Employer Branding
Employer branding tells the story of the company as a place to work and strengthens the brand in the eyes of talent, customers and employees. This guide covers how the strategy is structured, with LinkedIn at the centre in B2B.
~7 min read
EMPLOYER BRANDING
Employer Branding is a branch of marketing that, through company communication channels and employees’ private profiles, aims to strengthen company branding and promote the company as a positive place to work.
It is made up of programmed, planned and carefully designed activities and actions, but not only that.
Employer Branding also uses organic content, through which employees talk about the company on social media, from a personal point of view and in an active, spontaneous way.
The main advantage of this marketing strategy is to promote the company in the eyes of talent, presenting it as a positive place to work.
However, the benefits of Employer Branding are not limited to promoting the company culture, but extend in a cascade.
A company with satisfied employees is also able to attract buyers and customers, both in B2B and in B2C.
Since it has positive effects on the company brand in general, it is important to incorporate Employer Branding into the company communication strategy.
Employer Branding should be structured with the target audience in mind, which is threefold: talent and customers, but also employees, who are at the same time the recipients and the makers of the communication!
In addition, Employer Branding helps to create and increase the sense of belonging among workers, boosting retention, and to attract talent, reducing hiring costs and the internal employee turn-over rate.
The channels most used by companies for Employer Branding.
Even though it is possible to carry out Employer Branding actions on practically every type of channel, from television to Instagram, the preferred channel for companies in B2B remains LinkedIn.
It is a social network used by talent to gather information about a company, but also by potential customers and current buyers.
Just to give some numbers, this channel generates 80% of social leads in B2B (compared with 13% from Twitter and 7% from Facebook), with conversions on average 3 times higher.
For this reason, doing Employer Branding on LinkedIn is certainly a winning social strategy for B2B companies.
Doing Employer Branding on LinkedIn in B2B.
First of all, it is important to establish who an Employer Branding strategy on LinkedIn should address.
In fact, several target audiences are present on this channel at the same time, all of which need to be taken into account.
First, the company’s employees and collaborators, who identify both with one of the reference target audiences and as an essential part of the strategy itself, as ambassadors.
Furthermore, LinkedIn also hosts new talent, potential employees, the buyers of potential customers and current customers.
A good Employer Branding strategy addresses both the inside and the outside of the company.
To implement the best strategy, both the company’s LinkedIn page and the employees’ private profiles can be used.
Employees must act spontaneously, on a voluntary basis, to create truly impactful actions!
Today, simply posting an occasional photo of smiling workers is no longer enough to stand out!
Not only that: it is also essential to start from a serious analysis of the Competitors, including those that, while not operating in the same market, attract and look for the same professional roles, as well as of the Employee Value Proposition of the company and of the climate and company culture.
In particular, the analyses of the Employee Value Proposition and the company climate must take into account elements and factors such as the satisfaction of employees in general, but also in relation to the work environment, leadership, colleagues, pay and any other relevant factor. In addition, it is also necessary to ask how the company responds to the needs, expectations and wishes of its collaborators.
Employer Branding is the reflection of the reality of employees within the company: for this reason, it is essential to understand how employees live and perceive their experience in the company!
→ How to use employees’ LinkedIn profiles to do Employer Branding.
In Employer Branding, the private profiles of workers and collaborators are the basic channel for distributing content.
First of all, to use this channel in the best way, it is necessary not to force employees to take part, but to encourage them to participate voluntarily and spontaneously. This is possible, for example, by explaining the advantages linked to their participation, not only for the company.
Then, it is also important to train employees and align their profiles with the company communication strategy.
As ambassadors, they must be prepared and aware, present themselves as outstanding professionals and with a profile aligned with that of the company and of their colleagues, as well as compliant with the best professional standards.
Even though these are the most important elements, the Employer Branding strategy on individual LinkedIn profiles can and must also be refined by filling in the summary, useful to illustrate the employee’s role, experience and professional path, as well as by showing any training and upskilling courses completed thanks to the company.
These are useful to show possible new employees that the company pays attention to the training, upskilling and professional growth of its collaborators.
The publication of content should also be encouraged, in order to carry out Employee advocacy activities.
To have original and organic content that is, at the same time, polished and consistent, it is essential to educate employees.
They must know the best way to interact with the company LinkedIn page and to create appropriate content.
It can be useful to provide them with a best practices document, which explains how to manage the completion of the LinkedIn profile, how and when to interact with the company page, how to use the chosen channel to build a good network and how to create valuable and aligned UGC (User Generated Content). For example, the use of images, of the logo, of hashtags, of the right words, of colours…
In this way, workers turn into company Ambassadors, telling from their own point of view about life in the company, the benefits of their position and the company culture.
How to use the company LinkedIn page to implement the Employer Branding strategy.
A good Employer Branding strategy on LinkedIn also goes through the company page, not only through the employees’ private profiles.
This must tell the story of the company, through elements such as the tone of voice, the topics covered and the formatting, the content and the type of posts.
The latter must be designed for those who, on LinkedIn, are looking for job opportunities, but also for customers, both current and potential.
→ Employer Branding in practice: examples of possible content.
The content to post in an Employer Branding strategy must tell the story of the company as a place to work.
This is possible, for example, by showing and telling about:
It can also be useful to share content posted by third parties, if it tells the story of the world of work through the company’s point of view.
Employer Branding is a branch of marketing that involves managing the social profiles of the company and those of its employees to promote a positive view of it, generating positive effects on workers, attracting new talent and stimulating sales.
It is made up of carefully designed and planned activities and actions on the company social profiles, especially regarding LinkedIn marketing, but also organic ones, which draw on the voluntary participation of workers.
It cannot do without an in-depth analysis of the situation of workers, of their feelings towards the company and of the company’s efforts to meet needs, wishes and expectations.
Precisely for this reason, Employer Branding works best when employees express online what they feel offline, and when they are properly trained, in order to create organic content that is in line with the overall strategy.
Have you already read our article on Brand Ambassadors?
Frequently asked questions
What is Employer Branding?
Employer Branding is the set of strategies and activities put in place by a company to build and communicate its reputation as an ideal place to work. It serves to make the company attractive in the eyes of talent and qualified candidates.
What are the benefits of an Employer Branding strategy?
It improves the quality of candidates, reduces recruitment costs, increases employee retention and consolidates the company reputation also towards customers and partners. A strong brand attracts talent and builds loyalty among collaborators.
How do you build an effective Employer Branding strategy?
You start from internal listening, from defining the company values and from creating an EVP (Employee Value Proposition). Then you move on to internal and external communication, valuing the team and using digital channels, such as the website, social media and videos.
Are Employer Branding and B2B marketing connected?
Yes, because companies that communicate their internal culture well also come across as more credible on the outside. Employer branding affects how the brand is perceived and contributes to differentiation on the market.
Which digital tools are used in Employer Branding?
Among the main tools: company videos, team storytelling, LinkedIn campaigns, optimised “work with us” pages, blog articles and HR newsletters. Parklab integrates these tools into tailor-made strategies for each company.
Do you have an Employer branding project in mind?
Write to us for information or to arrange a video call.
