Strong employer branding through social media?!

Social media are truly more than just a distribution point for cat pictures and blurry selfies. Use them to firmly establish your employer branding. Social media have an enormous reach. A great channel to attract your future employee, then! We have tips on how to do this effectively.

Social media and employer branding

As an employer, you could stand at every job fair that is organized. Hand out flyers until you drop. Or advertise in every regional newspaper. But you won't find such a large reach as cheaply anywhere else as you will through social media.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn: they are all channels that appear seemingly effortlessly on the screens of thousands of potential candidates. An ideal way to put your employer branding on the map, then. But you have to do it right! Of course, we are happy to help you on your way.

Tip 1: Create a persona

‍Do you have a clear picture of your ideal client? Or, when it comes to filling a vacancy, do you know what your dream candidate looks like? To get a good idea of this, it helps to create a persona: you invent a 'real' person who represents the one you want to reach.

How do you create such a persona? It's actually a matter of sitting down with a blank sheet of paper in front of you.

Close your eyes and try to take a snapshot of your ideal client or applicant. Give him or her a name. What is their education, where do they live? What is their date of birth and family situation? Does your persona have hobbies?

And, here is the key to our topic, which social media does your applicant use? Based on the data of your persona, do some research into the most popular platforms.

And then focus on those channels for your recruitment. You can even find out the days and times when they are most online per target group. There is plenty of data on social media usage, both paid and free. Take advantage of that!

Tip 2: Give your employees a stage

‍An applicant isn't really waiting for a polished story cooked up by an employer.

They want to know what it's really like to work at your organization. What does it feel like, what kind of chatter happens at the coffee machine, are the staff parties really as much fun as they say, and do you actually get the room to grow that is promised in the ad? Who knows that better than an employee who already works for you?

Therefore, create a good stage for testimonials from future colleagues with a 'work at' site.

Of course, you first ask the employees who fit your persona what it's like to work for you. That lady with the positive vibe and the man with the pleasant drive are obviously perfect for providing a reference.

But be careful that it doesn't become too polished a story. It has to be human.

So write text the way people speak (but without the grammatical errors) and take a nice, but credible photo in the workplace.

Tip 3: Keep it real

‍Of course, you ensure that the warmth and friendliness shine through in your posts on the various social media. But don't go overboard.

Most visitors to your page have a nose for excessive positivity and will tune out.

In fact, it could easily happen that a dissatisfied employee posts about a negative experience, instantly undoing all your glittering copy. And that is exactly what you want to avoid.

Keep it credible, therefore – not everything that glitters is gold. Even in your wonderful company.

It is therefore perfectly fine to show the hurdles your organization sometimes has to overcome to function well. Are you desperate for a solution to a problem? Do you want to know an opinion about a new product?

Put it on your page with a question mark and invite the reader to respond. This can lead to unexpected perspectives. And at the very least, it generates the necessary traffic and attention.

Tip 4: Provide entertainment

‍Create an engaging page that offers a real experience. This creates added value and keeps readers coming back out of curiosity.

Post a job opening one day, and a report on an event or a groundbreaking project the next. Bought new furniture or celebrating a special work anniversary? Boom, get it on social media! This gives potential applicants a good idea of what life is like within the organization.

Your page shouldn't just be alive – it should also radiate quality.

That increases your credibility and reliability as an organization and employer. Only post flawless text with content that aligns with your company philosophy. Additionally, it is smart to use attractive imagery.

Hire a professional photographer once in a while to capture the right shots at the right moments. A drawing or video is also always a great eye-catcher.

Do you want to offer the reader the chance to delve even deeper into the subject matter? Then sprinkle in links to your website or informative sites. Talk about added value!

Tip 5: Respond!

‍The beauty of social media is that it’s not just about broadcasting, but also about receiving. If all goes well, people will respond to your posts.

Don't fall into the trap of sitting back. If someone takes the trouble to write something in response to your post, it is good practice to actually do something with it. That, too, is measured and will come back hard in the data about your organization.

Be prepared for negativity – that’s life. Do not delete negative comments, unless they are truly crossing the line, of course. Take a deep breath and, if necessary, work with the Communications department to provide a diplomatic and appropriate response.

Getting into a back-and-forth argument on social media is not a good idea. It is better to make direct contact by phone or via a personal message and try to bring the conversation to a positive conclusion.

‍Make it work for you

‍Admittedly, using social media requires an investment of time, attention, and creativity. But once you have posted something interesting, something magical can happen.

Social media will start working for you. People will like, click, and share. The reach will turn out to be infinitely greater than you could have imagined.

Social media zijn niet alleen interessant voor het bereiken van een nieuwe sollicitantendoelgroep. Ook de interne marketing krijgt vleugels: medewerkers herinneren zich waarom ze ooit zelf hebben gesolliciteerd en vooral waarom ze nog altijd bij de organisatie werken.

Dus niet alleen de job value proposition stijgt met een fors aantal punten, je employee value proposition gaat vrolijk mee naar de top. 

Meer inspiratie nodig?

‍Without wanting to brag: we at Pluvo have quite a lot of experience with social media and online tools. And we absolutely love it! So, if you need more tips and tricks to boost your employer branding, feel free to get in touch with us!