How to use TikTok to enhance your employer brand and recruitment marketing strategy

The whole world experienced a year of life-changing social, economic, and political events together, and many workers have taken that time to take a step back and reflect on what really matters to them. 

Particularly workers in healthcare, retail, and hospitality who were overworked, underpaid, and short-staffed — people are re-evaluating what work means to them and demanding better. All this has led to a candidate-driven market or “The Great Resignation.” Today’s candidates have options. That means having an authentic and differentiated employer brand will help you stand out from hiring competitors.  

What is TikTok? And why should you consider it for employer branding?

TikTok is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms. In fact, it’s expected to surpass 1 billion monthly active users by the end of 2021. Global Web Index reports that during lockdown ​​TikTok experienced a 123% increase in monthly visitation between Q3 2019 and Q2 2020. The app consists of user-generated videos that are typically displayed as short loops backed by music, special effects, and other sound clips. 

TikTok videos are recorded, edited and posted right in the app on a smartphone, making it quick and easy to create and share content. This means the platform presents a great opportunity to collect employee-generated content and employee story videos as most of your employees likely have their phones with them throughout the day. 

Ultimately, if you want to meet candidates where they are online, TikTok is a great place to be.

Getting started

First things first. Before investing in any new channel, you’ll want to conduct an audience analysis to ensure your target demographic is spending time here. Here are a few common hashtags you could search:

• #techtok

• #healthcare

• #retail

• #internship

• #careertok

• #careeradvice

Now that you’ve identified your audience on the platform, it’s time to get into the fun part — thinking through the actual content that you’ll be developing on an ongoing basis!

Building a solid presence on TikTok requires quite a bit of time and effort. If creating a page and maintaining a consistent content cadence isn’t possible for you at the moment, TikTok also offers advertising services you may consider to get in front of your target audience. 

You also may want to consider building your personal brand as a recruiter on TikTok (keep reading to see some best-in-class examples of both!). For some companies, this may be more effective than starting with a corporate account. Here are a few tips to get you started:

Tip #1: Leverage your EVP. Your content should communicate your authentic employee experience and unique differentiators (aka your employee value proposition). For example, if one of your EVP pillars is growth and development, you can create a content series showcasing how team members have grown in their careers through your rotational programs.

P.S. If you're looking to develop or refresh your EVP check our blog: How to uncover your organization’s unique EVP in 7 steps.

Tip #2: Add value. While TikTok may seem like a platform for viral dances, a lot of people also go there to get ideas, tips, and even news. This is a great place to provide your candidates with valuable information that they may not otherwise know. You can position your organization as a subject matter expert and go-to leader in your space.

Tip #3 Develop a content series. A great approach for thinking about content is to develop a regular content series that you can create on an ongoing basis. This develops a sense of continuity for your followers and also helps you to come up with content ideas. Examples of content series might include day-in-the-life posts, team culture spotlights, and DEI features. 

Tip #4: Do your homework. TikTok is an extremely dynamic platform. What's trending is important to a video's success on any social media platform. Pay attention to hashtags, what's popular right now, and what's trending in the “Discover tab.” The more relevant your content is, the better it'll do with your audience.

Best in class examples

Need some inspiration to get started? Check out these examples from Chipotle, The Washington Post, and Career Confidant (aka Gabrielle Woody, a Talent Attraction Manager at Intuit who’s built a successful personal brand as a recruiter on social). 

We hope this leaves you inspired to experiment with TikTok in your social recruiting strategy!

As you can see, TikTok can be a great channel to enhance your employer brand. It can be an opportunity to experiment with a new way of storytelling, put your employees front and centre, and reach new candidates. 

Want to learn more?

For more help with your social recruiting strategies, please send us a message! We’d love to chat with you and are always here to help. You can also subscribe to our newsletter in the footer below to receive new posts every other week that teach you about employer branding and recruitment marketing.

About The Employer Brand Shop

The Employer Brand Shop is a boutique recruitment marketing and employer brand agency located in Kitchener, Canada. Our team helps organizations around the world attract and engage talent using creative marketing strategies.