The life of a social media manager can be chaotic at times. New platforms emerge, features are rolled out on different channels, and what is “trending” can change from one day to the next. Not to mention the fact that trending topics and comments can blow up at any time, requiring round the clock engagement from the social media team. The below Instagram post from @workinsocialtheysaid sums this up pretty well!
While most consumer marketing departments are armed with the right people and technologies to adapt to this frequently evolving social media landscape, the story can look pretty different when it comes to social media for an employer brand. Often this falls on the shoulders of individuals who aren’t always experienced in social media marketing, which is why JobHoller offers a number of services and solutions to assist companies looking to promote their employer brand on social media! For those looking to manage this internally, we have compiled a few 2021 social media trends to consider for your social media strategy.
Cross brand banter
This is something we are seeing a lot more of when it comes to consumer brand marketing, but there is a potential to introduce something of this nature for your employer brand (if executed correctly of course!). This weekend you couldn’t open twitter or Instagram without spotting some of the M&S and Aldi #FreeCuthbert beef, but in many cases cross brand “banter” can be a lot more light-hearted and show your brand’s personality! It can be a great opportunity to start a conversation rather than opting for a post only approach to social media. If you have connections with other internal recruiters / employer brand teams then why not strike up a conversation on social media and show your personality!
Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories are nothing new but they are one of the most popular ways to share content that you may not deem to be “worthy of the grid”. This is something we come up against quite a bit, because a lot of companies only want to share content that is super polished and professional to keep in line with their consumer branding. That type of content is great, but it is much less accessible and can limit the amount of content you can share. Instagram Stories are the perfect answer, as the content here is often expected to be more off the cuff and less polished than your posted content. You can use your Stories to spotlight on different areas of the business, and even use them for “employee takeovers” to provide more insights across the whole company too. Content will disappear after 24 hours, but you can always create some key “Story Highlights” and add your posts to relevant sections to keep hold of your best bits!
Humanised brands
Consumer brands are recognising more and more that people connect with people, and in 2021 we expect to see more transparency, authenticity and vulnerability in the content we see on social media. When managing social media for your employer brand it makes even more sense to bring your people to the forefront of your posts, because they ARE your employer brand! We love what AO have done on their social channels, bringing the best of both world by sharing employee generated video content within a branded template to keep hold of that polished brand feel. Click here to see!
Purpose driven
The past year has seen more and more brands publicly address issues that have never been discussed by a brand on social before, and for many this has been a way to voice their own values and purpose as a brand too. Ben and Jerry’s is a great example of this, they have actively pushed their voice on social media in support of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, in particular in reaction to the tragic death of George Floyd. Don’t be afraid to speak up and show your purpose as an employer, these messages will likely resonate with potential candidates who share the same beliefs.
TikTok Challenges
TikTok has been around since 2016, so while this isn’t a new platform per se, the popularity of the platform has exploded more recently with over 689 million international users each month across the globe. More and more brands are utilising the platform, so now is a great time to start exploring TikTok for your employer brand. Not sure where to start? Why not check out some of the best TikTok challenges and see which could be relevant for your employer brand? It could be the “Tell me” challenge where you task employees to tell them they work at *Company Name* without telling them you work there for example. If you are looking to ramp up your social media presence for your employer brand but not sure where to begin then please get in touch. Our team of social media and employer brand specialists can offer advice, support and services to help!
