Back
When it comes to employer branding and social media strategy, we don’t just tell our clients what to do. We actually do it ourselves. And the data shows it. We’d love to share our success with you.
Between June and September, our Instagram stats soared. Our reach was boosted by 119%, interactions were up by 89%, causing our engagement rate to increase by 87%.
We really do practice what we preach. It is the direct result of following the same best practices we recommend to our clients. Let’s break it down.
Why Instagram Still Matters for Employer Branding
In an era of endless available content, Instagram remains a powerful platform for building community and humanising your brand. It allows users to connect around their shared interests and engage in conversations.
For employer brands, Instagram is more than a place for polished visuals. It’s a space to show work culture, share employee stories, and connect authentically with future candidates and clients. To truly show what it’s like to work with you, not just tell.
And when it comes to reach, this helps to create more opportunities for connection and community. Reach is the “gateway to engagement”, but it’s creating quality content that will have that audience coming back for more.
Employee-Generated Content: The Secret to Authentic Engagement
If there’s one tactic behind our Instagram growth, it’s employee-generated content (EGC).
EGC is exactly what it sounds like: content created or shared by employees about their experiences, projects, and workplace. It’s storytelling from the inside out. From behind-the-scenes shoots to showcasing projects or employee milestones.
The impact is huge: EGC generates 8x more engagement than traditional branded content. And 76% of people say they trust content from employees more than content that comes directly from a brand’s own channels. People buy people.
Beyond trust, EGC makes your brand feel human, resonating more with your audience and also gives your colleagues the chance to cheer each other on.
We Practice What We Preach – and the Data Proves It
At TMPW, we’ve embedded employee storytelling into our strategy. From behind-the-scenes office moments to employee-led thought leadership, our posts celebrate the people who make our culture thrive.
And it’s working. Between June and September:
- Views increased by 111.6%
- Reach grew by 119.1%
- Interactions rose by 88.9%
- Engagement rate improved by 86.8%
We focus on brand awareness as our primary goal, tracking profile views, reach, and interactions, not just follower count. After all, awareness is the first step to building recognition and recall.
These results reinforce what the research tells us: employee advocacy and authentic storytelling don’t just boost engagement; they drive measurable growth.
And you can see how your brand performs against others in your sector in our industry-leading benchmark. Our Outthink index can tell you how your brand is performing and how you can stand out in the busy crowd. Specifically in social, we review the following, to ensure our decisions are all data based:
- Social reach
- Social authority
- Social impact
What Worked for Us (and How You Can Do It Too)
Want to replicate our success? Here’s what we found most effective:
1. Show the Human side
Your employees are your most powerful storytellers. Share their experiences, showcase behind-the-scenes moments, and celebrate real stories. Audiences respond to authenticity.
2. Be Platform-Specific
Instagram thrives on visual storytelling. We’ve seen strong engagement from photo dumps, event recaps, and carousel posts that repurpose our employee-led articles (like this one!). Keeping content short, creative, and playful aligns with Instagram’s tone and helps drive shareability.
3. Keep it Consistent
Consistency is still king. This keeps your brand front of mind and helps retain audience attention over time. And this is the best way to win over Instagram’s algorithm. We’ve maintained a steady posting cadence – and it’s clearly paid off.
4. Empower Employee Advocacy
Encourage employees to share company posts, or better yet, to create their own. Give them clear guidance but leave space for personal storytelling. This allows employees to represent the brand in their own voice. And the most authentic voices are the ones that resonate most.
5. Measure What Matters
Focus on metrics that tie back to awareness and engagement, not just follower count. Track reach, profile views, and post interactions to understand what content is breaking through the noise and building community. These metrics tell you how well your content is resonating and who’s actually seeing it.
6. Partner with us!
Our expertise is tried and tested. You don’t have to figure this out alone. We’ve tested, refined, and proven what works; and we help other brands do the same. From building employee advocacy programmes to crafting content strategies, we know how to turn social activity into measurable brand growth.
If you’re ready to boost your reach, engagement, and authenticity, reach out to us today. We’ll help you develop an employer brand strategy that’s as human and high performing as your people.
The Bigger Picture: Authenticity Wins Every Time
If there’s one takeaway, it’s this: authentic content wins.
Social media users can spot overly branded, salesy content from a mile away. What they respond to is realness: faces, stories, and genuine moments. That’s why employee-generated content works. It doesn’t just tell people who you are; it shows them.
In a crowded digital space, the brands that feel human, relatable, and consistent are the ones people remember. Our results prove it.
Follow the Leaders
We’ll admit it, this is a bit of a brag post. But when the numbers speak this loudly, we think it’s worth celebrating.
Our Instagram saw triple-digit increases in views, reach, and engagement, simply by applying the same strategies we recommend to our clients. We don’t just consult on employer branding; we live it every day.
So, if you want to grow your employer brand on Instagram, start here:
- Encourage employee storytelling
- Stay consistent
- Focus on authentic engagement and awareness
And while you’re at it… follow us on Instagram. You’ll see exactly how we’re putting these strategies into action, one post (and one smiling employee) at a time.
