Which Social Media Channels do you use or are present in for Employer Branding purposes?

The top 3 social media channels are:

1. Facebook (32%),
2. LinkedIn (27%)
3. Twitter (18%).

UNIVERSUM – BUILDING BRANDS TO CAPTURE TALENT

By Elisabet Welinder

Is social media for all businesses? Is it really for free and must all organizations be present? The myths about social media are many, and so are the questions on how to best integrate the channels with your communication.

Students’ use of communication channels

On February 22nd in Stockholm, Universum held a seminar about social media and HR ”Do you have to be on Facebook?” Universum´s Director of Nordic and Eastern Europe, Claes Peyron, started by welcoming the audience and presenting data on students use of communication channels when they look for information about potential employers. On average a student uses 6.6 communication channels, including everything from career magazines and recruitment brochures to social networks and live webinars with employers. The different channels have different purposes, depending on if you want to become more visible or get more applications.

Trends in social media and HR

Next speaker out was Universum´s Jacob Andelius, an employer branding consultant who has investigated how companies use social media. Jacob linked macro trends, such as globalization and women’s advancement, to social media and HR. One trend he pointed out is the importance of trust when you build your employer brand; to be successful you need media and candidates to trust your company. Overall, HR is becoming more strategic, measured and market-oriented, a development driven by new technology. In some age groups, almost half of the Swedish population surf on a mobile every day and Facebook has users of all ages.

Martin Dahlgren, CEO at Besedo, presented numbers on how big social media has become. If Facebook was a country it would be the third biggest in the world and over 500 000 comments are posted on the network every minute. He moved on by talking about the benefits of taking an active role in social media and how to listen, understand and act. Martin´s conclusion was that if social media is a threat or opportunity depends on your actions – don´t be passive!

Myths about social media

When Jacob was back on stage, he told us there are hundreds of social media sites today and it´s important you learn to know your target group and where they are. For some companies, recruiting on Facebook isn´t the right thing, but many can get a lot out of it. The myths about social media are many and not always true: social media isn´t enough – you often need more channels to reach your audience; social media isn´t safe – think of the BP scandal, etc. To clarify, social media is a new communication tool, but it doesn´t replace others, it just adds another one to the mix. Moreover, traditional media, as in print, is perceived to be more credible than the online chatter. Jacob ended the session with a discussion on how to build a social media strategy, emphasizing the importance of engagement.

Five social media tips:

1. Use your employees
2. Use all accessible channels
3. Use your recruiters and make them visible
4. Make someone form the marketing team responsible
5. Secure long-term support from the management team

Thanks to Sirona Says I came across this very amusing, but true video on why we should avoid communicating anything that is judged:

• Worthless
• Uninteresting
• Boring
• Nonsense
• Gibberish.

To avoid blah blah, Dan Roam recommends that the words should be 1) clear, 2) the idea should be simple and 3) the intent should be to clarify.

For employer branding professionals, this should remind us of what we need to communicate to top talent:

• What they’ll be doing on the job if they get hired
• What benefits they’ll get by working for you instead of someone else
• What type of employer you are

Do you agree? Comments are always welcome.

Print ads, brochures, Facebook, campus events. Finding the right communication channels has mainly been guesswork. Not so anymore: a new Universum survey shows just what channels grab student attention, and at what stage of the game they are most effective.

By Fred Cohn

Sometimes the medium really is the message. Corporate recruiters can’t help but understand this: any time they devise a communication strategy, they might well contemplate Marshall McLuhan’s famous dictum. They have a choice of numerous channels for reaching job prospects: print and television ads, brochures, social networks, career fairs, campus presentations, job boards, and above all, company Web sites. They also know it’s important to choose the right channel. It doesn’t matter how strong the employer branding message is, unless it’s transmitted through the correct carrier it won’t reach its full effect. But until now, there has been very little reliable data to help them choose the proper pipeline. Read the rest of this entry »

Metro’s new publicity stunt to hire Lady Gaga as editor-in-chief from the 17th of May is ingenious.

The free daily newspaper that permeates our public transport, having readers glued to the paper as they commute back and forth to work to get their daily digest, has gone to hire in the 20 countries where they are present an assistant to Lady Gaga.

In each country, Metro’s staff has reviewed applicants and nominated their winners. Applicants were chosen based on how they answered the question: “Why were you born this way?”

As reported, Lady Gaga will focus on gay rights as editor, a timely topic that shows that the paper is hot.

This campaign is brilliant from all branding sides, even from an Employer Branding perspective.

One, they hire a celebrity to endorse the brand – she is hip, edgy and modern and rubs off her popularity to the company.

Two, the competition to be Gaga’s assistant is a great way to identify new talent and feed Metro’s talent pipeline.

Three, the question is an ideal way to identify perfect personality-types for Metro, candidates who can fit well with the corporate culture.

Four, the winning assistant is in a perfect place to get to know the company and be a future editor-in-chief.

Aside from the cost of hiring Lady Gaga, her personal brand is definitely an investment in Metro’s brand equity. Well done Metro, this is a cleverly orchestrated communication campaign.