Employer branding is not just what a company says. It is primarily about how people experience it – inside and out. And content is one of the most important tools to share and shape this experience. It helps not only to convey information, but also to create atmosphere, impressions and attitudes. It is a bridge between the employer brand strategy and the reality of everyday communication.

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Content as a Basic Tool of Employer Branding

An employer brand is not created only from campaigns or visual identity. It is formed through everyday interactions and experiences of people – employees, candidates, but also those who only observe the company from the outside. And content is one of the key means of transforming these experiences into communication messages.

Content connects the brand strategy with the reality of the company. It helps to convey values, express attitudes, show people and the environment. It is the language that the brand speaks – not only about itself, but also to its people. Without it, employer branding would lack an important element that can transform the experience into a shared story and thus shape the perception of the brand externally and internally.

Content as Part of the Experience

Content not only describes the experience. It is part of it. The brand experience is not just created by physical contact with the company. It starts much earlier – often when reading an article on a career website, watching a video or browsing social networks. Content creates a real experience in these moments. It shapes emotions, creates expectations, builds or destroys trust.

When a candidate watches a video about company culture, they feel like they are already looking inside. When an employee reads a colleague’s story, they can find themselves in it – or, conversely, move away from it. Content is not just content for a communication channel. It is a brand touchpoint. And it is also an experience.

Authentic vs. Branded Content

Employer branding often works with two types of content – authentic and strategic. Both have their advantages and limitations.

Authentic content is also repeatedly mentioned among current trends in employer branding. However, we believe that its power will only fully develop when it is supported and appropriately combined with strategic, long-term managed content.

Authentic Content

Authentic content, i.e. content that is created by employees themselves or that naturally arises “from within”, is very valuable.

• It appears credible, natural and human.
• It shows reality as it is.
• It arises spontaneously, but is often fragmented and uncoordinated.
• It tends to have a weak connection to the employer brand strategy.
• The company can then appear disjointed on the outside – everyone says something different

Life at Google

An example of a company that uses user-generated content (UGC) for employer branding is Google. Employees share their stories, experiences, and insights through blogs, social media posts, or short videos. These posts give potential candidates a realistic view of the work environment and company values, which increases the credibility and attractiveness of the employer.

Examples of Google’s UGC can be found primarily on these channels:

• YouTube („Life at Google“, „Day in the Life“)
• Instagram (@lifeatgoogle, #lifeatgoogle)
• LinkedIn (oficiální profil Google)
• TikTok and Twitter/X (#lifeatgoogle)

Strategic Content

Strategic (brand) content, on the other hand, is based on intent and supports specific Employer Branding goals.

• It is created based on the EB strategy (value proposition – EVP and EB identity).
• It is based on a clearly defined tone of communication and targeting of specific groups.
• It builds a consistent and long-term sustainable brand image.
• However, if it is not rooted in real people’s experiences, it can seem empty.

Škoda Auto Career

One of the inspiring examples of a company that works strategically with content in employer branding is Škoda Auto. It builds a unified and strong image of the employer over the long term across all channels – from the career website to social networks to offline media. It uses multi-format content that connects real stories of employees with key brand values such as innovation, stability or professional growth.

You can find inspiration on these channels

• Facebook (ŠKODA AUTO Kariéra)
• Instagram (WeAreSkoda)
• YouTube (ŠKODA AUTO – Career)

How to Connect the Two Fforms Into One Whole

It’s not about choosing one approach. The power lies in connecting them. Branded content gives communication a framework, direction and unity. Authentic content fills it with life and emotion. If a company can connect these two components, a strong, trustworthy and understandable employer brand is created.

In practice, this can mean, for example, using employee stories in strategic formats – such as articles, videos or podcasts. It can involve supporting ambassador programs, where people speak their own language, but in line with the brand’s values. Or a curatorial approach, where the brand selects, directs and places naturally occurring content in a meaningful context.

Content Cultivates the Environment

Content not only reflects the company culture. It also shapes it. By the form of communication we choose, the topics we open up and the way we talk about ourselves, we create the environment in which the brand exists – and which also influences its surroundings.

It is easy to succumb to trends – fast formats, viral videos, catchy acronyms. But the question is whether the brand does not weaken itself by doing so. Whether it does not lose coherence, credibility or even respect. Content should not only be about reach. It should be meaningful and based on the brand identity.

The right tone, style and topics help to cultivate not only the perception of the company externally, but also the internal environment. Precisely expressed expectations, open sharing of experiences or an important visual and linguistic culture – all this contributes to how people feel in the company and how they understand it.

Content is not Secondary. It is Experience.

Employer branding is not built by what we say about ourselves in a presentation. It is built by what people actually experience – and how we talk about these experiences. Content is key in this process.

It is a language, a form, but also an atmosphere. It is a tool with which we can not only communicate, but also cultivate. Not only attract new people, but also connect existing ones.

Therefore, let’s work with it consciously. Let’s create content that is based on reality, but supports the strategy. Content that makes sense. Content that is not only attractive, but also valuable.

And that develops your employer brand into something that people can really believe in.