In the most recent report on employment by the U.S. Department of Labor The U.S. posted widespread job increase in July, with employers adding 528,000 new jobs, which was more than economists’ expectations. The battle for talent will remain fierce One way that employers can ensure their pipelines filled with the best people is to prioritize social media presence as well as employer branding.
Recent research shows that 82 percent of job applicants look at the employer’s brand and reputation prior to applying to an employment opportunity, and 86% of them use social media when searching for jobs.
So, having your hiring managers, recruiters and employees as ambassadors will provide a sense of trust and authenticity which will help your brand and help you attract the top talent. Here’s how.
Begin by informing your employees on the reason why social media is essential for your company. Social media participation among employees doesn’t necessarily happen naturally, and therefore, if you want users to be active on social media you must encourage them to do so. Make them enthusiastic about it But, most importantly make sure you hear your staff members and encourage them to discuss any obstacles that hinder them from participating in this method.
A very commonly encountered obstacles is the time it takes to publish. It’s not easy to persuade people to share information about your business through their Facebook and Twitter accounts even when they’re working and juggling life. It is therefore crucial to provide employees an easy method to share content, either by implementing strategic automation in the employee advocate programby allowing them to join the program and automatically posting content, so that they don’t need to post manually — or sharing the content they’ve already created that they can edit and publish instead of having them start with the beginning with a blank page.
The more authentic and authentic your employees are in their posts the more authentic and efficient the strategy you choose to implement. Be sure to communicate clearly what you expect them to do when they take part in social media, whether it’s by sharing original material, resharing content from the company or by simply like or commenting on posts or on online communities.
Another important method of ensuring consistency across your content without having to regulate the tone is to use taglines or phrases that are that are associated with your brand.
It can also help to prioritize interesting jobs that people who work for them might be interested in, and also high-quality content that inspires thoughts. The content could include employee’ personal experiences and growth and a behind-the-scenes look at what a typical day like, and how their job and their values are in line with the values and mission of the company Unique takes and views about recent company news or information that is interesting as well as relevant for their networks. This will naturally inspire people to write and post their own opinions on the topic, also enhancing the trustworthiness of your brand and increasing trust among your followers.
The reason for this to work so well is due to one of the main reasons why employees aren’t always willing to share company content because they believe they are boring or irrelevant to the topic they are looking to discuss. However, the more frequently you share information on topics that are actually fascinating, the more employees will be inclined to discuss and share them.
While doing this take into consideration that not everyone is active on social media. Therefore, give some basic guidelines for those who aren’t social media-savvy or aren’t sure about your company’s policy. For instance:
When you educate your employees at an early age it is likely that you will have more involvement and a higher level of engagement.
Enhancing the engagement of employees on social media is all about creating the (virtual) party going. In any company there are wallflowers and social butterflies — the ones who enjoy updating their profiles frequently, versus. those who are more reserved who haven’t yet changed their default social media avatar.
Make use of the enthusiasm that comes from the posters who are frequently seen to motivate employees who aren’t socially adept to follow in their footsteps. When you praise those who take part regularly and frequently it can be an encouraging reinforcement loop.
It is a good idea to recognize successful employee positions in weekly staff meetings. Studies conducted by cognitive neuroscience professors from University College London has shown that our brains store positive information more efficiently than negative information. Positive reinforcement is also effective since a lot of people enjoy positive attention, and most companies have a natural tendency to be competitive. Through the development of organic enthusiasm employee engagement transforms from a chore into the stage of a competition.
A contest on social media could be as easy as providing the benefit of a day off for employees who were engaged with your business in the highest amount during the month. Be careful not to trigger a sense of resentment among employees who would prefer to keep a distance between work from their personal life. Inform employees that this is an opt-in option and that there is no reason to not choose to take part. Be sure to combine these programs with other initiatives that don’t require participation in social media posts , for those who decide not to take part.
At a point where we need to think creatively on how to keep our pipelines of talent filled and thriving, employee advocacy is a team action that has the potential to enhance and promote your brand’s image and values which will attract better qualified candidates.