Recently, employer branding influencers have become more popular on LinkedIn, Instagram and Tiktok.
They give a sneak peek into what happens behind the scenes of candidates’ experience and employer branding, and lead public opinion on some burning issues: work-life balance, recruitment, lay-offs, remote work, and more.
Accompanied by colorful visuals and straight-talking text, these influencers make crucial content accessible to viewers in a fun and light way.
So, we gathered five well-known employer branding influencers and asked them to share their top insights with us. Let’s get right into it:
Jess Katz
Jess has been leading employer branding at quickly growing public and private tech companies for the last 4+ years (MongoDB and Snyk). Using a global lens, she has helped companies scale their hiring efforts and brand awareness in target markets around the world.
What is the biggest challenge in employer branding nowadays?
“The biggest challenge is to create a successful program with limited resources. Especially in today’s unsteady market, companies are extra cautious with their budgets, so you need to get creative.
For example, instead of outsourcing a copywriter to create a new blog, send your employees a document with questions and ask them to fill it out. Use their insights to quickly create engaging content. Not only does it save you money, but you’re providing an authentic perspective as opposed to a generic, cookie-cutter blog post. Don’t be afraid to get scrappy.
Another example is to create a fun video using your cellphone and your office as the setting, like I did for ‘Snyk her.”
Tell us about a successful project or strategy that had great results.
“A successful internal strategy that had great results was establishing a close relationship with the C-levels at my company.
Since C-levels already see the big picture, they understand the importance of hiring quality employees in order to achieve goals and launch products, as well as for the company culture.
When upper management relays this to VPs, it trickles down all the way to the new hires, becoming a clear focus for the entire company. This makes everyone more involved in employer branding content creation.
By the end, the problem is that you have too much good content to choose from :)”
Lotem Aviv
Lotem Aviv is a veteran recruiter and lecturer that specializes in technical complex positions. Her recruitment and marketing perspectives allow her to empower companies that are hiring to attract more high-quality applicants. Her goal is to combine these two aspects.
What is the biggest challenge in employer branding nowadays?
“Nowadays, for companies that are having to lay off employees, it can be challenging to present employer branding in a way that does not drive away potential candidates.
As part of their employer branding efforts, companies should help the employees they had to lay off in whatever ways they can and take full ownership of the situation. Afterall, employer branding and offering employee benefits won’t do much if you treat them disrespectfully during the dismissal process. Word will get around through websites like Glassdoor and word-of-mouth.
Tell us about a successful project or strategy that had great results.
- “We attend conferences that aren’t directly related to marketing. Why? Because they may be relevant when searching for potential candidates. When there, you can hand out QR codes that lead to the company’s career page, thus increasing exposure to the company.”
- “We produced interactive videos for our career page. The videos show different employees talking about the hiring process, work culture, and why they chose to work at Komodor. It’s always great for potential employees to hear current employees’ thoughts.”
The secret to creating an exceptional candidate experience is to use a recruitment mentality that starts from the ground up. You have to get strong advocates like your VP HR, CEO and even Team Leaders that can help you understand what candidates are looking for and adjust accordingly. Even people who didn’t make it to the end of the hiring process still recommend people to apply to Komodor because of how much they enjoyed it.”
Adi Avital Kojokaro
Adi is an Employer Branding Specialist at Tiplati. Over the past 10 years, Adi has utilized both her PR and HR skills at various tech startups. She is a mentor and lecturer, leads the “Employer Branding Israel” online community, and hosts workshops and conferences.
What is the biggest challenge in employer branding nowadays?
“As we are all aware, there is currently an atmosphere of uncertainty and increased layoffs. Employer branding is even more important during difficult times like these. Afterall, it should be a marathon, not a sprint.
Companies that are laying off employees must provide a sense of security for the remaining employees. Moreover, it’s crucial to maintain your company’s reputation and show that you go the extra mile for your employees.
Companies that are still growing, like Tipalti should go about recruitment subtly. Be sensitive to the fact that many people lost their jobs. Don’t rub salt in peoples’ wounds. Keep showing the values and benefits of your company, and at the same time, share tips with job-seekers.”
Tell us about a successful project or strategy that had great results.
“One of our goals was to fill our pipeline with relevant QA candidates and ultimately grow the QA team. I was pregnant and had to think of a quick way to achieve this result before going on maternity leave.”
- “We co-hosted a meet-up with a QA community. At the event, everyone got to listen to the managers, receive added professional value, see our offices and atmosphere, and mingle with people from our company. This event significantly increased the number of applicants, even six months later.”
- “The second idea was to create a series of videos interviewing the QA team about what it’s like to be an automation engineer at Tipalti. Not only did the spotlight campaign increase brand awareness and engagement, but it also made the QA team feel appreciated and strengthened their connection to the company.”
Michal Porat
Michal works as a social media and creative content manager at SalesforceIsrael’s R&D center. Michal leads “Outforce,” Salesforce’s LGBTQ+ employee group. She also initiated a podcast for Salesforce called “People Before Code,” in which she interviews Salesforce employees.
What is the biggest challenge in employer branding nowadays?
“Two years ago, companies attracted candidates using videos featuring celebrities and showing company parties.
Times have changed. Today, what employees want is job security and the opportunity for personal development. They want to be seen and treated like human beings, and herein lies the challenge.
Companies have already been making the shift by focusing more on employee well-being, work-life balance and opportunities for professional development. When you talk about people and company values, it breaks through the noise. There are many topics to talk about – parental benefits and flexibility, volunteering, working from home, and diversity and inclusion. So, make sure to focus on the people at your company and tell their stories.”
Tell us about a successful project or strategy that had great results.
“An idea I’m proud of was to launch our in-house podcast, People Before Code, which gives our Salesforce employees a platform to share their knowledge.
What’s beautiful about this project is that candidates can get a real idea of Salesforce culture from the employees’ perspective. They get a glimpse at the people who might be their colleagues, which can help them decide if Salesforce is the right place for them. It also makes me happy that the world gets to see how amazing our employees are.”
Leora Golomb
Leora Golomb brings innovative thinking to employer branding at ZipRecruiter. On top of her full-time job, she is also a social entrepreneur who founded FuckUp Nights, where entrepreneurs share stories of their failures.
What is the biggest challenge in employer branding nowadays?
“Employer branding doesn’t depend on ‘nowadays.’ Your strategy shouldn’t change based on the market, but rather what is going on at the company, and it shouldn’t be tactical, but strategic.
One of the challenges is to emphasize what your competitive advantage is. At ZipRecruiter, we introduce candidates to our brilliant employees during interviews and show them the real impact of the company.
A lot of people think that employer branding is all about intermittent bursts of activity, when in reality, it’s a steady and consistent need. Also, it’s important to check if it’s time to make big moves, or if you need to build infrastructure first. You can launch a billboard campaign, but if your career page doesn’t look good, it won’t get you far.”
Tell us about a successful project or strategy that had great results.
“Our developers created a developer riddle based on the company’s needs that included a virtual experience in our office. Instead of offering prizes, people who solved the riddle went through an accelerated hiring process.
We advertised it gradually to ensure that we could handle the amount of inquiries, and we published it among a diverse audience first.
The results were amazing:
- 15,000 people tried to solve the riddle in 3 days
- 64 people succeeded
- 20 were relevant to start the hiring process
- Major buzz among developer community
- Established us as tech authority
- Participants loved riddle, called it difficult and interesting
There was also internal hype within the company, with employees sharing the riddle on LinkedIn and getting in on the excitement.”
There you have it, folks. We hope these insights from top employer branding influencers will spark your creativity and encourage you to think outside the box.
At SAGE Marketing, our employer branding department is a team of wizards who help startups and tech companies hire top-notch employees, improve work culture, and enhance brand awareness. Curious to hear more? Reach out to us.
