Whether or not you have an employer brand strategy, you do have an employer brand, and it’s influencing your potential candidates. Social media and review sites are where most messaging happens about your employer brand.
Before a candidate considers applying, they’re likely to read reviews on sites like Glassdoor, looking for the insider’s perspective on the workplace. If you’re not participating in the conversation in these channels, then you’re missing opportunities to showcase your employer brand.

That’s where employees come in. Utilizing employees as brand ambassadors is a great way to share authentic insight into your company and attract the right candidates.

Employees offer authentic insight

Hearing real experiences from employees brings strength to your messaging because it feels more authentic. People tend to trust word of mouth, especially if it’s from people they know or like. And these days, technology and social media make it easy for everyone to share their opinions. With a little guidance, your employees will spread their insider perspective on your workplace.

Employees are already embedded in social networks, and through them, you can extend the reach of your employer messaging. Studies show that when employees refer their friends for a position, they are more likely to accept the job offer, faster to hire and stay longer at the job.

The best way to utilize this strategy is not to force your employees to be mouthpieces. If you have a great company culture, some employees will naturally want to share their experience. Talk with employees and find out what they value about the workplace. When that aligns with your employer message and candidate interests, that’s when you know you’re in a strong position to utilize employee ambassadors.

The key to this strategy is to give employees some guidance, and then let them post authentically.

Employee Ambassador Strategies

Make sure that your employees are on the same page about your company’s vision and value proposition for candidates. An employer brand needs to be consistent and accurate. At the same time, employees will put the message out there in their own words, and you don’t need to control exactly what they say.

Create a guideline of do's and don'ts for your employees. This might include language parameters for the brand, or what information is permissible to share.

Give your employees content that they will want to share on their networks. This might be infographics, behind-the-scenes moments, good press, or hashtags that encourage employees to make content about the job. A weekly email with shareable content and sample posts is a great way to encourage this behavior. Keep them informed about what’s happening in the organization.

Employee events are also great for social media impact. Fun activities and unique team-building exercises can become great online moments.

A company’s employees are one of their most valuable resources. Let your employees share their voice and participate in your employer brand messaging.