Storytelling is a technique borrowed from the world of marketing to promote and develop an employer brand. The idea is to use storytelling to attract and retain talent. But how exactly does storytelling fit into your employer brand strategy? When should you use it? And what steps should you follow for successful employer brand storytelling? We break it down for you.

Storytelling as part of the employer brand: what is it?

When it comes to employer branding, storytelling is the word we use to describe the narrative techniques used to illustrate the company purpose and DNA. The end goal is to attract the attention of target people (specifically talent) by arousing emotions that are strong enough to create a bond and convince them to carry out the desired action (e.g.: send in an application to a job offer, subscribe to the company page).

As part of an employer brand strategy, storytelling is very interesting in the following cases:

• Introduce the company purpose;

• Share the company values and culture;

• Stand out from the competition in the tone you use, the way you communicate and what makes you an attractive organisation.

What are the goals of using storytelling as part of the employer brand strategy?

Storytelling serves the employer brand. Based on this, this HR marketing technique is used to achieve the same goals, namely:

• Strengthen employee engagement and loyalty;

• Attract the right candidates;

• Develop a positive reputation.

The steps to follow for successful employer brand storytelling

Step no. 1: Know your target talent

As we have seen, storytelling aims to promote the employer image, develop notoriety, attract potential candidates and foster loyalty among the best talent. You therefore need to be familiar with them in order to adapt your pitch, the format, pace and messaging. Before you get into the screenplay and narration, start be establishing portraits of your target persona by identifying the following characteristics:

• Gender;

• Age group;

• Socio-professional category;

• Profession;

• Values;

• Geographical and family situation;

• Main expectations in terms of remuneration, professional development and working conditions.

The main fear among companies that may persuade them to skip this step is that they are afraid they will be reduced to a certain kind of profile and will miss out on other talent. Unfortunately, this is a mistake, because by trying to speak to everyone, the message get swamped. Having a persona means that you can direct your storytelling to capture the attention of talent that match some or all of the characteristics. Let’s take a concrete example.

Green-Got is a young start-up in the financial sector that stands out from other banks because it finances the ecological transition. As part of its recruitment strategy, it looks for people who share the same values and the same commitments, aged between 25 and 45, who want to learn and move rapidly up the ranks of a CSR company experiencing strong growth. On the basis of this persona, the start-up builds a scenario that reaches its target: transparency in the funded projects, images and videos of the financing results.

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Step 2: Identify the messages you want to get across

8 seconds. This the average attention span that internet users give a post on social media. That is why companies need to engage in the battle for attention. Starting with the photofit portrait of your audience, identifying the right messages you want to get across through your employer brand communication campaign is key.

Let’s take the example of a growth company that needs to recruit a large number of talented people with experience to move to the next level. Its talent audience is aged between 35 and 45. They are mainly young parents. So the storytelling will be built on the advantages of working for the company: membership of the Parent Act, remote working, flexible hours, company crèche.

Step 3: Choose the nature of the story

You have your target audience and your key messages. At this stage, you need to choose the nature of the story you want to tell. Here are a few examples you can use as inspiration for your employer brand communication:

• The latest news and a look behind the scenes of your company. To recruit talent and make them loyal, your targets need to appreciate the content and recognise themselves in your communication. By sharing your news, you include them in your daily life and you create a close relationship. For example, imagine you have begun experimenting with the 4 day week. Share a glimpse of your experience on your social media (LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook…).

• Take a stand. Sharing your points of view allows you to stand out from the competition and spread the word about your identity and values.

• Employee testimonials and interviews. This type of content is ideal to get an idea about the employees’ daily lives. Furthermore, according to a study carried out by PathMotion, employees stories are 20 % more likely to persuade candidates to send in an application.

• Presentations of your products and services. The talent will get a clear idea about your purpose and what they can and will contribute to by working at your company.

• Advice and useful information. This can be a guide to a successful recruitment interview.

Step 4: Select the narrative format

Once you have settled on your target, the message you want to get across and the nature of your story, the question of the narrative format arises. You have several available choices:

• Written

• Audio

• Video

• Image

Note that the use of video is becoming increasingly common in the employer brand marketing strategy. It is a way to pass on information, specific feelings and emotions and this format is especially popular among talent and candidates. Feel free to make use of it to introduce your teams and careers, for example.

Step 5: Decide on your goal

Storytelling is going to serve an objective. Ask yourself this: what action do you expect from your audience once they have read, watched or listened to your story? It could be:

• Follow your company page on social media

• Sign up for your newsletter

• Apply to a job offer

• Share your content by becoming employer brand ambassadors

• Volunteer to join a working group

3 examples of employer brand storytelling

To illustrate what we are saying, here is a list of inspiring employer brand and branding storytelling examples.

Innocent

The company Innocent sells fruit juice and smoothies and is known for its sense of humour and optimism in its inbound marketing content and its HR communication. To talk about their values and commitments in matters of recycling, the company posted an Instagram video to present the opening of the Innocent recycling centre.

Watch the Innocent video: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CYomJqioUWY/?hl=fr

Tediber

To attract and promote loyalty among potential candidates and current employees, the mattress seller Tediber uses storytelling that is a breath of fresh air in the bedding market. The company uses a relaxed, friendly tone that is far from conventional, testing transparent communication: behind the scenes of mattress manufacturing, testing, tote bag, interactive fun facts, Tedibermag, team portraits…

Lego

The world renowned Lego company bases its storytelling on family values. This is a sensible choice because the background story to the brand is one between a father and his son and Lego sells building blocks for children. To embody this value, the group offers new parents improved and paid parental leave. Carer employees are also entitled to specific paid leave.

Watch this short film that came out to coincide with Lego’s 80th anniversary retracing the company’s early years: https://youtu.be/qr_dTySMl7s

To summarise, employer brand storytelling is essential to attract, engage and foster loyalty among talent once you follow these 5 steps:

• Know your audience

• Identify the key messages

• Choose the nature of the story

• Select the format

• Define the goal