- 26.11.24
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- Branding
How to master your internal brand communication
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Article by
Amie Whale
Discover how employer branding and internal communication go hand in hand, developing strong brands that inspire employees and gain trust from the inside out.
When we think of branding, we often imagine things through the eyes of the consumer.
The big billboards. TV ads. Slick logo designs. Product placement. Etcetera.
Employer branding and internal communication are deeply connected. Healthy relationships between employer and employee rely on effective communication.
This blog explores why internal brand communication is crucial to your business. It also highlights the link between employer branding and internal communication.
Discover how employer branding and internal communication go hand in hand, developing strong brands that inspire employees and gain trust from the inside out.
Employer branding and internal communication
Before we dig too deep into the relationship between employer branding and internal communication, let’s define what each side means.
What is employer branding?
We define employer branding (EB) by the employee experience at a company. As a reflection of a company, employer branding depends on people management, company culture, and effective communication.
With 92% of people willing to change jobs to a place with a better reputation, EB can be used to attract and retain talent. As a marketing tool, employer branding aligns your business with consumer values. It spreads your company’s reputation through employee experiences and opinions.
To develop strong employer branding, your company must live its values, culture, and environment. This ensures authenticity. Employees should represent your business genuinely through their experiences and interactions.
What are internal communications?
Internal communications help businesses connect with staff, informing employees of company goals, values and other information relevant to the workforce.
By updating employees and sharing information, brands improve performance, keep staff informed, and ensure smooth communication across departments.
Therefore, when it comes to employer branding, internal communication is your mode of communication. With cohesive and comprehensive internal communication, employers can communicate with their staff effectively to increase productivity by 20-25% while supporting and enriching the relationship between both sides.
To maintain a strong image and reputation, brands must focus on internal communication. What happens inside directly impacts external perception. Effective communication ensures consistency, strengthens culture, and supports alignment across departments. This internal cohesion is vital for building a trustworthy brand.
If we personify a brand, its inner thoughts and values often show through in its external actions and image.
For example, take a healthy, happy person, and they’ll most likely come off as more positive, friendly and attractive to others on the outside. On the other hand, an unhealthy, unhappy person might make the opposite impression.
And there, we have the premise of employer branding and internal communication.
How to blend internal communication and employer branding?
When you combine your business with your marketing, you should end up with your branding.
The impression, reputation and credibility displayed by your branding will likely depend on the sincerity and authenticity of how your business operates and treats its staff.
Therefore, the first place to start is your values:
Employer values should resonate across all aspects of your business, including your branding. Not only setting the tone but values should direct your decision-making and activity. By building on these values and channelling your business through them, your brand values should shine through in your internal communications with staff.
It’s hard to know the measure of your employer branding when you have nothing to compare it to. So, to fully comprehend your EB, you need some metrics and feedback which your internal communications can gather.
With newsletters, you can check the open rates to see how many people read your emails, while polls can provide direct feedback to specific areas or questions you’re looking to uncover.
When asking for feedback from your employees in your internal communications, offer an anonymous response option in case some staff feel anxious about letting their true feelings known.
Just as consistency in branding is essential, as a potential 23% increase in revenue highlights, you should also apply the same approach in your internal communications.
When a consistent tone of voice (TOV) helps convince your consumers of your brand, in the same breath, a consistent TOV for your employees helps instil integrity and generate trust.
From individual greetings and emojis to your punctuation and overall language, keeping true to your brand TOV in your internal communications gives your employees a better chance of feeling connected.
While internal brand communication exists inside the business, that doesn’t mean your employer branding is limited to internal communication platforms only.
With the top three channels for improving EB, including your company website (69%), online professional networks (61%) and social media (47%), your business should utilise these platforms for internal communication and EB opportunities.
Establish your internal brand communication
Now that you have a good idea of how employer branding and internal communication work together, you should be ready to combine the two and create cohesive internal brand communication.
The crucial thing to remember is to know your brand and what you stand for. If this includes the welfare of your staff beyond simply paying their wages, then your internal brand communication should come easy.
But if you’re still piecing your brand together or it’s in development, you can use our seven-step strategy to ensure you build the best brand for your business and its employees.
Speak to branding experts
At Eighty3 Creative, we provide bespoke branding services to help improve your internal communications and overall EB.
Our branding workshops offer an in-person approach where we help your business discover itself while establishing your goals, values and employee value proposition.
Alongside the research and strategy from our workshops, we can also work with you to develop strong brand guidelines for you and your staff to follow and communicate.
Get in touch today for more information about how our internal brand communication services can support the growth of your business.
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