Company Branding on Pinterest

Pinterest. It seems as though it came out of the blue this year. While clearly a lot of people were using it prior to 2012 it certainly didn’t have the media coverage and clout it does today. Pinterest is equivalent to an online bulletin board. Genius idea but I actually thought it sounded silly until I played around on the site. Two hours and 50 pins later I came up for air realizing I had converted into a pinner. 

Not only was I now a pinner but I was immediately all edumacated on crafting. Oh, and my diet was going to be crushed by all the peanut butter and chocolate delights I would be baking. This got me thinking.  If it only took me two hours to become a great crafter AND baker on Pinterest how could I use this for recruiting. I don’t always like to think practically but I truly enjoy incorporating new media into recruiting and branding.  Pinterest though?  

I did some research but found there weren’t many articles about recruiting with Pinterest. With no solid track to follow, I decided to go all willy nilly and try and figure it out on my own.  I set up some boards for recruiting and I found others who were doing the same thing. I followed them and they returned my follow. I quickly realized Pinterest’s power for Employment Branding.  Proper branding is huge in recruiting top talent and getting people to KNOW your company and who you hire. To me this most definitely precedes having a fancy job ad, which is a more common focus in recruiting departments. Not that job ads aren’t important but having a company people know and want to work for will trump a fancy job ad any day. 

Most people would describe themselves as visual and Pinterest is such a visual tool. One way to brand your company on Pinterest is to create several boards and use them to paint a 'corporate culture' picture. This can also be done on YouTube and other picture/video sites but Pinterest has the massive referral potential that makes most recruiters salivate. The ease of use and the referral potential are two reasons why Pinterest should not be overlooked as just a crafts and recipe site. Pinterest is very easy to learn and use, which explains its exponential growth and probable staying power.  

Some ideas on how to use Pinterest to promote your company as a great place to work:

Board Ideas

• Work Culture
• Who are you as a company?
•  Future of your Industry
•  Forecast articles on your industry.
• Innovative Ideas
• Did your company develop a groundbreaking product?
• Company Perks/Benefits
• IPADS for all? Flexibility? Casual Dress?
• Volunteer Day at your company?
•  People love working for companies who gives back. Post pictures of it.
•  Employees, outside of their job
• A lot of people have side interests. Helping cross promote those interests helps shape you as a company and your employee as an individual.

Since I signed up for Pinterest I have seen articles on Recruitiing + Pinterest increase in droves. This means that Pinterest isn’t a fad. It’s definitely gaining traction and if you don’t have an account, get one, it’s fun!