In our previous post, we talked about the 2018 Potentialpark Study, ranking the best employers in digital talent communications in the US. The study was shared at an event in March at which BNO was a sponsor and co-presented “HIRE Engagement: Branded Social Content that Works” with our client, Verizon.
Rohan Mitra, BNO Social Strategy & Experience Design Lead, and Len Abbazia, Verizon Marketing Communications & Branding Manager for Talent Acquisition, showcased how branded social content that is tailored to the target audience and specific social platforms resulted in an increase in job applications and new hires—at a significantly lower spending level.
After outlining the path to talent acquisition via social media—from status update to the interview and hiring—Rohan and Len showed the social posts that appeared on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram prior to the July 2017 rollout of the new branded social posts; these were later compared to the current campaign. In an attempt to reach various audiences, prior original messaging was inconsistent, and the visual approach did not always align with the particular platform—or the corporate goals: to increase hires, cultivate followers and engagement, build trust, and spend efficiently.
New strategy, new categories, new content
Although the goals remained the same, the strategy and the content for the rollout shifted significantly:
- Increase hires – by implementing the right messaging on the right platform
- Cultivate followers/engagement – by focusing on meaningful categories and values
- Build trust – through the use of consistent visuals and voice
- Spend efficiently – by testing the efficacy of the posts
The new social posts fall into nine “meaningful categories” that the team developed, and tell a more personal story meant to be more relevant to job candidates. They show a more diverse and relatable range of people—including actual employees and famous figures—sharing their stories and aspirations, while other posts share actual job opportunities and the tangible benefits of working at Verizon. Users now see the more human and approachable side of the company beyond the technology (#humanability), more of the “what’s in it for me,” which, as the results revealed, translated into higher application levels during the July-November 2017 time period measured.
An appropriate use of hash tags enables more robust organic search results, and strong, consistent visuals are tailored to the platform on which they appear—including video. And, although some posts target different applicant pools, they all have a consistent brand voice and visual themes essential to Verizon’s branding. Even better, from July to November 2017, Verizon’s social spend was 27% lower than the first half of the year. Additionally:
- Posts within the new categories yielded valuable insights:
- A “Verizon Perks” post about the employee holiday discount was the top performer, accruing over 3 million impressions across Glassdoor, LinkedIn and Facebook
- “Verizon Voices” is the most engaging category
- “Verizon Perks” and “Hiring” categories account for over 70% of hires from posts
- When comparing organic (not sponsored) branded vs. non-branded posts, the branded posts average a 1.1% engagement rate on LinkedIn and Facebook—nearly double that of non-branded posts at 0.6%.
We are proud to have played a role in Verizon’s social rebranding effort and encourage you to check out the new posts at Verizon Careers on Facebook, on LinkedIn and Instagram. If you’d like to boost your social presence and engagement, contact our team at 908-685-1510 or bthomas@bnoinc.com.
