TikTok has taken off like wildfire, and many companies have taken notice and have started creating Recruitment Marketing content for the platform.
Gen Z and millennials make up 62% of TikTok’s audience, so it is a great channel for reaching and building brand awareness with students, new grads and early career audiences. That being said, since the platform is new and different from other channels in our typical Recruitment Marketing roster, some employers are still considering how to jump in.
To help you get started, here are 3 ways that you can use TikTok to boost your employer brand. We hope these examples show you how to incorporate TikTok into your own Recruitment Marketing content strategy!
Rally note: Don’t miss TikTok’s Troy Griffin Jr. at our RallyFwd Virtual Conference on Dec. 2 to learn how to turn your employee brand ambassadors into employee creators on TikTok and other social platforms. Learn more here.
What you need to know about TikTok
Before we get started, however, let’s cover some TikTok basics and dive a little deeper into why you might consider adding TikTok as an additional channel in your social lineup.
TikTok is one of the fastest growing social media platforms. In fact, the latest statistics show that as of April 2020, the app has been downloaded more than 2 billion times worldwide!
The app consists of user-generated videos that are typically displayed as short loops backed by music, special effects and other sound clips. The platform also heavily features “challenge-videos” where users encourage others to complete and film some sort of dancing or singing challenge — a formula that has ensured content goes viral quickly.
Why you should consider TikTok for Recruitment Marketing
A Global Web Index reports that over 80% of consumers in the U.S. and the UK indicated they have consumed far more content since the COVID outbreak, with online videos on YouTube and TikTok being the primary media forms across all generations and genders. So, if you want to meet candidates where they are online, TikTok is a great place to be.
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. In today’s world of remote work, it can be difficult to collect content from employees because of the challenges presented by social distancing. TikTok could help you to identify employee stories to amplify via your careers channels no matter where your employees are working from!
3 ways to use TikTok to boost your employer brand
Now that you know what TikTok is and why you should consider adding it to your social recruiting strategy, let’s review how you can use it. Here are 3 ways to use TikTok to boost your employer brand:
1. Promote your intern program
Since TikTok users are generally a bit younger than users on other social media platforms, this is a great channel to use to promote your internship and new grad opportunities. Further, since the effects of the pandemic no longer allow for on-campus visits and other recruiting events, TikTok can be a good digital channel to get your employer brand messaging in front of this in-demand talent segment.
The Washington Posts uses humor to promote open internships and show off their company culture. Here are few examples:
Apply to be a Washington Post intern
@washingtonpostImagine telling someone a few years from now that this TikTok led to your job at the Washington Post #interns #internship♬ original sound – We are a newspaper.
Summer intern olympics
@washingtonpostThe #SummerInternOlympics are over. Pumpkin Spice season has just begun. ♬ original sound – We are a newspaper.
Pro tip: Choose a team member who “owns” this new platform. If you watch multiple videos on The Washington Post TikTok account, you may notice that they have a dedicated person creating their TikTok content. Since the app does require a little bit of creativity and video editing skills, you may want to consider implementing something similar, like having one social media coordinator dedicate time to creating 1-2 posts per week to start.
Looking for more ideas? Search #interns on TikTok and you’ll find tons of examples — the hashtag has over 5 million views!
2. Provide a behind-the-scenes look at your #unfiltered employee experience
While many teams look to Instagram for careers and culture content, TikTok is another great way to showcase your company culture in a different way. TikTok allows you to spotlight your team members’ unique personalities and talents, show the work you do in a creative way and offer a look into some of the fun you have while getting the job done.
Cactus Club, a popular restaurant in Canada, is one example of a company using TikTok to show a behind-the-scenes look of what life is like at their company:
@lifeatcactusSafe handling and sick beats #cactusclubcafe #lifeatcactus #chef #cheflife #foodhacks #quickrecipes #burnaby #canada♬ You Make Me Wanna… – Usher
Of course, TikTok themselves have their own @LifeAtTikTok account! The channel’s content shares what a typical day looks like, interview tips and advice on how to succeed at the company.
@lifeattiktokWe are in a serious meeting now – discussing new hashtag challenges ? #meetmypet #lifeattiktok #wfhchallenge #드랍더썬글라스♬ Banana (feat. Shaggy) [DJ FLe – Minisiren Remix] – Conkarah
3. Enable your employee advocates on a new platform
One of the best ways to amplify your employer brand is through an employee advocacy program, as it encourages employees to take an active role in your company’s storytelling.
You can extend your current advocacy approach by encouraging your colleagues to get active on TikTok! Share best practices in your social training alongside other platforms and start a company TikTok challenge or content series (more on this a bit later!).
While Google does not have its own corporate account on TikTok, there are several informal ambassadors using hashtags such as #google and #worklife to showcase what it’s like to be an employee at Google. For example, this video of an employee taking users on a tour of the San Francisco office garnered over 400,000 likes!
@kim_johns0nWhat it’s like working at Google SF ?Follow for pt 3 tomorrow! #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #work #worklife #foyou♬ Lobby Music (Original Soundtrack) – Kahoot!
While these days many folks are not working from the office, you can still rely on ambassadors to showcase other aspects of your new remote culture.
As mentioned prior, you can also use TikTok challenges to boost your employee experience initiatives. For example, encourage your employees to record themselves completing a TikTok challenge, then let your team vote on their favorite! You can then repurpose this content into employer brand and Recruitment Marketing materials. Here’s another example from Cactus Club where their employees are participating in the “Milly Rock” dance challenge.
@lifeatcactusRichmond Centre got vibes. #millyrock #milly #cactusclubcafe #richmond #vancouver #servers #dance♬ original sound – Life At Cactus
Rally note: Check out this blog 10 Tips for Sourcing More Employee Generated Content for more ways to put your employees front and center in your social recruiting strategy.
We hope these examples spotlight how TikTok can be used in your Recruitment Marketing strategy to stretch your employer brand reach and attract qualified talent through fun and authentic content.
While the style of content on TikTok is very different from a typical professionally shot video, it’s a great way to differentiate your content while engaging your employees!
It also allows you to showcase your authentic employee experience in a way that’s likely to resonate with candidates today, who are gravitating towards less polished and more organic content anyway. And since a lot of TA teams aren’t leveraging TikTok yet, the sooner you start, the more likely you are to stand out and gain a competitive advantage!
