It is not only important for a company to create a successful communication strategy for its customers. Another audience consists of employees and job seekers, to whom companies must present themselves as an attractive employer.

Our experts tell you here which social media channels & content are best suited to your employer branding strategy.

What is employer branding?

Employer branding consists of internal and external marketing and communication measures that present a company as an attractive employer.

A suitable definition of employer branding was developed by Kristin Backhaus and Surinder Tikoo (2004, Conceptualising and researching employer branding in “Career Development International”): “We define employer branding as the process of building an identifiable and unique employer identity, and the employer brand as a concept of the firm that differentiates it from its competitors”.

The goals of employer branding

An employer branding strategy can have different objectives that push a change outwards or inwards, speaks inside or outside the organisation.

Externally (here you try to convince customers, potential applicants, shareholders & banks, as well as suppliers):

• Increase the company’s attractiveness;
• Improve a company’s positioning as a credible employer.

Internally (here you try to influence the opinion of the employees):

• Promote identification with the company;
• Increase employee loyalty.

Employer branding via social media – which channels do we recommend?

Facebook

• Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can present themselves as attractive employers;
• Here you can post news from your company, as well as statements and quotes from employees.

Instagram

• You can use Instagram to create a storytelling strategy that is suitable for employer branding & recruitment;
• With Instagram, you can provide information and give an authentic insight into the everyday life of your company.

LinkedIn and XING

• Professional networks in which the users are primarily travelling in a professional context;
• Members are often actively looking for jobs on these channels. You can therefore present your company as an attractive employer here;
• If you want to focus on the DACH region, XING is the ideal platform for you. XING has 15 million members in the DACH region, compared to LinkedIn’s 13 million.

TikTok

On TikTok, you can increase awareness of your company and present yourself as a credible and positive employer. To implement a successful employer branding strategy on TikTok, you should:

• be transparent & authentic. Here you can show the everyday life of your company;
• deliver creative content and added value. As TikTok is a hashtag-based platform, you should follow the latest trends.

Employer Branding: Best Practice

In order to have a successful strategy on social media channels, you should share valuable content about your company. What is this content?

• Statements from your employees. Employees are increasingly being portrayed as brand ambassadors;
• Share photos or videos from everyday life;
• Share photos or videos of events;
• Sharingvalues and corporate culture.

Conclusion: Employer branding is not just about communication measures

Finally, we would like to highlight one more point so that your strategy can perform well. In order to produce and share valuable content (e.g. positive statements from your employees), you should first focus on 5 dimensions identified by the Great Place to Work Institute:

• Credibility: managers should establish constant communication with employees to keep them informed about the company’s plans and developments;
• Respect: The company should provide all the resources that are important for the professional development of employees;
• Fairness: All employees should be treated equally, regardless of their position;
• Pride: Employees value their work and therefore identify with their company and team;
• Team-orientation: The employees enjoy working together and appreciate the friendly atmosphere.