Patrick O'Neil delivered this presentation at the 2016 Social Media Conference sponsored by Ragan Communications. This presentation provided an overview of the key requirements for building a talent brand. It includes critical social media channels such as LinkedIn, Twitter, handling Glassdoor reviews, aligning social and talent brand strategy with company strategy. This presentation has been modified from its original.

1. Patrick O’Neil, Ph.D. @pwsoneil
#ragandisney
How to Build a Rock
Star Employer Brand
(in a crowd of rock star employer brands)
Art courtesy of Superbrogio

2. Ok, what’s the situation?
Your nearly obscure 300-person tech company is located
among Fortune 500 giants and sexy start-ups operating in the
same red hot tech space.
You operate in a very old and slightly unusual industry,
using a really complicated business model that’s hard to explain and
understand.
Your three-person (really 2.5) team has little $$$$$$ and is
stretched really thin.
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3. Don’t forget GSK, Bayer, Microsoft, Verizon, Quintiles, GE, Labcorp,
Teradata, Cree, Lulu, Ipreo, BBT and lots more!
The Neighborhood
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4. The meaning of any brand is
negotiated; it’s fluid and ever-
changing.
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5. 5

6. 6

7. #Talentbrand matters more than
ever.
Good help is getting harder to find.
Competition is cut-throat and intensifying.
Engaged employees deliver greater results.
With less turnover, there is more productivity.
A good reputation has value for all
stakeholders.
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8. Rules for #talentbrand rock
stars
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9. #Talentbranding is as much
about creating evidence as it is
engagement.
(Are you who you say you are?)
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10. Reality must align with message.
Family friendly?
Training?
Flexible?
Meaningful work?
Wellness?
Recognition?
Prove it.
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11. Rock stars align their
#talentbrands with their company
strategy -- from message to
media.
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12. What is your company’s
strategy?
 What does your company do?
 How does it compete in the marketplace?
 Where is your company trying to go?
 The business strategy is the magic
instruction that tells everyone in the
company what to do.
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13. #Talentbrand Reality
Check:
You can implement a
#talentbrand strategy
even if your company
strategy is not articulated.
It doesn’t have to be
perfect, but it must be
focused.13

14. Rock stars use a unique mix of
social channels to build
#talentbrands, but NEVER
ignore two of them.
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15. Role of Owned / Earned / Paid
Social you own forms the foundation of your
identity.
Social you earn builds your credibility.
Social you buy extends your reach and
presence.
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16. Channel Paid Earne
d
Owned Why
 Glassdoor v v v Reviews, profile views, SEO, job apps, go to
resource
 LinkedIn v v v Audience sweet spot, high exposure, high
engagement, job apps, self-selecting followers
 Indeed v v Top source of applications, profile, omnipresent
 Google v v v Default search result, 1st impressions
 Website/Blog v Content basecamp, SEO, high engagement
 Twitter 1 v v Corporate/Employee message, self-selecting
followers
 YouTube v v Video, SEO, self-selecting followers
 Flickr v Company photo album
 Wikipedia v Unofficial description, SEO, Google source
 Facebook v v Cultural message, large brands
 Instagram v v Culture, large, image intensive brands
 YikYak v v Recruiting, college events, real-time
#Talentbrand Social Media Channels
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17. or
You absolutely can’t ignore
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18. LinkedIn = Power of the
Network
 Offers the best of paid, earned, owned
 Square in the employer marketplace
 Plugged in with HR through recruiter product
 Build your corporate profile, careers
 Post company updates (photos, video, text) and
metrics!
 Followers self-select, improves engagement
 Share with current, former & prospective
employees
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19. LinkedIn Sits in the Professional Sweet Spot
5,571 profile views, 129,091 impressions in 201519

20. Glassdoor = Power of Insiders
 Default resource for employer research
 SEO drives their business by hitching on to yours
 Build your corporate profile, post company
updates
 OpenCompany status promotes transparency,
branding
 Reviews matter, reveal truth over time
 Responses to reviews are as important as reviews
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21. Glassdoor Is the Default Research Resource
31,697 profile views, 68,230 impressions in 201521

22. Consequences for Ignoring
Glassdoor
1. Unanswered, lingering negative reviews confirm and
reinforce the negative review.
2. Disengaged employees observe managerial
disinterest and disengage further.
3. Employer brand black-eyes turn good candidates
away before they apply.
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23. 3 Tips for Successful GD Responses
1. For every negative Glassdoor review, pick
something to compliment or acknowledge,
something wrong to correct and always say
thank you – at least twice.
2. Always take the high road – be humble and
sensitive!
3. Emotion is your enemy, but ok to defend your23

24. REVIEW: “Many employees are happy there, but it's
not a culture for innovative thinkers.”
RESPONSE: “Thank you for complimenting our hard working
people. However, you missed the mark when you say they
are not “innovative thinkers.” The proof is everywhere.
Railinc was among the first in our region to fully adopt Agile
development…. We’re developing mobile apps focused on
safety for emergency responders. We’re improving the
stack to deliver new efficiencies across product lines. We’re
changing our own processes to better serve customers and
more effectively use the data that comes through our doors…”24

25. REVIEW: “This company is in desperation mode to salvage
any good that is left after they've run off some great people
while the CEO & CFO move this company into complete
micromanagement. They are both awful.”
RESPONSE: “You're right, we're lucky that we live in a great
area with a highly competitive technology business
community. Those with the right skill sets can be highly
mobile and even selective in their job opportunities… You
should know that Railinc as a company has had three of its
best years in a row and continues to grow. So people are
doing something right here…If you're unhappy…then
maybe it's time to have a conversation with your manager
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26. Rock stars partner with HR to
shape and influence the talent
journey.
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27. What We Do with HR
 Employee wellness
program
 Internal and external
Personnel
announcements
 Corporate intranet
 All-employee meetings
 Annual total
compensation & benefits
statements
 Employee awards
 Presentations & training
 Employee headshots
 Benefits communication
 Recruiting event support
 BoD Communications
 Personnel actions
 Social media alignment
 Bring your kids to work
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28. HR Partnership Creates Great Content
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29. Rock stars deliver substance -
they don’t abuse it.
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30. Where Rock Stars Find
Inspiration
 New hires, news releases, awards, company events,
employees in action, all hands meetings, annual report, gym,
community service, wellness events, department meetings,
one-on-ones, executive briefings, intranet, white boards,
process, technology, customers, business partners, vendors,
industry reports, new products, new business, strategy,
metrics, benefits changes, recruiting events, special projects,
security, training, news articles, other organizations, company
initiatives, the building, parking lot, stairwell, successes,
failures and more.
If it happens and it’s real, “socialize” it.
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31. Social Clock Is Always Ticking
Time is your ally and your
enemy.
The more you post, the more
engagement you get.
If you stop for any period of
time, it creates doubt – what
happened here?31

32. Become your own rock star.
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33. What No One Tells You
 For most professionals, this work is not easy. It
requires
 you to know that less is often more;
 an awareness that pretty good can be really great;
 a certain amount of budget (time and money!);
 a willingness to jump in with both feet; and,
 a commitment to investigate, connect, publish and
measure.
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34. Own Your Brand at Every Step of the Journey
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35. Thank you.
H: #ragandisney
T: @pwsoneil
L: /in/patoneil
E: patrick.oneil@railinc.com
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