Our Experts | Courtney Reynolds
Personal branding is a buzzword you probably hear a lot from your marketing team or career coaches – and for good reason! A personal brand can set you apart and strengthen your reputation when expertly crafted.
A seemingly less popular, but equally important, topic is company branding. If your personal brand reflects your values, personality and knowledge, shouldn’t business’ brand reflect the same? New potential employees are researching companies online, just as the company would research them. One of the easiest ways to attract new talent is by building a strong company brand.
Post about culture
If a candidate is searching for a new job and comes across a company that posts about employee achievements or fun days at the office, they will be more apt to take a deeper look. For example, if you encourage employees to take a day out of the office to volunteer at a local food bank, your company should post about the cause on social media pages. It could also be a sporting event, family picnic or holiday party – whatever defines your company culture that people on the outside can align with as potential employees, customers or partners. According to a Glassdoor U.S. website survey, 69 percent of people are likely to apply to a job if the company regularly showcases its brand. There are many ways to creatively post about culture, and in return, new employees or business prospects may be attracted to your company.
Celebrate achievements
Posting about culture isn’t the only way to attract new talent or customers to your business – sharing achievements will also have a great impact. Let the world know when your company is doing well. When your company reaches a new milestone or passes an important evaluation, let the world know by sharing the news. If specific teams or employees are surpassing goals, post about the achievements on social media to raise employee morale and leave them feeling great about the work they do. In turn, a new prospect may see the post online and wonder how nice it would be to receive recognition from their company for their own achievements, leading them to apply for a job.
Encourage continued learning
Keeping up with new trends is important, and it shows your company is paying attention to what’s going on in the world. If every piece of content on a company’s website or social channel is generated by the company, it can seem as though the company is completely wrapped up in itself. Sharing articles from other reputable sources shows your company is continually learning and paying attention to the ways the world is changing. Another way to promote industry learning is by hosting or attending relevant conferences and seminars. Gathering with similar professionals to discuss the latest trends helps to keep employees driven and able to complete tasks to the best of their ability.
Respond on social media
Customers interacting with your company on the web warrants a response. Customer service shows how you care about customers. If a customer writes a bad review, it should be addressed by the company and resolved in some way. Interacting with customers online who are excited about your company shows how valued your customers are. The company responses will be viewed by the interacting customer, as well as many others viewing the post. Current customers will know you care, and others will be more willing to take a chance on working with you.
Promote from within
Loyalty runs deep. When you find loyalty in your employees, you should value it. Promoting from within and hiring from referral shows dedication to your employees. If you show your employees loyalty, they will reciprocate. Take a look at your staff and decide who’s invested, then use those employees to grow your business. Promoting from within keeps current employees focused and excited about the possibility of a promotion for themselves. Prospective employees can envision longevity in companies practicing internal hiring and promotion. If you DO look externally, check out our tips on best practices for hiring.
Build relationships among employees
Word of mouth can travel fast. If employees love their company and the work they do, people will hear about it. Companies that help foster relationships in the workplace are also more likely to receive employee recommendations and referrals. According to a Ragan Communications infographic, 70 percent of employees say having friends at work is the most crucial element to a happy work environment. Fostering relationships by providing after-hours activities like happy hours or volunteer days can make a noticeable difference in workplace morale. When employees are happy, it will reflect in the work they do, and the overall success of the business.
Network with other companies
Networking with like businesses may sound challenging as other companies are looked at as competitors, but it can be beneficial for everyone involved. By sharing best practices and discussing new trends or changing markets, all employees are able to work as efficiently as possible. New, innovative ideas can come from a group of different business professionals working in the same industry. Other companies can also serve as partners on certain projects. Networking events will better your employees, as well as bettering fellow industry colleagues.
Doing just a few of these simple things can make all the difference in defining your brand and the values of your company. New talent, customers and fellow businesses want to work with a human company, so don’t be afraid to show some personality!
