Who does Employer Brand (EB) social media well?

I thought answering this question would be easy and apparent, but surprisingly it was not. So, in late 2018, I did my own review of companies and I’m happy to share my findings.

Let's start by defining it

People often mistakenly think Employer Brand equates benefits; that’s not the case at all.

Employer brand is forged by the honest story of life as an employee inside the organization. 

It starts with authentic storytelling

Every strong brand you know tells their story. It's the same with Employer Brand. And employees are our best brand advocates. Why would we not multiply our impact by empowering employees? Whether it’s in person, at a career fair or online, employees – in the roles you’re hiring for – employees need to tell the employee experience story. 

Candidates want to hear from people doing the job. 

Let’s be honest… not everyone is a fit for every company

And that’s OK. Our job as Employer Brand leaders is to help companies attract and identify the 'best fit' talent. Authentic, on-brand, targeted social media helps us do this. 

Credible, effective and compelling EB social media meets these five criteria:

• Brand consistent
• Authentic/ human
• Active
• Engaging
• Visual

Here are three ways to build trust:

• Show employees’ day-to-day life at work 
• Share insights into culture, employee experiences, etc. 
• Engage with candidates (chats, etc.) 

There's a business case for EB social media

If you like or need statistics, good news, the data exists! Talent Works makes the business case for you. This is my favorite: Companies with an integrated approach to talent management have an 87% greater ability to hire the best talent. This is an important statistic because most recruiters will tell you they don't need more candidates in the pipeline, they need qualified candidates. 

Social media is our first (digital) impression with a candidate

Just like you make an impression when you meet someone in person, social media is an organization’s first digital impression with a candidate. Today, a candidate is most likely to 'meet' your company digitally and will certainly research your company online. In the modern digital world, and with an increased focus on social consciousness, people want to buy products from and work with companies they know and trust. We know consumers don’t just purchase a product, they purchase a brand. Take that to the next level for candidates and ultimately employees.

Yes, Employer Brand social media matters, today more than ever. Honestly, I used to think it was ‘nice to have’. But if you’re not ‘hanging out’ and present in communities where your candidates are – including online – then, unfortunately, they may not find you and you may not meet them.

Companies who do EB social media well (listed alphabetically):

• Accenture: Active on many channels, they do a great job representing international locations and showing authentic employee imagery. Impressive for such a huge company to be authentic and show employees, rather than using stiff, stock photography. 
• Booking.com: Strong example of international EB and creative employee-led video campaign. They do a nice job showing their office spaces and promoting women in technology. They could be more active on their social channels. 
• Cisco: They run employee-inspired and employee-led campaigns. They also do conference social media well. In a rare corporate move, Cisco gave employees access to the corporate Snapchat channel to post 'day in the life' photos, they do not instruct people what to do or censor posts! 
• Dell: They are an active and strong example for the tech industry. 
• Disney: Who doesn't love Disney? Magical. Storytellers. Imaginative. Just a few words that come to mind. True to their brand, authentic people and genuine smiles shine through their social media.
• Facebook: Their mission is consistent and evident through storytelling on social. No surprise, they do not have an EB Twitter channel. 
• Google: They are active on social media and do conferences well across all channels, with high engagement. For example, at the Grace Hopper Conference last year, they held a live career Q&A at both their booth and on Twitter. Way to be transparent! 
• L’Oréal: Strong product retail example. Their Instagram channel is colorful and fun. Their YouTube channel offers inspiring advice and takes people behind the scenes of events. 
• Microsoft: They are active on multiple channels, truly engage with live chats and are the best at storytelling. They focus on engagement, rather than just pushing content. Full disclosure: I worked at Microsoft and built the storytelling platform that continues today. 
• Netflix: They are very active on social and strong at representing diversity. One great example is the #SheRules campaign. 
• Salesforce: They are a recognized top employer, very active on social media and show bright, colorful, diverse, authentic employee images. 
• Starbucks: Like Disney, they create a consistent brand experience with employees and across EB social. Also, they tell their employee benefits story well; a few examples include how they treat part-time employees, their commitment to veterans, and the College Achievement Program. Full disclosure: I love espresso and the Starbucks' 'third place' campaign was brilliant. 
• T-Mobile: They are on brand, colorful and super active on social. They are also relevant; their Instagram channel demonstrates great team-building and encourages everyone to be themselves. 
• The Home Depot: Good retail example. They represent diversity and highlight their employee programs and commitment to community well.
• Zappos: Another strong retail example. You see their light-hearted, fun and friendly brand voice shine through their channels. 

My top five picks from above (in alphabetical order): 

• Accenture 
• Disney
• Google
• L’Oréal
• Microsoft 

To be clear, this is not quantitative research. This is a qualitative review. I found the companies that appear on my list a few different ways: recommended to me by people who work in the EB space, articles online, conversations with friends , and my own searching. Also, this is not a review of career web sites, those are not social media channels.

Do you trust your employees? If you do, give them the keys and let them tell your story for you! Here’s an article I published on How Employers are Getting Vulnerable to Attract Top Talent.

My guess is that any of us who work in Employer Branding could debate my top picks! I'd love to hear in the comments who you would say does EB social media best and why?