How to Post About a New Hire Without the Press Release
"We are delighted to announce" is the fastest way to make hiring someone sound like paperwork nobody asked to read. Here's how to write a new-starter post your customers actually care about, starting with what changes for them rather than the job title.
Dave Smith
# How to Post About a New Hire Without the Press Release
Every small business produces this post at least once.
"We are delighted to announce that Chloe has joined the team as our new Operations Assistant. Chloe brings a wealth of experience and we look forward to an exciting future together."
Underneath it, a photograph of someone standing against a magnolia wall, holding a mug they don't want, being told to smile by whoever owns the best phone in the building.
It gets eleven likes. Nine of them are relatives.
The odd thing is that hiring someone is one of the biggest things that will happen to your business this year. You've committed to paying a person every month, because you've decided you're busy enough to need help. That's a real story, and the announcement post is usually the worst possible way to tell it.
Why the standard version falls flat
The press release format exists because it feels safe. It's the tone you think a business is supposed to use when something official happens, so you reach for it without noticing that you'd never speak that way to a customer standing in front of you.
But the deeper problem is who it's written for. "We are delighted to announce" is written for the person joining, and for their mum. It's a welcome card pinned to a public noticeboard. Your followers aren't in the room for that moment, so they scroll past it.
Your customers do have questions about your new starter. Just not the ones the press release answers. They want to know: does this mean you're doing well? Will someone new be turning up at my house? Can I book in faster now? Is the person who normally answers the phone still going to answer the phone?
Answer any of those and the post stops being an internal memo.
Lead with what changes for the reader
The simplest fix is to move the customer benefit to the first line and let the introduction follow.
Instead of announcing a job title, announce the consequence. "We can take on Saturday fittings from next month, because there are now two of us." "If you've been waiting three weeks for a quote, that wait is about to get shorter." "There's a new voice on the phone on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and her name's Chloe."
That last one matters more than people expect for service businesses. Customers build a relationship with whoever picks up. Letting them know in advance that they'll meet someone different removes a small friction you probably don't realise you're creating.
Give one specific human detail
The reason "brings a wealth of experience" reads as filler is that it could be about anybody. One concrete detail does more work than three sentences of praise.
She spent six years doing the same job for a competitor and knows the postcodes better than you do. He's the only person in the building who can reverse the trailer first time. She turned up to the interview having already read your reviews and had opinions about them.
Specifics prove a real person exists. Generalities prove you've used a template.
You don't need a life story, and you shouldn't post anything they haven't agreed to. One true, slightly humanising sentence is the whole trick.
Photograph them working, not posing
The magnolia wall photo is bad for a reason that has nothing to do with photography skills. A posed shot says "this is a formality". A photo of someone mid-task says "this person does something useful for you".
Take it a week or two in, when they've stopped being nervous. Hands on the tools, at the bench, halfway through a job, sleeves pushed up. It'll look better than the staged one and take a tenth of the effort.
If your new starter would rather not be photographed at all — and plenty wouldn't — the workaround is easy. Photograph their work instead. The first order they packed, the first job they finished, the van with two names on the paperwork.
One hire is not one post
Here's the bit most businesses miss. A new person joining is not a single announcement, it's several months of content that nobody else has.
Their first week, seen from the inside. The thing they found confusing that you'd stopped noticing. A question they asked that turns out to be a question customers ask constantly. Their first solo job. The three-month mark, when they've stopped being new. What they've changed about how you do things, because new people always change something.
Spread those out. Each one is more interesting than the announcement was, because by then your audience knows who they are and has a small stake in how they get on.
This is the sort of thing Aunty Social is built to catch — the stuff that's already happening in your business, turned into posts you didn't have to sit down and invent. But you can do it perfectly well with a note on your phone and a bit of attention.
The awkward questions
What if they leave? Then they leave, and you don't delete the posts. A business that visibly employs and trains people looks healthier than one that never mentions having a team.
What if it's just me and one part-timer? Even better. Two people is a team, and small teams are exactly what your customers are choosing you for.
What if they hate the attention? Ask first, respect the answer, and use their work rather than their face. Nobody should find out they've been made the star of your marketing by seeing it in their own feed.
The short version
Skip "we are delighted to announce". Start with the thing that changes for the person reading. Add one detail that could only be about this human being. Photograph them doing the job rather than standing next to it. Then keep going for a few months, because you've just hired a whole seam of content and it would be a waste to spend it all on a Tuesday afternoon.