I have a friend named Gary. He’s a nice enough guy, but talking to him can be really painful. Why?

He only talks about himself.

Think about the most interesting conversationalist you know. She probably asks a lot of questions. She’s funny. She shares interesting information about lots of other people and things. She doesn’t just talk about herself (chances are, she rarely talks about herself).

Social media isn’t a magical tool. It’s just a scalable, searchable conversation.

When you build an employer brand using social media, what you’re really trying to do is have a conversation about your culture. And the same skills that make you a great conversationalist in real life apply online.

How to have a conversation about your culture

In the last article in this series, we talked about how to create an employer branding strategy. The whole point was to figure out what makes your culture rock more than your competitor’s does.

The stuff that makes your culture awesome is part of what you’ll talk about as you build an employer brand with social media. But it’s not the only thing. It’s not even a “most of the time” thing. Remember my friend Gary? You don’t want to be like him!

People who are funny don’t talk about how funny they are

Have you ever met someone who talks about how funny they are? They’re usually not very funny. Conversely, people who are funny usually don’t talk about how funny they are. They just say and do funny things.

Showing off your kick-ass culture works pretty much the same way.

If your organization is a training and development leader, you can use social media to talk about some of the cool development stuff you do. But you should spend a lot more of your time talking about training and development in general.

Talk about what good training looks like. Share insights on how to grow and develop your career. Hell, point people to examples of other companies that are doing T&D right!

If you have a fun culture, you could talk about how fun you are. Or you could do fun things and let people watch. That’s what Zappos does. Check out their Facebook page, their Twitter stream, or their culture blog.

They have fun videos, photos, contests and more. They don’t talk about fun. They are fun!

What should you talk about?

So my buddy Gary, he doesn’t just talk about himself. He also talks about the same two topics. Over and over again.

People love variety. If you’re trying to build an employer brand through social media, here are some things you can talk about:

• Insights. Is your organization a training leader? Share insights into what great training looks like. Give people examples (and don’t just point them to your own stuff).
• How-To. Share how-to info that will help people be successful in your culture (and beyond). How-to train a remote team. How-to write a killer resume. How to nail an interview with [Your Org's Name Here]. Great conversationalists help people.
• News. It’s not just about your culture. It’s about your industry, or your community, or your readers’ community. Talk about things that matter to the people who are listening.
• Exclusives. Take people on a tour of your organization. Interview employees about their experiences working there. Show them photos from your Halloween party. Great conversations aren’t just about you, but they’re not just about everyone else, either.
• Job Openings. After all, the ultimate goal is to recruit amazing people into your organization.
• Weirdness. Are you all business, all the time? Gary is, but no one likes talking to him! Don’t be afraid to let your inner weirdness come out every now and then, too!

Social media isn’t about business-speak. It’s about informal, human conversation.

It’s important to connect on many levels. Write. Share photos. Share videos. Share weirdness.

Getting Started

Next time, we’ll actually start using some social media tools to build an employer brand. I’m going to talk about search engine optimization (SEO), which helps people find your organization more easily. I’m also going to answer a commonly asked question: Do I use my own name/photo/etc. or my organization’s?

If you have any questions or comments, leave them below or drop me a line - I’d love to hear from you!

PS: If you’re wondering why I’m still friends with Gary - or if he’ll even talk to me after this post comes out - I have a confession to make. Gary doesn’t exist. I made him up to add a fun element to this article. Sorry!