In a fiercely competitive job market, it is crucial to prioritize employer branding efforts to retain existing employees and attract new ones. Traditional methods like job ads are no longer enough to showcase a company’s culture and values. This is where influencer marketing comes into play, offering a more authentic and engaging approach to employer branding. Influencers have the power to authentically showcase an organization’s everyday work life to a wide audience.
In this article we will show you why influencer marketing is a great opportunity for your employer branding, what to be aware of and how such an campaign can look like.
Let’s start with the basics, why should you use influencers for your employer branding?
Employer branding is about the marketing of the entire employment experience. By effectively communicating a company’s strengths and values, employer branding aims to position the organization as an employer of choice in the competitive job market.
LinkedIn once stated that 90% of their members are interested in new job opportunities, making it crucial to engage digitally, especially with the Gen Z audience. Influencers provide the perfect solution as they can deliver detailed, creative, and attention-grabbing content that showcases a company and its benefits. Moreover, when someone else talks about your company, it carries more weight and credibility.
Have you heard of EGC (Employee Generated Content)? Not to confuse with Influencer generated content, those are posts on social media from employees that offer a glimpse of the employees experience in their company. Stories, Reels, showing colleagues or promoting their company’s services, EGCs are trending at the moment. Indeed, Employee Generated Content are great for the credibility, awareness or for how outsiders perceive your business. Altough corporate influencer are a great asset they can not reach the kind of audience that proper influencer can.
How to choose the right influencers?
To select the most suitable influencers for an employer branding campaign, it is essential to understand the target audience and identify the platforms where they can be reached most effectively. For instance, TikTok is a great option for attracting young employees, while professionals with work experience are more active on LinkedIn. The chosen influencer should align with the app where the target audience is present. Additionally, the influencer’s content should be compatible with the company or position. For example, a law firm can collaborate with a law student or an influencer who already creates content about the corporate world. If you don´t know with what type of influencer you want to work, have look at our article that describes the benefits of all influencer types. Working with an agency that has a pool of influencers can simplify the selection process by filtering based on specific criteria.
Finally, the employer branding influencer campaign
Once the right influencer(s) are identified, it is crucial to provide them with a detailed briefing as they will represent the entire company. The briefing should include clear guidelines, do’s and don’ts, and highlight all the benefits that the company offers to potential applicants. Defining the campaign’s goal is essential—whether it is promoting a specific position or the overall company. Possible campaign ideas can include a day spent filming in the office or a Q&A session with the CEO, both of which allow viewers to gain insight into the company’s culture. To get a better understanding of how such campaigns can look, you can watch our case studies with EY, where a macro influencer who is also a young law student was invited to their office to show a broader overview of the everyday business life. The goals of the campaign was to raise awareness for their employer branding and hightlight the company as a dynamic, modern and innovative employer. Not to spoil any results but the interest in the company has increased strongly.
Pro Tip: To enhance the influencer collaboration, actively engage with your brand’s channels. Community management adds a distinct personality and reinforces the affinity that comes with the influencer’s content.
In summary
Employer branding with influencers provides a powerful way to authentically showcase a company’s culture and values, attracting top talent in a competitive job market. By collaborating with influencers who have established credibility and a loyal following, organizations can effectively communicate their employer brand message and create a relatable and engaging narrative that resonates with job seekers. Choosing the right influencers, delivering a comprehensive campaign, and supporting the collaboration with active brand channel engagement are key factors for successful employer branding with influencers.