Among all of the digital marketing strategies that are out there today, a recent trend has captured the attention of brands looking to expand their online presence: employee advocacy. With employee advocacy, you empower internal influencers to be brand champions, amplifying the voices of the people who know your brand inside and out.
As these influencers post content related to your business, they can extend your brand’s reach to their own vast networks. Moreover, each employee influencer can tell your brand’s story in an authentic way that brand-generated content can't match.
Whether you’re a shop manager or shop owner, this article will help you understand the power of employee engagement and how to leverage it online.
What Is an Employee Influencer?
Employee influencers share information about their employers on their own social media pages. As they share the positive experiences they’ve had with your brand, they demonstrate your company’s trustworthiness.
Moreover, their trust-building content can show that your company treats its employees well — a factor that’s increasingly important to consumers today, according to Edelman Trust Institute research.
Benefits of Using an Employee Influencer
If you hope to sway your target audience toward your brand’s products and services, employee engagement can be vital to your success. That audience includes not only customers but also prospects, new talent, and potential partners — all the people who may be checking out your brand online before deciding to work with you. Here are some benefits of employee advocacy.
Authentic Marketing
Your employees know your company’s core values better than anyone, making them uniquely qualified to praise your brand online. In turn, their votes of confidence can spark the interest of the people in their networks who share those values.
Employees are also more likely to share content off the cuff rather than posting highly polished content. For example, employees may post from their smartphones in their cars as they head to work, making them more relatable and trustworthy than random influencers with massive followings.
This authenticity breeds trust — generating the kind of social proof you can’t create on your own as more and more consumers trust their friends and families over brands' recommendations. With 71% of people in one Edelman survey saying it’s more important than ever to trust the brands they buy from, employee advocates can help bridge the gap between brands and buyers.
Non-employee influencers with larger followings can even negatively impact your brand if they discuss controversial issues on their social profiles. Followers may draw a connection between that person and your company if you have an existing influencer relationship, so anything they say can reflect poorly on your brand.
Reduced Costs
The costs of working with influencers vary depending on the platform and follower count, ranging from a few bucks per post to tens of thousands. Instead of paying big bucks to hire well-known influencers, you can instead engage the people who are already on your payroll.
You can then incentivize employee advocates to post, offering gift cards, bonuses, tickets to events, extra time off, employee recognition, and other rewards. Many employees will post simply to build their personal brand, and you can support their efforts with social media tools such as branded content.
Improved Engagement Rates
Your engagement metrics can jump through the roof with employee-generated content creation. People tend to engage more with content that's posted by real humans than with content created by faceless brands.
According to LinkedIn research, employee-generated content has twice the engagement of brand-created content. Reach and impressions get a boost, too — as brand messages get reshared 24 times more frequently when employees share them versus the brand itself.
How to Get Started With an Employee Influencer
Even small businesses with only a few employees can benefit from employee advocacy. Follow the tips below to get started on the right foot.
Identify Ideal Employee Influencers
When selecting workplace influencers, look for employees who are:
- Actively engaged in the company’s communications, such as internal newsletters and social media posts
- Knowledgeable about your business, its offerings, and the overall industry
- Familiar with your company’s organizational structure and confident in locating the resources they need to create and share content
- Naturally social with their colleagues
- Proactive about participating in company initiatives and capable of inspiring others within the organization.
Be Clear With Your Expectations
Once you’ve identified the most suitable employee influencers, be clear with your goals. Establish realistic key performance indicators to track your success, such as:
- Increasing brand awareness
- Generating leads
- Driving sales
- Extending your reach, engagement, and impressions
Provide Support
Equip your employee advocates with the tools and training they need to succeed. Share best practices, brand guidelines, and training materials to help them post high-quality content that casts your business in the best light. Then, let them be their authentic selves on social media.
Hop on the Employee Influencer Trend
Starting an employee influencer program might seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. By starting small, encouraging your employees every step of the way, and providing the appropriate social media tools and support, your workplace advocacy initiatives can take root quickly. In time, you’ll have a robust program that gives your employees a sense of ownership in your brand while growing your online presence.
Would you like to learn more about how Optimize can help you elevate your content marketing plan? Schedule your free consultation today to learn more!
