Why Instagram? If you’re a recruiter or talent acquisition pro, this is where your prospective employees spend a lot of time. Millennials are now of working age and a recent PWC report says that by 2020, 50% of the workforce in the U.S. will be millennials and by 2025 it will be 75% globally.
Millennials are visually driven, constantly connected, and want to find personal meaning in their work. And 59% of them are active users on Instagram. When they’re searching for jobs, they want to see the company’s culture more than they want to read about it. Considering that images are processed 60,000 times faster than text, all generations use visual communication, and people retain nearly 65% of what they see, Instagram as a visual platform can be an excellent showcase for company culture.
For a lot of companies NOT using Instagram, this is an untapped market for talent, branding, and recruiting. As of May 2017, there were 400 million daily active users on the app. We’ve written about companies using Snapchat (or “Snaplications”) and wanted to see how top companies use Instagram to showcase what it’s like to work for them, from perks to parties to employee participation.
Check out these 15 companies using Instagram in unique ways to give potential employees a look inside their organization, then download the app and secure your own “lifeat___,” “careersat____,” or “workat____” Instagram channel.
Zappos does a great job of showing what it’s like to work at its Las Vegas HQ, and the link in their profile encourages anyone to sign up to tour the offices. Scroll through their feed and see just how much fun Zappos employees have, inside the office and out.
AT&T stands out because, despite the large size of the company, they hand over the keys to their account to individual employees for a day. Those employees use Instagram to showcase #LifeAtATT with the hashtag #EmployeeTakeover. Creative!
Google’s account (@lifeatgoogle) is run by Googlers all over the world, including office mascots in dog-friendly offices on bring your dog to work day (#Dooglers). It’s a treasure trove of info for job seekers interested in what life at Google is really like.
Dell uses @LifeatDell as its official employee repost account. Dell team members all over the globe contribute to the channel with the #LifeatDell hashtag so you can see its office activities from Ireland to Austin.
Litmus made our list because it has a nice balance of thought leadership in email testing and analytics, plus a peek into life at Litmus.
The Motley Fool has been around since the early nineties and its account showcases “musings from The Motley Fool.” The link in their bio directs to their careers page and the photos on their channel really show how dedicated its employees are.
Cox is a large media company, but its @CoxEnterprises account reflects its mission statement: “At Cox you don’t just have a job, but the opportunity to grow and advance across many dynamic industries.”
Spotify is more than just the playlists you listen to while you work or commute; their Instagram channel showcases individual employees regularly (and encourages users to check out employee favorite playlists).
Paycom makes its feed unique by interspersing snaps of behind the scenes work and testimonials from employees. It also links to Paycom’s careers page in the bio to make it easy for interested candidates to see open positions.
Nutrabolt’s feed is health inspiration for job seekers with its bio: “Want to change your life? Want to get out of your comfort zone and take on a new challenge?” and a link to its careers page.
SAP shares its employees stories with the #LifeatSAP hashtag, so we get to see what it’s like to work there directly from the people who do. We love how much community involvement and charitable support we see!
HomeAway shows its employees at work and at play with the #TeamHomeAway hashtag, plus encourages staff to contribute to its account when they’re taking advantage of the company’s superb benefits (which include 4 weeks paid vacation and discounted stays at HomeAway’s listings).
Deloitte gives an inside look into its culture, employee perks (outdoor yoga, anyone?), Deloitte University, and volunteer work on its Instagram channel.
PwC (PriceWaterhouseCoopers) shows off its company culture with the #OfficeFeatureFriday hashtag that features one of its offices every week. Our favorite? The VR experience office tour in their bio is truly worth a click.
CA Technologies reposts from their employees using the #LifeatCA hashtag and regularly posts “a day in the life of [insert job title here]” to show the inner workings of different departments within the company.
We’d be remiss if we didn’t link to our own Instagram channel (and we’ve been taking tips from the pros)!
This list of 15 is a great place to start if you’re considering setting up an Instagram channel for recruiting. More resources: Popular hashtags and A Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Winning Instagram Feed (Inc).
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