We leaned hard into social SEO on TikTok when I noticed our brand searches were being dominated by uncontrolled narratives. I did a simple search of “Open Influence” on TikTok and found consumer questions about influencer marketing that nobody was answering–we were missing the entire discovery phase where buyers actually make decisions.

We measured effectiveness through branded search volume increases (40% lift in three months) and more importantly, inbound pitch quality–Fortune 500 brands started referencing specific TikTok content in discovery calls, proving they found us through social search, not traditional channels. Our sales team could literally trace which TikTok insight led to which contract conversation.

What I’d do differently is audit competitor brand mentions simultaneously. We focused on our own brand terms but missed the chance to dominate category-level searches like “how to pick an influencer agency” where we could’ve captured prospects earlier in their journey before they even knew our name.

The opening was realizing TikTok’s search bar is now a reputation management tool, not just a content distribution platform. If you’re not intentionally feeding it answers to questions your buyers are actually typing, someone else is controlling your narrative.

I’ve spent 30+ years managing reputations for executives and public figures, and here’s what actually worked: we got our clients’ employees posting authentic content about their workplace experiences on platforms where job seekers already hang out—Reddit, Quora, and niche industry forums.

One executive client was hiring for senior roles but kept losing candidates to competitors. We coached 8-10 of their mid-level employees to answer real questions in r/careeradvice and industry-specific subreddits—not promotional stuff, just honest responses about what working there was actually like. Within 90 days, their Glassdoor profile views jumped 47%, and they filled three C-suite positions with candidates who specifically mentioned “researching the company culture online” during interviews.

What I’d change: I would’ve tracked which specific forum posts drove the most profile visits using UTM parameters from day one. We only started measuring that halfway through and missed valuable data about which topics resonated most. The biggest surprise was that posts about work-life balance and professional development got 3x more engagement than posts about compensation or perks.

The key insight from my investigative background: people trust peer-to-peer information way more than corporate messaging. When potential hires see current employees voluntarily defending or explaining their workplace in unbranded spaces, that credibility is worth more than any careers page.

I’ve spent 20+ years building marketing systems for local and national brands, and the most underused employer brand strategy I’ve seen work is letting your SEO and local presence tell your company story–not just your service story.

We had a contractor client who was bleeding qualified applicants to competitors. Instead of building a separate careers page or running expensive job ads, we optimized their Google Business Profile with behind-the-scenes photos of their team actually working, added Q&A content about company culture and benefits, and posted weekly updates showing project progress with crew shoutouts. Within 90 days, they saw a 60% increase in direct phone inquiries specifically asking about job openings.

We measured it through call tracking (applicants mentioned “seeing the team on Google”), qualified applicant volume, and reduced cost-per-hire since they weren’t paying for Indeed or ZipRecruiter anymore. The kicker was that these applicants were higher quality because they’d already seen the work environment and team dynamic before applying.

What I’d do differently is start this approach earlier in the sales funnel–most businesses wait until they’re desperate for hires. Your local SEO footprint is live 24/7 and costs almost nothing to optimize for dual-purpose recruiting, but most companies only use it to attract customers and completely ignore the employer brand angle sitting right there.

I’ve built multiple businesses from scratch including growing Security Camera King to $20m+ annually, so I’ve tested pretty much every social media approach out there. What actually moved the needle for our employer brand at UltraWeb Marketing was showcasing our client results in real-time–specifically posting before/after Google ranking screenshots with the actual timeline it took us to get there.

We tracked effectiveness through direct attribution in our sales calls. About 60% of new clients in the following quarter mentioned they reached out specifically because they saw our case study posts showing local businesses jumping from page 3 to top 3 positions within 90 days. The conversion rate on those leads was 40% higher than our average because they already trusted we could deliver.

What I’d do differently is post the failures too. We’ve had campaigns that took longer than expected or required complete strategy pivots. The Florida market is brutally competitive for local SEO, and showing how we steered a client’s ranking drop during a Google algorithm update would’ve demonstrated real expertise instead of just highlight reels.

I’m CMO at Rehab Essentials, where we partner with universities to launch hybrid healthcare programs. The biggest visibility shift came when we stopped trying to explain our “turnkey solutions” and started sharing actual student outcomes–specifically that 58% referral rate from current students and alumni in our post-professional doctoral programs.

We measured effectiveness through inbound meeting requests from program directors who cited that specific stat in their initial emails. Before we focused on student satisfaction data, we were getting polite responses about “exploring options.” After we led with proof that students trusted us enough to recommend their peers, decision-makers wanted to talk ROI immediately.

What I’d do differently is share the uncomfortable middle part–the faculty coaching sessions where professors initially resisted distance learning models, then became champions. Healthcare education is traditionally conservative, and showing that change process would’ve built credibility faster than our polished “we handle accreditation alignment” messaging.

The lesson: When you’re in B2B partnerships, your employer brand lives in your customers’ success stories, not your operational capabilities. Universities don’t care that we’re efficient–they care that their graduates become advocates.

I’ve spent 15+ years in SEO and digital marketing, so I’ve seen what actually moves the needle for brand visibility versus what just sounds good in theory.

Our biggest employer brand win came from documenting our AI implementation process on LinkedIn–specifically showing the messy reality of integrating AI tools into our SEO workflows. We posted before/after screenshots of content briefs, shared actual productivity metrics (we cut research time by 60% on competitive analysis), and had our team members explain which tools failed and why. This wasn’t polished corporate content; it was real problem-solving in real time.

We measured effectiveness through inbound recruiter messages and job applications–they jumped 3x within four months. More importantly, applicants specifically mentioned our AI posts in their cover letters and could speak intelligently about our tech stack before interviews. We also tracked LinkedIn post engagement and found our “behind the scenes” AI content got 5x more saves than our client success stories.

What I’d do differently is start video documentation way earlier. We have so many Slack conversations and screen recordings showing how we’re using AI to analyze search intent or identify link opportunities that never made it to social. Those raw moments of “holy shit, this actually works” are what people remember, not the sanitized case studies.

At Comfort Temp, we transformed our employer brand by showcasing our community giving program across social platforms–specifically highlighting our partnerships with 30+ local nonprofits like Ronald McDonald House and Gigi’s Playhouse. We posted photos and stories of our technicians volunteering, paired with honest posts about why giving back matters to our team culture in North Central Florida.

We tracked effectiveness through job application quality and volume. Applications increased 40% within six months, and more importantly, candidates started mentioning our charity work in interviews as their reason for applying. We also saw existing employees sharing our posts organically, which expanded our reach without ad spend.

What I’d do differently is involve our technicians earlier in content creation. Instead of just posting event photos after the fact, I’d have them do quick video updates during volunteer events explaining which nonprofit they’re helping and why they chose to work for a company that prioritizes community. The authenticity of field staff talking about culture beats any HR-polished content.

The surprising outcome was vendor relationships got stronger too. Our HVAC equipment suppliers started connecting us with other community-minded businesses, which opened doors for both recruiting referrals and commercial contracts we hadn’t pursued before.

I’ve run The Nines Emporium on the Sunshine Coast for nearly 10 years, so I’ve tried every social media trick in the book. The one that actually changed everything for us was monthly giveaways paired with our loyalty program. Simple idea: every month we’d give away a breakfast-for-two voucher or merch, and people had to engage with our posts to enter.

We measured it through foot traffic and loyalty card signups—we saw a 40% jump in new loyalty cards over six months, which directly translated to repeat customers. Our Instagram following doubled, but more importantly, we could track those new followers actually walking through the door because they’d mention the giveaway or ask about the loyalty program when ordering.

What I’d do differently is start capturing our team’s personality way earlier. We have George, who’s obsessed with coffee, Fletcher, who never stops smiling through 100 loaded shakes, and Lani creating monthly specials in a 50-degree kitchen. That’s the real story, not just food pics. People come back for the humans, not just the Bacon Benny.

The lesson: give people a reason to engage that costs you almost nothing but creates real database growth. A $50 breakfast voucher brought us thousands in repeat business because it turned Instagram scrollers into actual regulars with loyalty cards.

I run a digital advertising agency that specializes in franchise marketing, and the strategy that exploded our employer brand visibility was showcasing our internal team systems on LinkedIn—specifically, how we structure Meta campaigns for multi-location businesses.

We started sharing granular breakdowns: how we prevent franchisees from outbidding themselves through overlapping geo-targeting, our naming conventions for tracking 80+ locations in one account, and budget allocation frameworks that keep low-spend campaigns from tanking performance data. One post about “campaign cannibalization” got 47k impressions and landed us three inbound partnership inquiries in a week.

We measured effectiveness through direct recruitment applications (up 60% quarter-over-quarter) and unsolicited LinkedIn messages from senior media buyers wanting to join our team. Our Glassdoor traffic tripled without us changing anything else about our hiring process.

What I’d do differently is turn those breakdowns into a monthly series instead of sporadic posts. The talent we attracted wasn’t looking for generic “we’re a great place to work” fluff—they wanted proof we actually knew what we were doing. Operational transparency became our best recruiting tool.

At Sumo Logic, we shifted from polished product demos to having our actual SDR and demand gen teams share their quotas, pipeline numbers, and what was *actually* converting in our outreach sequences. Not sanitized–real Salesforce screenshots with deal stages and the messaging that was flopping.

We tracked it through tagged UTM parameters on application links and saw qualified marketing talent applications increase 40% quarter-over-quarter. More critically, new hires ramped 30% faster because they already understood our systems and metrics before day one.

What I’d change is getting our finance and ops teams involved earlier. At OpStart now, when our accountants share real client scenarios–like a founder who missed an 83(b) election or caught a $15K Delaware franchise tax mistake–it resonates way more than any employer brand deck. Showing the actual problems your team solves daily beats talking about “culture” every time.

The surprise was how many investors and board members started following our content, leading to warmer intros for partnerships and even customer referrals from people who’d never worked with us.

At UMR, we launched seasonal campaign storytelling that tied humanitarian work directly to specific crises happening in real-time–Sudan floods, Gaza emergencies, Yemen relief. Instead of generic nonprofit posts, we created urgent, narrative-driven content showing exactly where donations went and the families impacted within days of giving.

We tracked follower growth (3233% increase) and direct revenue generation, with seasonal campaigns consistently bringing in over $500K each. The key metric wasn’t just followers–it was donor conversion rate and how many people moved from passive scrollers to active monthly contributors after seeing those specific story arcs.

What I’d change is documenting more of our field staff’s daily decision-making in crisis zones. We showed the outcomes beautifully but missed the 2am logistics calls and the local partnerships that make water systems actually work in refugee camps. That behind-the-scenes operational reality would’ve attracted different talent–the problem-solvers and boots-on-the-ground types we’re always hiring for.

The biggest lesson was that urgency and specificity beat polish every time. People don’t engage with “we help people”–they engage with “here’s Fatima in Jordan, here are her kids, here’s the well we built last Tuesday with your money.”

At Marketing Baristas, we got serious traction when we started posting behind-the-scenes content showing our actual campaign metrics and A/B test results in real-time–the wins AND the flops. Not the polished case study version, but screenshots of actual Google Ads dashboards with cost-per-click changes and conversion rate experiments we were running that week.

We measured effectiveness through inbound inquiries specifically mentioning they’d seen our “Transparent Tuesday” posts, and we saw a 60% jump in quality applicants who actually understood digital marketing metrics. More importantly, clients started asking for the same data-driven approach they saw us applying to our own content.

What I’d do differently is document more of our client strategy sessions and keyword research processes. We’d film the whiteboard brainstorming where we’re mapping out local SEO strategies for churches and small businesses, showing the messy problem-solving that happens before the 40% lead generation increases.

The unexpected part was that other agencies started reaching out for collaboration instead of seeing us as competition. It turns out showing your actual work process–complete with the “this didn’t work” moments–builds way more credibility than just posting client success stories.

I don’t run a traditional employer brand in the corporate HR sense, but I work with dozens of small business owners who face the same challenge: how do you attract good people when you’re competing against bigger companies with massive HR budgets?

The strategy that moved the needle for several clients was turning their owner into a “local business expert” through consistent, unglamorous educational content on LinkedIn and Facebook. One uniform retailer I worked with started posting 2-minute videos breaking down things like “how to choose the right scrub fabric for 12-hour shifts” or “what school districts actually require for PE uniforms.” Not selling–just answering questions their customers were already asking.

Within 90 days, they saw a 37% increase in inbound applications and–more importantly–better quality candidates who already understood the business before applying. We measured it through application source tracking and by asking “how’d you hear about us” during interviews. The biggest surprise was that customers started tagging friends saying “you should work here,” which we tracked through social mentions and referral conversions.

What I’d do differently is start way earlier with capturing the behind-the-scenes problem-solving moments–the inventory headaches, the vendor negotiations, the “we saved this school’s uniform program” stories. That’s the content that shows what working there actually feels like, not just what the job posting says.

At The Goat Agency, a major boost to our employer brand visibility came from putting our people — not just our work — at the center of our social strategy. We launched a series of behind-the-scenes and creator-led content pieces showcasing life at Goat across our 37 markets, from campaign highlights to team culture moments and global collaboration stories, as well as a weekly behind-the-scenes Goat Vlog.

This human-first approach aligned perfectly with our mission to “Influence Everywhere” and helped attract talent who connected with our values of trustworthiness and innovation. We measured its effectiveness through engagement rates, follower growth, inbound applications, and employee advocacy metrics — all of which saw a significant uplift after we shifted the focus from corporate to personal storytelling.

If we were to refine it further, we’d invest even more in employee-generated content, empowering team members to tell their own stories directly. It’s the most truthful form of employer branding — and the one that consistently earns both attention and trust.

We implemented a data-driven approach to our social media content after I completed specialized training in analytics. By leveraging data science techniques, we transformed our strategy from posting generic content to creating highly targeted posts based on audience insights and engagement patterns. This targeted approach resulted in significantly increased engagement rates across our platforms, which we measured through weekly dashboard reports tracking follower growth, post reach, and meaningful interactions. Looking back, I would have established more robust baseline metrics before implementation to better quantify the exact impact of our strategy shift.

A key strategy that improved our employer brand visibility was leveraging LinkedIn’s targeted campaigns for thought leadership. By sharing valuable content, such as industry reports and case studies, we positioned ourselves as a trusted source for professionals. This helped increase our reach and fostered greater recognition within the industry. We closely monitored the effectiveness of these efforts by tracking engagement metrics such as comments, shares, and follower growth.

While the results were positive, we could have driven even deeper engagement by focusing more on interactive content. Polls, for example, would have encouraged more participation and provided additional insights into our audience. By combining informative content with interactive elements, we could have created a more dynamic experience for our followers. Overall, this approach strengthened our brand visibility and credibility within the community.

I’ve run fitness centers in Florida for 40 years, so I’ve seen plenty of marketing trends come and go. What actually transformed our employer brand wasn’t polished recruitment ads–it was showcasing our customer feedback system in real-time on social media.

We started posting short clips of actual Medallia member feedback responses within 24 hours of receiving them, showing staff huddles where we discussed the feedback and then immediate action being taken. Not the glossy “we care about members” messaging, but literal screenshots of a complaint about locker room cleanliness at 9 a.m. and our maintenance team fixing it by noon with before/after photos.

We measured it through job application quality and volume at both Fitness CF and Results Fitness. Applications increased 40% over six months, but more importantly, candidates were specifically mentioning our accountability culture in interviews. They’d say “I saw how you handled that spin class scheduling issue last week” or reference specific feedback responses they’d seen us post.

What I’d do differently is involve more staff members earlier in the content creation. I was too protective at first about showing internal processes, worried about exposing problems publicly. It turns out the problems aren’t what hurt you–it’s pretending they don’t exist that kills trust with both potential hires and members.

One strategy I’ve always leaned into has been through both written blogs as well as day-in-the-life videos featuring employee experiences. Through partnering with our marketing and communications teams, we would regularly identify spotlight stories that could be shared on social media and enhance our employer brand. We made sure to feature co-workers from a wide range of backgrounds and job functions (sales, finance, legal, etc.) and not just marketing and HR.

We’ve seen a significant increase in careers site traffic by publishing the blogs and videos to our site, and then linking the content to shorter social media posts to drive that site traffic. We would also measure exit and bounce rates to see how long individuals were engaging with the blog/video content and with our careers site as a whole. We’d also post the videos to our YouTube account to see if there is an increase in subscribers and video views.

One recommendation is to also look at co-workers who have hit certain milestone anniversaries (i.e., 5 years, 10 years, etc. with the company), as those stories can showcase why employees have worked with your organization for so long and what their career journey looks like.

Short-form video of informal career interviews with employees being upfront about real earnings (wage and benefit hooks are so good for social media feeds). Too many companies spend money on overproduced content when a quick interview really speaks to job seekers directly. We got over 4M organic views on TikTok from doing tradesman career progression interviews (videos for reference):

@classet

💰 $200k as a Lineman ⚡️ – WHAT other salaries are you curious about in the skilled trades? They might be long hours, but there is no investment into a college degree and there are huge benefits to working overtime! #skilledtrades #linemanlife #electricallife #electricallineman #foryou

♬ Chillest in the Room – L.Dre

@classet

♬ original sound – Classet

While these videos are great for exposure, we found huge reach doesn’t equate to more applications. We measured thousands of applicants coming to the site from the link in bio, but people on TikTok are not ready to apply to jobs on the spot, so retargeting somehow would be worth exploring. Most viewers and comments were entry-level people curious about the career or totally outside the hiring regions.

We have found the best way to convert traffic into actual applications is to have a dirt-simple application form (email, name, phone number, and optional resume) and get them on an AI voice interview instantly. The AI can parse the resume, ask important questions, and even answer their questions so they can move through the funnel as quickly as possible.

One social media strategy that dramatically improved our employer brand visibility was launching an employee-led content series that showcased authentic stories from within the company. Instead of polished marketing pieces, we handed the microphone to employees and encouraged them to share short, informal posts or videos about their daily work, challenges they’d overcome, and moments of personal growth. We framed the campaign around a simple theme—”A Day That Mattered”—to give it cohesion without scripting anyone’s message.

What made this strategy so effective was that it humanized the brand. People don’t connect emotionally with corporate slogans; they connect with real people doing meaningful work. The content spread organically because employees’ friends, family, and professional networks reshared it, expanding our reach far beyond what paid campaigns had achieved. It also built internal pride—employees became advocates because they were telling their own stories, not repeating a company line.

We measured its effectiveness through several key metrics: follower growth, engagement rate, and inbound applicant volume. Over six months, our LinkedIn engagement rate tripled, and traffic from social channels to our careers page rose by nearly 40 percent. More importantly, we saw a significant increase in the number of applicants referencing “company culture” and “team stories” in interviews, a sign that the message was resonating. We also surveyed employees to gauge internal sentiment and found that those who participated in or interacted with the campaign reported stronger feelings of belonging and pride in the organization.

If I were to do it again, I’d invest earlier in storytelling workshops to help employees craft posts with more narrative focus. While authenticity worked in our favor, some stories could have been even more powerful with light coaching on structure and tone. I’d also create a more deliberate cadence for content releases so that engagement peaks could be sustained over time instead of coming in waves.

The lesson I took away is that employer branding doesn’t start with corporate messaging—it starts with empowering the people who already embody the brand. When employees tell their own stories, credibility multiplies, and visibility follows naturally.

One social media strategy that significantly improved our employer brand visibility was repurposing our core product teaching sessions as engaging content for platforms like LinkedIn. We transformed technical knowledge from our paid programs into digestible social media posts that addressed common industry challenges, which positioned our team as thought leaders while authentically showcasing our workplace expertise. This approach allowed us to foster meaningful connections with potential talent who resonated with our problem-solving culture and industry authority.

Employer branding on social media has been one of those tools in the back pocket that you know is good, but rarely think of. Well, I figured that lesson out the hard way. I found out firsthand that pointing people to what you value is far more effective than just trying to tell them. That said, the strategy that shifted the needle was embarrassingly simple: sharing what we killed. And by that I mean literally posting a scrapped pitch or scrapped initiative and explaining why it wasn’t a good idea. It was just text. Minimal graphics. Context. Truth. Now this is not only relatable, but it also branded our culture as being intentional (versus reactionary). This insight into how the team makes decisions framed us as being decisive, reflective, and human. Bonus points, as those are three characteristics job seekers look for in leadership. We saw engagement triple in 60 days, with reshare rates jumping from 12-15 to 40+ per post and applications from referred candidates jump 70%.

If I could have tweaked it, I would’ve added more context by connecting these to actual team development milestones. Meaning, stacking on context with how we grew beyond those early misfires. There was storytelling, but it lacked the connective tissue. That said, there is no more relatable human experience than failure that leads to something. No lie. Misfires into momentum worked much better than we had anticipated.

At Beacon Administrative Consulting, the strategy that made the biggest difference in our employer brand visibility was spotlighting real behind-the-scenes moments instead of polished announcements. Short clips of how we run our workflows, weekly planning rhythms, and small team wins gave people a clearer sense of our culture than any formal post ever could. It attracted candidates who cared about structure, communication, and thoughtful work, which is exactly the environment we offer.

We measured effectiveness by tracking three numbers. The quality of inbound applications improved, our average time to hire dropped by a noticeable margin, and referral inquiries from current team members went up. Those shifts told me the content was reaching the right people, not just getting likes. If I were to tweak anything, I would start the series earlier and invite more team voices into it. People connect faster when they see multiple perspectives, and it makes the brand feel grounded rather than curated.

One of the best social media strategies we used to boost our employer brand was sharing handwritten thank-you stories from our employees. At Simply Noted, everything we do revolves around the power of handwritten communication, so it made sense to carry that same feeling into our storytelling online.

Each week, we featured an employee’s personal story about their journey, what motivates them, or a meaningful moment at work, along with a photo of a real handwritten note they received. It was simple and genuine, and that honesty connected with people far more than any polished campaign could.

We tracked engagement, direct messages from job seekers, and how many applicants mentioned those posts in interviews. It was clear the stories resonated.

If I could improve anything, I’d add more casual, behind-the-scenes videos that show the team in their natural element—because that unfiltered side of work often says the most about who we are.

One strategy that changed our employer brand visibility was inviting team members to share short, raw clips of their day instead of polished promotional posts. Nothing scripted, just moments from shoots, warehouse laughs, design debates, or a quick thought about why they enjoyed their work. At first, only a few were comfortable, but once those videos went up, the response was instant. People outside the company said it felt like they were seeing the real heartbeat of HYPD. We tracked the shift through two simple numbers: applications for open roles and message replies on our social pages. Within eight weeks, applications grew by 63%, and conversations from talent doubled. If anything could be done differently, it would be starting this earlier and giving team members a weekly theme to make it even easier. The biggest learning was that authenticity travels fast when people speak in their own voice, not the company’s script.