Employee stories are a great way to supercharge your employer brand. But, in a lean talent team, how can you ensure you get the most from your bank of employee-generated content? Let’s dive in.
Repurposing is on the rise!
There has been a steady increase in Google searches on “content repurposing” over the past 5 years. The average blog post takes over 4 hours to write, so it’s no surprise that companies are looking for ways to stretch content further and maximize their hard work.
Repurposing content, or ‘content recycling’, involves reusing existing content in order to boost visibility and drive more value —without needing to reinvent the wheel. This could mean turning a blog post into an infographic, turning a webinar into a podcast, or turning long-form content into short-form social posts.
For recruitment teams, repurposing content is a handy way to make the most of your content creation efforts, while engaging (or re-engaging) talented candidates. Different candidates will respond to different types of content, so repurposing allows you to reach a larger audience, more frequently — that way, your company remains top-of-mind.
To demonstrate different ways of upcycling existing employee-generated content, take a look at this example from the Clinch Employee Connections platform, which allows candidates to ask questions directly to existing employees.
“Create your own opportunities and don’t knock yourself down”
Had I not decided to take a marketing course or make my own website and blog, I would not have realized how much I enjoyed marketing/content creation and also shown employers that I am a capable individual. You know in yourself that you can do it, it’s just a matter of making it clear to others. So, I suggest creating your own opportunities; look at free courses, make your own social page, design your own brief and work to that. Many design sites also have free versions of their services so check them out to hone your skills.
Also, don’t stop yourself from applying to something you think you might not be ready/qualified enough for. What’s the worst they can do? Say no? More often than not, you undersell yourself and your skilllset. Keep applying and someone will recognize your value and if not – it’s their loss.
As you can see, this example of career advice from an existing employee is in written form.
Written content should not be undervalued. It is often the foundation of other content assets. It’s a highly effective form of communication —and great for search engine optimization.
But, most people don’t read online content word for word. Instead, users scan text to quickly find the information they are looking for — on average reading just 20 to 28% of a webpage. Video and audio-based content are rising in popularity, as people prefer to engage with content in different mediums. To maximize the visibility and reach of your content, it’s important to repurpose your content across formats and channels.
Top ways of repurposing employee-generated content
1. Add audio
Modern audiences are engaging with audio content like never before, driven by the massive growth in popularity of podcasts: there are now nearly five million podcast listeners globally. Audio apps that use storytelling, such as Audible and Calm are also growing in popularity.
Repurposing your recruitment content with audio enables extra immersion for candidates, as it feels more like they are directly in conversation with an employee. In addition, when a webpage has audio content, visitors spend more time on the page, known as dwell time, which is a factor in improving your search engine rankings.
To recycle content using audio you can simply ask employees to read and record their existing stories. There’s no need to change the text —- just ask them to speak in a conversational and authentic style.
Sound bites can easily be plugged into pages on your career site or published on your social channels stand-alone.
Key benefits of audio:
- Showcases your employee’s personality without being too invasive – audio is a great option for those employees who are excited to share their insights with candidates but a little camera shy.
- You get the perks of an audio channel without having to set one up – you are providing candidates with the audio offering they want without the commitment needed to produce a dedicated channel. Or, if you are considering starting one up, you can test how well candidates engage with these initial sound bites.
- Wider and deeper reach – you’ll be reaching an audience that may not have the time to sift through written content and would rather listen on the go. Listeners today primarily consist of Millennials and Gen Z, making audio perfect if you’re looking to attract candidates from this talent pool.
2. Turn it into a video
Videos are more dynamic than text, and are a great format to keep viewers’ attention and stimulate both the auditory and visual senses. Visual cues guide the viewer through a story as they are able to emphasize and clarify key events and points.
And, because it’s so effective, video content is on the rise. Video content is consistently popular across all age groups, and 53% want to see more video content from the brands or businesses they support. Shortform content, as featured on TikTok and Instagram Reels, is particularly popular with younger age groups as it can be quickly and easily consumed.
Types of video to use
- Classic portrait shot — Talking straight into the camera gets your message across clearly, allows people to see who you are, and reinforces that your stories are authentic and from real employees. The Clinch Employee Connections platform does this seamlessly by allowing your employees to record video responses to candidate questions.
- Animated video — For when you don’t want your face on camera but still want to bring your story to life. Animated videos can be just as engaging as a person-centred video, while allowing a bit more creative freedom.
Key benefits of video:
- Reaching a larger audience — people watch an average of 17 hours of online video content each week. By repurposing employee generated content into videos, you will be able to reach a larger audience who is eager for new and noteworthy content to watch.
- Video makes great social content — instead of trying to persuade jobseekers to visit your career site, posting videos on social media lets you meet them where they already are. Posts with video content also tend to get far better engagement on social than written posts alone.
- Video is more convincing — sites that use video have conversion rates 66% higher than those that don’t, suggesting that the best way to get candidates to buy into your company values and apply is through this method.
- More can be said in video — people process visuals 60,000 times faster than they process text, and the average viewer remembers 95 percent of a message when it is watched, compared to only 10% of content that was read. With the proliferation of online content available, video allows you to engage candidates faster with memorable messaging.
3. Create social assets
Simple yet effective is the key phrase here. Social media is one of the primary channels that jobseekers use to research a company. So, having high-value employee-generated content to share is crucial to engage candidates and convince them to hit ‘apply’.
It’s easy to create on-brand, engaging assets to share with the Clinch Employee Connections social sharing option.
Clinch offers one-click publishing, where you can share discussion content generated by employees directly to Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
Clinch technology picks the recruitment content most rated by candidates and converts it into branded, ready-to-publish social media content – increasing the reach and engagement of your employees’ stories.
*TIP – If you like designing your own materials, we are firm fans of Canva for creating quick social assets. If you don’t have a design team on hand to help you, why not try it out?
Key benefits of social assets:
- More views — Content with images gets 94% more views than content without any. With more views comes the chance of persuading a greater number of potential candidates that working at your company will be a brilliant opportunity.
- People respond to colour — Colourful resources promote reading (as opposed to scanning content), increases information memorability by 39%, and improves comprehension.
- Greater reach — converting long-form content into short-form snippets suitable to share on social media makes your content more digestible and encourages visitors to head to your website to read more.
- Easy to revive old content — you can repost old content on social media to give it a new lease of life. Resharing old employee generated content also shows that your company’s values stay consistent for the long term.
Repurpose your employee generated content today
Clinch Employee Connections connects jobseekers directly to real employees via your company’s career website.
Employees act as company advocates by sharing their stories and experiences with candidates who use these insights to help inform their decision to apply. Employee stories can be shared through online discussions, live chat events, video content, and posted directly to social media with a single click.
Companies such as Mars, HMRC, Which?, Tui, PwC and many others have chosen to use us to improve their recruitment experience. Want to get started? Book a call today to see Clinch in action.
For further resources on employee generated content and how to create it, look here:
What is Employee Generated Content (EGC)?
Authentic Employer Branding: Turning Principles into Practice
4 ways to use employee stories to supercharge your employer brand
