missing out on quality candidates is high. Social media platforms are also channels that allow for instant responses. You could start getting hits on your job post within minutes of posting, saving you a huge amount of time in the recruitment process.
Today, with 86% of all job applicants using social media for their job searches, there’s no shooting in the dark when it comes to whether or not the audience you want is actually accessible to you. You know how campus recruitment and job fairs are such amazing opportunities to find new talent – Because you’re looking for fresh candidates where they are most likely to be. Much the same logic applies to social media platforms like LinkedIn.
3. Social Media Engages Your Existing Employees
While a lot of focus gets placed on capturing the attention of job seekers, let’s not forget your current employees’ interests too. Social media is a great tool to keep your workforce connected to what you’re doing and keep them engaged. These actions can help make your existing team members feel like integral, valued members of the company.
What should you keep in mind while crafting your employer brand?
1. Quality over quantity is the motto! You could post every single day but if your content is not relevant and engaging, then there is no point posting. A good way to assess whether something is worth posting is to see if it achieves one or more of these objectives: Visibility, Recall, Connect.
2. Being honest, professional yet pleasant. Add a human touch while showcasing your company in your social media promotions. Start by sharing stories of current employees. While images of a fancy office space does make an impact, images of the people who work and thrive in it make much more of a difference on social media.
3. Form a cross-functional team to be in-charge of employer branding initiatives. Mix up HR, marketing, admin, etc. and get insights from every department. Another thing you could do if monotony sets in, is to rotate your employer branding team every 3-6 months. Who knows, your current employees might actually learn more about the organisation in the process!
You don’t have to look too far to find the right talent pool for your organisation. With social media, the world is at your desk, and the opportunities are boundless. After all, 59% of employees say they selected their current workplace at least in part because of company's social media presence.