Katka Pavlíčková is the founder of the BGRAM project, through which she has been training her clients in Instagram marketing for more than 7 years. As Katka is an experienced expert in her field, we asked her how to use Instagram for the benefit of HR marketing, which has become increasingly popular in recent years.
What is HR marketing?
HR marketing is the application of marketing practices to HR - from recruitment to dismissal. HR marketing is used to attract new talented candidates in the labour market.
HR marketing and its importance has been talked about more and more lately. Is Instagram the right place for companies to use for HR marketing purposes?
I can't give you a clear answer to that. What we know almost for sure about Instagram is that it currently has about 2 billion users worldwide. Of those, 3.61 million are in the Czech Republic alone, and you'll find people aged 18-55 there most often (in the Czech Republic). If this is interesting information for you, then it makes sense to consider the question of whether you want to "go there" for those users.
What do you think an ideal Instagram profile looks like for HR marketing purposes?
The ideal profile should tell the user at a glance what the profile is about, what it communicates on Instagram and how it should benefit them. If someone "passes by" your profile on Instagram, they won't necessarily become a follower, but they might click through to your website and make a conversion there without necessarily becoming a "fan". A well set up and visually interesting profile can do that too.
Sometimes you will come across an account that takes it in the style of a "poster" area full of ads for different positions, in different companies and in different locations around the country. And sometimes you come across a well run account that informs you about the company culture, benefits, employees and other interesting aspects of the company.
I'm afraid that if someone who doesn't understand Instagram ideologically starts managing Instagram's HR, it's obvious at first glance and for me it's often a waste of time. Of course, there are people who want to learn Instagram and want to understand it and when we work with those people we see the euphoria and the drive to take it somewhere.
And we also meet people who are very enthusiastic in the beginning because it will be something new in their work routine, something they could possibly enjoy, but over time they find that it is quite demanding and costs them a lot of time that they simply don't have. They often compare it to LinkedIn activity, which is significantly lower compared to Instagram and often with better results.
There are roughly 2 billion users on Instagram.
Is it necessary to post regularly on Instagram before a company embarks on HR marketing activities?
You can try uploading a few pictures of your colleagues in bikinis and your colleagues' soggy baking buns to attract "followers" faster (laughs), but I'm not sure if that's what you expect from Instagram.
Think of it as entering a social network that is already in its 11th year and people are used to working there on a daily basis. You are, to some extent, just another "pawn" who came there to show what you can do and how you can do it. So don't stress about it and simply start sharing content and you'll find out pretty quickly if it's doing anything with people or not.
If a person sets up an account on tv. "professional account", the very first posting of a photo or video (except Reels) will load full data on success and effectiveness. So you have something to measure. That's what I like about Instagram versus LinkedIn. You know what's happening with your content, where people have discovered it, how many times they've looked at it and what they've done based on it.
If I want to get started with HR marketing on Instagram, what does my profile need to do to be truly effective?
I've more or less answered you in part. You need to know your WHY.
Why are you on Instagram? What do you expect from it?
Why should people follow you?
Why should they like your photos?
Why should they watch your Stories?
Why would they be messaging you privately?
Why should they recommend you to other people?
Why should they click through to your website?
Why should they call or email you?
That's quite a few things you should be able to answer.
For HR marketing purposes, is it more appropriate to promote through the personal profile of company ambassadors or through the company profile?
Corporate ambassadors are more the domain of LinkedIn, where it works very well. It's not so common on Instagram. Such an Instagram ambassador would have to put a lot of effort into gathering followers and then directing those followers to the company's central corporate account. I see this as not a very effective method.
It makes more sense to me to focus on nurturing the company Instagram and gradually "invite" those company ambassadors to it. This kind of activity is called "takeover" on Instagram, and in practice it means that someone gets hold of the company Instagram for a day and communicates and creates content there on their behalf. It's authentic, people enjoy it, and you can get more people's emotion and interest into that Instagram.
Of course, you may have an exhibitionist in your company who already has a private account and publishes things publicly. Then it's probably a deal if he mentions or publicizes you there from time to time.
The ideal profile should tell the user at a glance what the profile is about.
What is the basic step to start HR marketing on Instagram?
Create an account (especially a correct one), secure it with a two-step verification, fill it out completely, switch to a company account, link it to the Facebook page, publish the first few posts and start working on it systematically and regularly.
Do Instagram profiles have a place for job postings?
I don't want to be a pessimist, but I think it's not here to wallpaper your profile with individual job ads and I'm sure that various ad servers that specialize in that are great for that. People go to Instagram to have fun. I don't want to imagine that I wake up in the morning pink and sleepy, open Instagram and the first thing that pops out at me is an ad for a metalworker in Prostějov.
If I could make a recommendation, this is where it makes more sense for me to use paid advertising, where under certain conditions I am able to target the advert to people who are likely to be interested in it. But for organic Instagram building, it's an unfortunate choice.
If I want advice from you on starting my HR marketing venture on Instagram, what is the process and what budget should I prepare?
Don't be afraid to get in touch, perhaps through our website, and we'll take care of you.
People most often "come to us" (we operate online) for an initial consultation where we "crack the nuts", which is our terminus technicus for deciding whether or not Instagram makes sense for that company.
Very often after the first consultation comes some small training and more and more often clients contact us with the idea that they would like a "partner" for a longer collaboration, with whom they could consult once in a while, evaluate their work, improve their creation, etc.
I am convinced that almost everyone can afford our services. Even if it's just for one consultation that can save you hours of time and thousands of crowns for something that would not be of significant benefit to you.
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