Online brand, opportunities, realities and challenges for SMEs. Fresh recruits, a solution or new kind of orienteering challenge?

Ari Happonen,Laura Manninen,Muralindran Mariappan,Ulla Santti

doi:10.14419/ijet.v10i2.31813

Ari Happonen, Laura Manninen + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.14419/ijet.v10i2.31813

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Abstract

The research produced understanding how fresh employerâ€™s private social media brand can be beneficial for a company brand. It was also found that the companies' own brand image was not inline with their set expectations for usage of employer social media brand and skills. For the given challenge, literary review on the means for improving the situation of financially limited SMEs was carried out. Overall research data is based on literature review and interview data with students and company executives. Based on interviews, companies are looking for applicants who have an "individual brand" with visible personality. In the interviews, companies perceived "brand" to be connected to distinguishable individuality and presence of a personality. The study objectivity is to stimulate discussion on SME brand structuring as well as impact of individual brands into the SME brand building efforts with practical action options. Individual brands should be taken into account in recruitment and special attention needs to be put to the following orientation process, social media usage and processes of brand construction, with the new recruits. Whether the company has guidelines for social media actions or not, the public presence of the employee connects their brand with the company online brand, both in good and bad. Clear strategies and objectives for (new) employees how to connect their individual brand to company brand building is needed to be given from companies to their employees. This will also require guidelines for behavior in social media for employees, when communicating trough social media profiles, which could be connected back to the employing organization. Lastly, we studied expectations and beliefs of young recruits and companies into the key factors at the recruitment process, revealing mis alignment between the students and companiesâ€™ views.Â Keywords: Brand; Digitalization; Employment; Individual brand; Organizational brand; Recruitment; Small and medium-sized enterprises; SME; Social media.Â

Highlights

The challenges of the SME companies brand building efforts to be supported by their recruits was found in background work of this research
The contend consumers see large quantities of content in daily basis, which makes them ready to notice an artificial and/or misleading content and quickly dismissed it in comments [4]. In this social media visibility and brand connected context, we studied the connection of new recruits, their individual brands and connecting to company brand building needs
In the light of the literature and researched companies’ current state, SMEs have a lot to improve in digitalization, social media, and the expression of brands that are present in digital channels

Summary

Introduction

The challenges of the SME companies brand building efforts to be supported by their recruits was found in background work of this research. Interviews were conducted at SMEs and previously mentioned companies that had high efficiency in recruiting process. The strategic activities companies take during the initial phases of the recruitment process and later on in orientation, will have positive implications to the amount of high quality workforce the company can have and keep working with them [2]. In brand building sense, when company personnel’s individual brands can be linked to a company, one can create positive boost for the organizations brand image. This possibility for added positive brand image creates an idea to “just to purchase” their social media reputation, but in practice, the reputation of the company needs to be re-earned every day and it cannot be constructed and based solely on bought brand visibility. The contend consumers see large quantities of content in daily basis, which makes them ready to notice an artificial and/or misleading content and quickly dismissed it in comments [4]

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