Employer Branding: How Influence Transforms Talent Attraction and Retention

What’s In This Post:‍

• Start With a Strategic Employer Brand Diagnosis
• Develop Bold, Authentic Employer Brand Communication
• Leverage Internal and External Brand Ambassadors
• The Business Impact of Strategic Employer Branding

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In recent years, "employer branding" has become one of the most discussed topics in HR and marketing circles. But is it a genuine talent retention lever or just another passing trend? Who, or what, is this mysterious force reshaping how companies attract and keep top talent?

Discover our insights through three essential pillars of successful employer branding strategy.

Understanding Employer Branding: More Than Just Marketing

Brand image, company reputation, core values, and attractiveness to employees and candidates—the concept of employer branding might seem straightforward at first glance, but it represents a sophisticated "Marketing-HR" methodology.

Yes, employer branding is fundamentally marketing principles applied to human resources. You can't miss it: blogs, social networks, press coverage—employer brand content is everywhere!

Used extensively across industries (sometimes to excess), employer branding has evolved from optional to essential for companies wanting to remain competitive in their markets. As you'll discover, its various challenges are deeply interconnected.

Here's an overview of the advantages of implementing employer branding—whether you're just getting started or looking to supercharge your existing strategy.

1. Start With a Strategic Employer Brand Diagnosis

As we explained in our introduction, employer branding is built on marketing principles combined with strategic communication.

To effectively address all aspects of your employer brand, you must clearly define your target audiences and their expectations:

• Do you want to attract qualified candidates?
• Retain your current employees?
• Capture the attention of industry media and thought leaders?

During this crucial diagnostic phase, don't overlook the complete employee journey or the perception you project to your workforce.

Identify and Showcase Your Unique Advantages

VALUE your competitive advantages: internal career progression opportunities, professional training programs, vacation policies, cross-functional roles, office facilities, remote work flexibility—everything counts!

Don't assume these benefits are obvious or standard. Too often, we encounter businesses that believe competitors offer similar advantages. That's rarely true!

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Highlight Values That Matter to Modern Talent

We observe that candidates, employees, and business partners are increasingly sensitive to values such as:

• CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiatives
• Disability inclusion policies
• Corporate culture and workplace environment
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion commitments

Don't hesitate to showcase your actions and initiatives! What exists in your organization may be unique, it would be a shame to keep it hidden. Discover how to showcase your unique advantages on LinkedIn.

Pro Tip: At this stage, involve your employees and gather their honest perceptions of your company. Employee feedback provides invaluable insights into your authentic employer brand.

The Salary Question: Beyond Traditional Compensation

Should we discuss salary in employer branding? It's now widely accepted that traditional arguments like base pay and standard benefits are losing their dominant position as differentiators.

However, it would be unrealistic to imagine that compensation and its peripheral elements don't matter. They absolutely do.

We recommend conducting an upstream analysis to identify what will be the trigger for candidates. For example, if you have an effective profit-sharing or stock option policy, it would be unfortunate not to communicate this clearly.

2. Develop Bold, Authentic Employer Brand Communication

Once you've determined your strategic pillars, you need to implement an employer brand communication strategy across both physical and digital channels:

• Social media content and engagement
• Employee ambassador programs
• Career website messaging
• Recruitment procedures and candidate experience
• Presence at university career fairs and industry events
• Branded content and thought leadership

Critical Warning: Neglecting either communication area could reduce the effectiveness of your overall strategy and potentially cause the opposite of your intended effect.

We must emphasize this point—even after witnessing damaging effects in some companies: coherence between messaging and actions is paramount. Your employer promise must become an employer commitment that you consistently deliver.

Stand Out With Creative, Authentic Content

Don't hesitate to communicate in a slightly unconventional way with self-deprecating humor that potential candidates will find refreshing and authentic.

Video content is your secret weapon. If you have impressive offices or unique workspace features that aren't widely visible, present them in video format. Video content is always more impactful than static photos on your career site.

Why video works for employer branding:

• Particularly suited to storytelling and emotional connection
• Creates proximity with viewers by generating intimacy
• Reinforces the authenticity of your message
• Allows candidates to visualize themselves in your environment

Innovative Recruitment Content Formats

In recent years, we've seen tremendous growth in video job postings—and they're highly effective because they're far more engaging for candidates and help them project themselves into the role.

Since most businesses still use traditional text-based job descriptions, video job postings allow you to stand out from competitors.

Whether or not you adopt video formats, differentiation remains the major challenge of any employer branding strategy. We cannot emphasize this enough. Explore different content formats that drive engagement in our blog: What Types of Content Do B2B Influencers Post on LinkedIn?

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3. Leverage Internal and External Brand Ambassadors

To attract your next employees, invest in your offer and your brand image.

We keep saying it at Les Années Folles: the quality of your content is essential to attract talent and retain employees. We strongly recommend defining a clear, engaging editorial line for your employer brand communications.

Deploy this high-quality content across social networks, recognizing that digital channels are the preferred communication method for modern candidates.

Now it's time to discuss the phenomenon transforming employer branding: employee advocacy.

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What Is Employee Advocacy in Practice?

Employee advocacy is a strategic system that transforms your employees into brand ambassadors, giving your company greater visibility and access to more qualified prospects.

This program leverages social networks (typically LinkedIn) to amplify your company's visibility through authentic employee voices.

The power of employee advocacy:

When all employees participate in an ambassador program, your company benefits from exponentially greater reach and visibility. The strategy should therefore encourage and enable employees to participate enthusiastically in these programs.

How to Make Employee Advocacy Programs Successful

To motivate employees and encourage consistent sharing:

• Make programs engaging and fun through internal challenges and gamification
• Offer co-option bonuses and recognition for active participants
• Clearly communicate how participation can improve their career progression
• Provide relevant, shareable content that reflects well on them professionally

Benefits of inclusive employee advocacy systems:

• Companies gain better control over brand image and messaging
• Employees involved in the program become genuinely engaged and convey positive ideas
• When employees communicate about their company, it induces a feeling of pride and belonging
• Candidates gain access to more authentic information and feel more confident applying

Partnering With LinkedIn Influencers for Employer Branding

You also have the powerful option of collaborating with B2B influencers, individuals who have built large, engaged communities of subscribers who follow them for their expertise on specific subjects or industries.

LinkedIn influencers can provide:

• A spotlight on your employer brand with an authentic, trusted voice
• Access to their community of potential candidates
• Expertise in promoting your brand to their engaged audience

Keys to successful influencer collaboration:

You must embrace their universe, tone, and visual style to achieve effective collaboration that benefits both parties. This partnership might involve:

• Sponsored posts promoting specific job openings
• "Inside look" interviews that facilitate candidate screening and interest
• Behind-the-scenes content showcasing company culture

Quick tip: Accept bold, challenging questions that the influencer's community will ask. The goal is to be transparent in your communication and allow the influencer to authentically adapt your brand message for effective transmission to their audience.

Download our free guide: The Complete Influencer Marketing Handbook.

The Business Impact of Strategic Employer Branding

To conclude, investing in your employer brand delivers considerable benefits to your organization and increases overall performance.

These advantages are measured at multiple levels:

1. Increased Attractiveness and Market Appeal

Qualified candidates are more likely to join your company, and you'll attract more customers who admire your culture and values.

2. Strengthened Employee Engagement and Loyalty

Developing a genuine sense of belonging and pride increases employee motivation, productivity, and retention rates.

3. More Effective, Efficient Recruitment

Adopting modern communication strategies to promote your opportunities encourages the right candidates to join you. When you successfully showcase your values and authentic corporate culture with transparency, you attract candidates who are naturally aligned with your organization.

The result: A significant increase in qualified applications from candidates who are genuinely excited about your mission and culture.

Ready to transform your employer branding strategy with authentic influence? Les Années Folles specializes in helping companies build compelling employer brands through strategic content, employee advocacy programs, and LinkedIn influencer partnerships.

Contact us to discover how we can amplify your talent attraction and retention efforts.

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