How to launch a new employer brand

You’ve created a new employer brand and you want to launch it to the world. Right?

Right. But first you’ll need to launch it to the most important audience of all: your existing employees. Why? Because not only are your current people your most powerful ambassadors, sharing your employer brand with them will help engage them and remind them of what you stand for.

And in the war for retention, keeping talent is as important as acquiring it.

The more engaged and motivated your employees are with your employer brand the better, because when they feel inspired by your values and included in your culture, they’re more likely to stick around. Not only that, they’ll be more productive and shout about what a great place your company is to work in.

To help you launch your employer brand to the people who matter, here are four truths you need to keep in mind – and what you can do about them.

…Your employer brand is as important as your consumer brand

It’s easy to think of your employer brand as purely a recruitment tool – a cost, like job boards, that the HR department has to justify. But what if you viewed it differently? You should be thinking about your employer brand in just the same way as you do your consumer brand. After all, your people are as important as your customers.

Employer branding isn’t just a spend – it’s an opportunity. In fact, it’s the best investment you’ll make all year. So treat it with the respect it deserves and guard it with the same passion as your product or service.

…Everyone needs to be on board

Just as with your consumer brand, your employer brand needs to be championed by everyone in the business. It’s not ‘just’ an HR thing – it’s an everyone thing. So your employer brand launch should aim to get the whole company on board, as far up as the CEO.

Why not plan a launch party? Create merchandise with your employer brand at centre stage? Or invite everyone to a presentation where you share how you created the employer brand in a fun, engaging way? The more involved they are, the more return you’ll get on your investment.

…The best content comes from your colleagues

When it comes to shouting about your employer brand to the outside world, your existing employees are once again your biggest asset.

What talent do you have inside the business that you could use to create engaging content that shares your employer brand? This could be a short video, a blog, a Q&A session, an employee profile or a day in the life. Ask around, and get as many people thinking creatively as possible.

…Building it doesn’t mean they will come

Just because you have a great employer brand doesn’t mean the world will come and look at it.

You need to get social.

Plan a full social media campaign that shares your employer brand to the right audience. Whether it’s sharing community outreach projects, posting about diversity and inclusion or simply announcing an award, everything your employees share on social should have your employer brand at its heart. By building a regular, planned social media campaign you’ll drip feed your new employer brand to the people who matter.

In summary

Shouting about your new employer brand starts at home. By getting everyone on board, treating your brand with the respect it deserves and sharing great social content produced by your own people, you’ll build a launch that will run and run.