5 Inspiring Ways to Share Employee Stories on Social Media

by Great Place To Work® UK

Why employee stories should be part of your employer branding strategy plus real company examples for sharing them with maximum impact.

What was your company’s latest social media post? Was it about your product? Or was it about your people?

How often do you feature employee stories on your social media? (If you do it at all.)

As any marketer knows, social media is one of the most important tools in their kit, providing instant reach to an audience in real time. And yet, while millions of businesses have social media accounts, two critical factors are too often overlooked:

1. Social media is social, meaning it’s meant to be a two-way conversation, not a broadcast
2. Marketing your people and values is just as important as marketing your goods and services

Why you should feature employee stories on social media

Sharing employee stories on social media shows potential job candidates what they can expect from your company culture. It’s also cost-effective and possible with a dispersed team.

More consumers want their money going to companies they feel align with their values. In fact, a 2021 study by Toluna/Harris Interactive and KuRunData found that:

• 79% of consumers prefer buying from brands with aligned values
• 68% have stopped supporting brands that don’t align with their personal values

That alignment also applies to employees, who are increasingly seeking out workplaces that fit their values. Which is why featuring employee stories on your social media is so important. Sharing employee stories on social media is a way to showcase your company culture and values and attract customers and potential hires alike.

But how do you share employee stories in a way that’s authentic and engaging?

Here are five ways to feature employee stories on social media that will work for remote and in-person workplaces, starring examples from Certified™ great workplaces around the globe.

How to share employee stories on social media

1. Employee social media take-overs

Hand your account(s) over to your employees and let them speak for themselves. That could be something like a “day in the life” on TikTok, an interactive Twitter chat, or an Instagram ‘Ask Me Anything.’

Of course, blindly giving the reins of your brand accounts may not fly with your PR and communications team. But if the employee and the marketing team collaborate on the message, you can come up with some creative and authentic employee stories. Best Workplace Version 1, for example, have shared “day in the life” videos of employees like Amardeep, which give a glimpse into what working there is like.

 

2. Participate in theme days for maximum reach

Global theme days (or even themed weeks or months) are a social media gold mine. Not only do they supply you with a focused content topic, but they enable you to take part in a worldwide conversation and reach more people.

Days like Employee Appreciation Day, Certification Nation Day or World Mental Health Day are perfect times to show off how your workplace is making the world better – especially when you can connect those themes directly to your employees’ stories.

For example, check out how Edrington UK honoured the women on its team for International Women’s Day, through a fun video highlighting why each woman had been nominated for recognition.

 

3. Think beyond the workplace

Great workplaces recognise that their employees have lives beyond the office. While it’s great (and encouraged!) to praise employees for their hard work, why not extend that and shout out some of the amazing things they’re doing outside of work?

Maybe you have an employee who volunteers with a charity, or who has a fascinating hobby, or a talent beyond their 9-to-5. Show off the personality of your people and in doing so, you’ll convey how your business puts its people first. Aer Studios, for example, welcomed a new employee to the team with a fun ‘two truths and a lie’ post.

 

4. Share your stats for transparency

If done right, numbers can be very eye-catching on social media. If done wrong, they’re just another boring statistic.

When it comes to social media, think visual: graphs or infographics that are easy to read at a quick glance. And be selective with which numbers you want to present.

Tap into the stats that truly set your company apart, whether that’s:

• how many women you have in leadership positions
• how your salaries compare to the competition
• how your employees answered your latest pulse survey.

For example, Health & Care Management Ltd used a graphic of one of their employee survey stats to show off how and why they achieved Great Place To Work Certification.

 

5. Jump on trends for playful posts

If you’re stuck for ideas, why not try taking a look at what’s trending? From TikTok audios to Instagram buzzwords, there’s plenty of ways to adapt current trends for your organisations’ socials – like Signable, part of Domo Group, who shared their ‘office icks’ in a fun video for Instagram