Use social media in your employer branding

At Michael Page, we’ve found that around two thirds of all job searches start online, so it’s no surprise that there are many benefits to using social media in your employer branding. As well as making sure your own company website is attracting candidates you can gain visibility and reach different audiences through social media sites.

Employer branding is all about sending a message to the market about what your organisation does, its values and its culture. Use it as part of your candidate attraction strategy and for engaging current employees.

There are plenty of social media sites that you can use to project your organisation’s message and attract candidates whose values align with your own. It’s also worth considering the fact that some social media sites are better suited to particular industries. So, try and choose the ones that best match your audience, for example:

• Facebook is the biggest of the social media sites so is a great way to reach a very wide audience. As well as posting news and updates, you can also use Facebook to advertise your roles.

• LinkedIn is a professional networking site, so businesses in any industry can benefit from having presence there, particularly when you consider that there are 175m+ professionals using it. Fill out your company profile and encourage your employees and clients to ‘follow’ it. Any updates or content you would post on your website can also be linked from here, encouraging traffic to your site.

• Twitter is a good platform for anyone in a fast-paced industry, where news and updates are regular but professionals won’t necessarily take the time to read through something like a blog post.

• If you’re in a creative industry, Pinterest and YouTube might be a better way of reaching and engaging with likeminded people.

You might also consider starting a company blog, where any followers can receive news of the industry and your organisation. Select a few people to write it and alternate between them, and try to select topics that will get your audience feeding back and creating a dialogue.

Using social media in your employer branding is most effective when you use a consistent, professional tone in your posts and only link to credible sources i.e. trusted online publications in your industry. Your posts should be professional and align with your brand offering so that you give out a clear message of what your organisation does, what you stand for and who you want to attract. Inconsistent and confusing posting may put people off engaging with you on social media, and sending out the wrong message might attract people who are unsuitable for your roles.

By its nature, social media allows news to travel fast. So, if your employees are unsatisfied with your organisation and they decide to publicise the fact, you stand the chance of gaining a bad reputation. Your current employees are your best brand ambassadors so make sure you’re working to motivate and develop them so that the message getting out there is a positive one.

If you’re currently looking to find candidates for your roles, get in touch with your local Michael Page office.