Employer brand

6 common mistakes that can damage your brand when recruiting

Employer brand marketing has the power to make or break the future success of an organisation. Whether you have a strong team of 15 or 500 employees, an effective employer brand is one of the most important investments a business can make — getting it right is crucial; getting it wrong can be devastating.

Look out for these huge, but all too common, mistakes when rolling out your next employer brand marketing campaign:

#1 Putting all your eggs in one basket 

Before you put out your employer brand marketing materials across every channel you can think of, do your due diligence on your audience… 

One size does not fit all, so it’s vital to consider how different age groups and candidate personas engage with different channels. You may need to adjust your messaging, explore different mediums or devise a new campaign strategy altogether. A simple blanket approach could result in alienating swathes of great applicants.

#2 No attention to detail on localised campaigns 

Consistency is key, but what works in one country, may not work in another. Putting out inaccurate translations or culturally inappropriate marketing materials will have a detrimental effect on your brand that can be difficult to recover from. 

Building strong relationships between teams around the world will help you gain a better insight into cultural nuances and what resonates with audiences in different parts of the world. Lack of understanding and bad communication will make employees in local markets feel undervalued and disconnected from your brand vision.

#3 Not owning your identity

Defining one golden thread that unites every employee, wherever they are in the world, isn’t easy. But, for a leading global brand, it’s probably the most important (and often overlooked) factor of employer brand marketing.

It’s what solidifies your identity as a global brand and lets consumers, employees, and potential employees know exactly what you do and don’t stand for. Find that single source of truth and make it accessible and easy to get behind for every single one of your employees.

#4 Little focus with messaging

When a brand loses control of its messaging, its communications become disjointed, contradictory, and begins to undermine the overarching brand purpose. This mistake gets worse over time, causing marketing to erode its meaning as it becomes more difficult to find the one solidified message that encapsulates your brand. 

Having a bird’s-eye-view of all your global marketing materials, and making your brand guidelines easily accessible, will bring inconsistent assets under control and streamline your output with crystal clear messaging.

#5 Overlooking candidate needs

When your teams are concentrating on putting out employer brand marketing campaigns that communicate all the amazing reasons to join your organisation, it can be easy to overlook the deciding factors for candidates as individuals. 


Understanding and catering for the different needs of potential employees are absolutely key in attracting and retaining talent. This goes back to your employee personas and defining what your brand can offer beyond a competitive salary with perks.

#6 Ignoring employee review sites 

No candidate will expect an organisation to have 100% outstanding employee reviews — a dream working environment for some could be a nightmare scenario for others. What really stands out to potential employees looking on job sites like Glassdoor and Indeed, is the way an organisation handles feedback. 


While it’s natural for employee opinions to differ, it’s important to acknowledge what people are saying about their experiences at your company. Be sure to respond calmly and take action on any recurring comments the reviews might highlight.

Take control of your employer brand 

With an all-encompassing Brand Activation Management tool like BAM by Papirfly™, you can take control of your employer brand campaigns with a bird’s-eye-view of all your marketing materials. 

Your teams will have:

  • An easy-to-use creative suite that allows them to create studio-quality print, digital, social and video assets within predefined templates for watertight consistency.
  • A local globalisation feature that makes sure your campaign translates and relates to local markets.
  • Access to assets, images and up-to-date brand guidelines in one centralised location.

Take control of your employer brand today, with the power of BAM. Book your demo here.