Employer Branding on Social Media: Tips, Benefits, and Real-World Examples for Success

In this article, we’ll explore why social media plays a critical role in Employer Branding. We’ll also dive into best practices, tips, and ideas to elevate your social media presence. Along the way, you’ll see how leading companies use social media to highlight their employer brands, attract candidates, and engage employees. Let’s start by understanding why social media is essential for your Employer Branding strategy. 

Why Social Media Is Key to Modern Day Employer Branding 

Social media gives you a direct connection to the talent you want to attract. Over 4.5 billion people use social media globally, with platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok serving as prime channels for professionals, especially younger generations. These platforms offer you a way to show—not just tell—what makes your company a great place to work. Whether you’re sharing employee success stories, celebrating milestones, or showing off your office culture, social media helps humanize your brand. 

Potential candidates often check a company’s social media profiles before applying for a role. In fact, 65% of students in 2024 report that social media is their preferred channel for getting to know employers (WMAE 2024)​. They want to see how employees interact, what kind of content you post, and whether your values align with theirs. A strong social media presence signals authenticity, and it allows you to control the narrative around your brand. By using social media intentionally, you can attract the right candidates and reinforce your Employer Value Proposition (EVP) 

Key Platforms for Employer Branding 

Not all social media platforms work the same way, so it’s important to tailor your approach depending on where your audience spends their time. Let’s break down the most popular platforms for employer branding: 

• LinkedIn: Known as the go-to platform for professionals, LinkedIn allows you to share company updates, employee achievements, and industry thought leadership. It’s a great way to attract skilled candidates and position your brand as a leader in your field. 

• Instagram: Highly visual, Instagram lets you show off your company culture in a creative way. You can post behind-the-scenes videos, highlight diversity and inclusion efforts, or share employee-generated content to give an authentic look into your workplace. 

• TikTok: If you’re looking to connect with younger talent, TikTok offers a fun, informal way to engage. You can create short, engaging videos that showcase your company’s personality while reaching a wide audience of digital natives. 

• Facebook: As a community-building platform, Facebook allows for longer-form content and discussions. It’s also an excellent space to engage current employees and build a sense of pride in your organization. 

• Snapchat: Known for its quick, disappearing content, Snapchat lets you give candidates a real-time glimpse into your company culture. Use Snapchat Stories to showcase office events, behind-the-scenes moments, or a “day in the life” through employee takeovers. This platform is especially popular with Gen Z, making it ideal for attracting younger talent.

• X (formerly Twitter): Perfect for sharing timely updates and industry insights, X allows you to keep candidates in the loop about your latest achievements, job openings, and company news. With its fast-paced nature, X is also great for real-time engagement and connecting directly with candidates through comments and direct messaging.

• YouTube: As the go-to platform for video content, YouTube is ideal for longer, in-depth storytelling. Use it to post employee testimonials, recruitment videos, and office tours to help candidates get to know your workplace better. YouTube’s evergreen video format ensures that your content is always accessible to candidates interested in learning about your company.

Engage Potential Candidates and Employees 

Social media allows you to engage both current employees and potential candidates directly. One of the best ways to do this is by running an employee advocacy program. When your employees share company updates, job openings, or culture posts, they help extend the reach of your employer brand. This boosts credibility because messages shared by employees feel more authentic and relatable than those coming from corporate accounts.  

You can also use live videos or takeovers to engage with your audience in real-time. For example, an employee could “take over” your Instagram or TikTok for a day, showing followers what their typical day looks like. This interactive content brings your employer brand to life in a personal, unscripted way.  

Another way to create engagement is by using branded hashtags. Create a unique hashtag for your employer branding efforts and encourage employees to use it when they share content. This makes it easy to track and amplify posts while building a cohesive online brand presence.  

Creative Content Ideas for Employer Branding 

Getting creative with your content can set you apart from competitors. Think beyond the standard company updates and job postings. For example, you can create videos that highlight different departments or showcase employee success stories. Video content is especially engaging and often performs well on platforms like LinkedIn and Instagram. 

Don’t forget to celebrate your employees' milestones and achievements. Sharing a post about an employee’s work anniversary, promotion, or significant contribution can not only boost morale but also show potential candidates that your company values its people. 

Another idea is to promote learning and development opportunities within your organization. Share stories or testimonials from employees who have advanced their careers through training or mentorship programs. This can attract candidates who are looking for growth and development as part of their career journey. 

Boosting Employer Branding by Sharing Your Universum Ranking

Each year, Universum Global conducts extensive research to identify the World’s Most Attractive Employers, spotlighting those brands that stand out for their appeal to talent. This annual Universum Ranking is based on feedback from students and professionals worldwide, assessing key factors that make certain employers highly desirable. Recognized as a prestigious accolade, the Universum Ranking is often celebrated by companies on social media to strengthen their employer brand.

Sharing your Universum ranking on social media is a powerful way to enhance your employer brand’s visibility and appeal. Universum's rankings carry significant weight globally, so showcasing your company’s position can boost credibility and trust. By highlighting this achievement on platforms like LinkedIn and Instagram, you not only celebrate your workplace’s excellence but also attract talent, reinforcing your reputation as an industry leader.

It also inspires pride among your employees. When they see their workplace celebrated publicly, they feel more engaged and are likely to share the recognition with their networks, amplifying your brand’s reach. This strategy drives employee advocacy, widening your brand's influence organically.

Examples of Successful Employer Branding on Social Media 

Next, let's explore how top companies are using social media to excel at employer branding. These examples will provide you with actionable insights and real-world inspiration for your own strategy. 

Accelleron: Leveraging LinkedIn for Thought Leadership 

Accelleron has mastered the art of combining thought leadership with employee advocacy on LinkedIn. Their posts often feature content that blends insights from company leaders with stories from employees, which helps to create a holistic employer brand image. By showcasing their workplace culture alongside industry expertise, they effectively attract high-caliber candidates. 

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SEB: Showcasing Company Culture on Instagram 

SEB uses Instagram to highlight their company’s diversity and inclusion initiatives. Through well-curated posts and Stories, they provide a behind-the-scenes look at their workplace culture, spotlighting employee events, volunteer activities, and celebrations of employee success. The authenticity and vibrant visuals make their content highly engaging, especially for younger candidates who prioritize workplace culture. 

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Mondelēz: Engaging Gen Z with TikTok 

Mondelēz has taken a creative approach by using TikTok to engage with Gen Z talent. Their content focuses on the fun, informal aspects of their company culture, including videos of team activities and creative challenges. By leveraging TikTok’s light-hearted, informal tone, they position themselves as an innovative and dynamic workplace, which resonates well with younger audiences. 

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Benefits of Using Social Media for Employer Branding 

Social media has become one of the most effective tools for employer branding, offering distinct advantages that can set your company apart in the talent marketplace. Let’s take a look at some of the key benefits of leveraging social media for employer branding. 

Increased Brand Visibility 

One of the most significant advantages of using social media for employer branding is the ability to increase your company’s visibility. Platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok allow you to reach a global audience, exposing your employer brand to talent pools far beyond traditional geographic boundaries. By sharing real-time content about your workplace culture, employee achievements, and company events, you consistently keep your company top-of-mind for potential candidates.  

This visibility goes beyond just those actively looking for a job. Passive candidates—those who might not be job hunting but are open to opportunities—can discover your brand and engage with it over time. They get to see your company’s values and culture in action, making them more likely to consider you when they’re ready for a career change.  

Engaging Passive Candidates 

One of the most powerful aspects of social media is its ability to engage passive candidates. Not every top talent is actively searching for a new role, but they are likely scrolling through LinkedIn, Instagram, or other platforms. By regularly posting content that resonates with their professional interests, you build a relationship with these candidates before they’re even thinking about applying for a job. 

When these passive candidates see consistent messages about your workplace culture, career development opportunities, or employee success stories, it builds trust. This can lead them to follow your company, engage with your posts, or even reach out to explore potential opportunities when the time is right. Social media allows you to nurture these relationships over time and create a pool of candidates who are already familiar with and attracted to your brand. 

Increased Employee Engagement and Advocacy

Social media doesn’t just engage external audiences—it also strengthens internal engagement. When your employees feel proud of where they work, they’re more likely to share your company’s content or even create their own. This is where employee advocacy becomes a powerful tool. Your employees act as ambassadors, sharing authentic, real-world experiences that resonate with their own networks. 

This engagement also boosts morale within the company. Employees feel recognized when their achievements are shared publicly, whether it's celebrating an anniversary, a promotion, or even a company event. As your employees engage and advocate on behalf of the company, your employer brand’s reach expands organically, creating a ripple effect that amplifies your messaging to new audiences. 

Challenges of Employer Branding on Social Media 

While social media offers many benefits for employer branding, it’s not without its challenges. Companies must navigate issues such as managing feedback, maintaining authenticity, and measuring success. Let’s look at some of the common hurdles and how you can address them.  

Managing Negative Feedback and Reputation 

One of the realities of having a public presence on social media is that you may occasionally face negative feedback. Whether it’s a less-than-ideal review on Glassdoor or a public comment on a LinkedIn post, how you respond matters. The key to handling criticism is transparency. Acknowledge the feedback and provide a constructive response that addresses the concern. This shows that you’re not only listening to your employees and candidates but also that you’re committed to improving their experiences. 

By responding to negative feedback thoughtfully, you can actually enhance your company’s reputation. Potential candidates understand that no company is perfect, but seeing how you handle challenges speaks volumes about your company culture and values. 

Maintaining Authenticity 

Authenticity is crucial in employer branding. With so much curated content online, today’s candidates can easily spot when a brand is inauthentic. To maintain authenticity, ensure that your social media reflects the true nature of your company. Avoid overly polished or staged posts that don’t align with your actual company culture. 

Employee-generated content is one of the best ways to maintain authenticity. When your employees share their personal experiences, it creates a genuine narrative that resonates with potential candidates. Showcasing real people, real stories, and real company values will set your employer brand apart. 

How to Measure Success in Social Media Employer Branding 

One of the trickiest aspects of employer branding on social media is tracking the return on investment (ROI). While traditional marketing metrics such as likes, shares, and comments are useful, they don’t always capture the full impact of employer branding. To measure success effectively, you’ll need to look at a combination of engagement metrics and recruitment outcomes. 

Tools like LinkedIn Analytics, Sprout Social, or Google Analytics can help track how your posts are performing. Additionally, tracking conversions—such as how many people apply for jobs after interacting with your social media—gives a clearer picture of your efforts’ effectiveness. By identifying which types of content drive engagement and applications, you can refine your strategy over time. 

To illustrate, take a look at Unilever’s 2022 campaign, “The Quest,” which ran for five weeks. The campaign achieved impressive results across multiple platforms:

Key Metrics to Track Social Media Employer Branding Success 

To understand how well your employer branding efforts are performing on social media, you need to track specific key performance indicators (KPIs). Here are the most important metrics to monitor: 

Engagement Rate 

The engagement rate is a core indicator of how well your audience connects with your content. This includes likes, shares, comments, and direct interactions with your posts. A higher engagement rate means your content is resonating with your audience, whether it’s employees sharing company posts or potential candidates commenting on job openings. The more your audience interacts with your content, the stronger your employer brand presence becomes. 

Employee Advocacy Metrics 

If you’re running an employee advocacy program, it’s important to track metrics such as how many employees participate, how frequently they share content, and the overall reach of their posts. This gives you a sense of how engaged your workforce is and how far your employer branding message is spreading through employee networks. More employee shares generally result in a broader reach and more authentic engagement. 

Candidate Conversion Rates 

Ultimately, the goal of employer branding is to attract and convert top talent. To measure this, track how many candidates engage with your social media content and later apply for a role at your company. You can use tools like LinkedIn Talent Insights or Google Analytics to monitor conversion rates and analyze which platforms or types of content generate the most applications. 

Conclusion: Creating a Strong Employer Brand on Social Media  

Employer branding on social media is no longer optional—it’s essential. By leveraging platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok, you can showcase your company’s values, engage with both active and passive candidates, and create a workplace culture that attracts top talent. The key to success lies in being authentic, engaging your employees, and staying consistent in your messaging.  

Remember, social media gives you the power to control your employer brand’s narrative. Whether you’re celebrating your Universum ranking, highlighting employee stories, or managing feedback, the way you present your company online can shape the perception of your brand for years to come.