5 Ways to Promote Your Employer Brand Beyond LinkedIn
June 24, 2013
While there are plenty of reasons to make LinkedIn the hub of your talent brand strategy, many companies take a multi-platform approach.
Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, SlideShare, and Pinterest all offer unique value for your brand and the list below gives you a shortcut to the pros and cons of each network.
Just remember Social Media Golden Rule #8: only build a presence if you can manage it. You need time to make and execute a plan for each platform. And your employees need time to learn how and where they can reinforce your message.
Twitter
Pros: it is simple and conversational with over 200 million active users*. Its 140-character limit forces you to be concise. You can send targeted messages by only tweeting to followers. Here’s an example from Disney:
RECRUITMENT TIP The interviewer is noting not only your skills, but also your personality-fit for the team, so build rapport and be yourself
— Disney Jobs (@TWDCjobs) June 2, 2013
Cons: There’s a lot of noise - tweets from the likes of Justin Beiber and Barack Obama can overshadow your messages. It can also be difficult to work around the character limit.
Quick tip: Build credibility by re-tweeting messages from followers and industry thought leaders. Here’s a McKinsey & Company re-tweet:
Big opportunities for people & machines to create value together not separately: augment vs. automate @kevinmentzer @McKinsey #McKDisrupt
— Erik Brynjolfsson (@erikbryn) May 29, 2013
Facebook
Pros: about one billion people use it to connect with friends. Its informal tone is great for showing the most casual aspects of your company culture.
Cons: it is first and foremost a personal network. Most users want to keep their professional lives separate. Many even use it to escape from work. You’re left with a relatively small captive audience.
Quick tip: get creative! Show fun photos from the holiday party or highlight an employee achievement. Here’s an example post from Shell:
YouTube
Pros: it’s a video hub with a billion users. Videos are engaging, and great ones go viral. You can embed clips on your website, blog, and other social platforms. You can even create a YouTube channel similar to Inside Zappos.
Cons: YouTube has its fair share of flash mob and silly animal videos – we suggest using it primarily to support other platforms. Keep in mind that even amateur videos can be resource-intensive and may need outside help.
Quick tip: Film employees talking candidly about life at work. Keep it simple and real. Include some negative comments to be more believable.
Here’s an employee story from Starbucks:
SlideShare
Pros: it allows you to host long-form content in a blog or website. Its 50-million member base is small compared to others, but its professional focus means its users are more relevant.
Cons: growing a large following will take time, so for now you should use it in conjunction with LinkedIn, Facebook, and/or Twitter.
Check out how NBCUniversal promotes its internship experience on SlideShare.
Pros: it’s a fast-growing online pinboard with a visual focus and about 48 million active users. Images, graphics, and charts are great for enlivening your brand.
Cons: its focus is on personal interests, not professional ones. And it reaches a more limited audience - over 80% of its total users are female, and almost half are between the ages of 18-34.
Quick tip: the more visually appealing your images are, the bigger impact you will make. Take extra care to ensure they are warm and positive.
Take a look at how this small business, the New Traditionalists, uses Pinterest to promote its employer brand:
*All statistics were reported by their respective platforms.