Background: Employer branding is a process that includes promoting an organization or company as an attractive employer to the desired target group that the company wants to recruit and retain. Although social media is increasingly used in employer branding campaigns and the recruiting process, there is a lack of studies focusing on the utilization of social media to recruit and retain employees. Hence, this leads to the knowledge gap that has been researched further in this study.

Research Questions: How do companies work with employer branding through social media to recruit and retain employees?

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to present companies’ utilization of social media in the context of employer branding to recruit and retain employees.

Method: This study is based on qualitative research with two specific techniques. The first approach included semi-structured in-depth interviews. The second approach consists of qualitative content analysis. 

Theoretical framework: The theoretical framework consists of different definitions of employer branding that are presented and discussed. Moreover, the chapter consists of external and internal employer branding processes. This chapter also presents two models that are linked to the employee value proposition. Lastly, insight is provided into social media, advertising, and the interplay between social media and employer branding.

Findings: The company's existence on social media indirectly creates a presence for both potential and existing employees without intending it. Their social media presence contributes to creating awareness of the company. However, what differentiates a company from others is mainly depending on how much they work with employer branding. Nevertheless, difficulty occurs when creating the right type of content and creating a distinct employer branding strategy that is intended to reach out to the desired target group.