Social Media in Employer Branding in FMCG in Russia: Millennials’ Perspective

Abstract The goal of this article is to investigate the impact of corporate social media on the perception of employer brand image and employer attractiveness which, in turn, could lead to application intention of Millennials in FMCG industry in Russia. The research model was tested through questionnaire from 119 bachelors, masters, and graduates in the Russian leading business school. The empirical data was analyzed with regression analysis. At the second stage, six semi-structured interviews in two Russian business schools were conducted to receive deeper insights. As hypothesized, both high level of information availability and employees’ engagement in social media led to the positive perception of the employer brand image as well as to attractiveness perception. The latter, in turn, increased the application intentions of Russian Millennials. The qualitative research provided additional evidence about the advantages of using social media for recruitment and employer branding needs, expected content, and the role of particular social media tools in enhancing the employer branding programs in FMCG industry in Russia. Limitations of the study relate to inability of generalization (the research was undertaken for FMCG industry), noninclusion of some demographic characteristics, and opportunity to include the intermediate mechanisms into the model. The study enhances current knowledge about the role of social media in enhancing employer branding and recruitment initiatives. It contains a set of particular recommendations for FMCG employers.