How to Use Employee Advocacy to Promote Your Brand

Employee Advocacy: A Simple Way to Promote Your Brand

Employee advocacy is an often-overlooked strategy that can do wonders for your brand. When your employees share their experiences and expertise, it creates an authentic voice for your business. Instead of relying on expensive ads or flashy campaigns, you can harness the power of the people who know your brand best: your employees.

What is Employee Advocacy?

Employee advocacy is when your employees promote your brand, products, or services through their personal social media accounts, networks, or other channels. They become the voice of the company, sharing content, engaging with customers, and telling their stories. This not only helps spread the word but also boosts trust because people tend to trust personal recommendations over corporate messages.

Why It Matters

Employee advocacy is one of the most genuine forms of marketing. People trust content from individuals they know over content from companies. When employees speak highly of the company they work for, it’s more authentic and credible. Plus, employee advocates are more likely to reach new audiences, creating organic growth.

It’s not just about brand promotion either. Employee advocacy boosts morale. Employees feel empowered when they are encouraged to share their experiences, leading to higher job satisfaction and retention. It’s a win-win.

How to Start Using Employee Advocacy

If you want to use employee advocacy to promote your brand, here’s how to get started.

1. Create a Clear Strategy

Before jumping into employee advocacy, it’s important to have a plan. Think about your goals. Are you aiming to boost brand awareness, increase engagement, or generate more leads? Setting clear goals will help guide the process and ensure that your employees know what to focus on.

Your strategy should include:

• Types of content to share (blog posts, videos, infographics)
• Which social media platforms to use (LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter)
• How often employees should post (daily, weekly)
• What message you want employees to convey
• Any guidelines for maintaining brand voice and tone

2. Equip Employees with the Right Tools

Employees can’t advocate for your brand if they don’t have the right resources. Provide them with high-quality content that’s easy to share. This could be blog posts, videos, or infographics that align with your brand’s voice. Make sure the content is easy to digest and share.

You can also offer employees tools to make the sharing process easier. Platforms like LinkedIn Elevate or Hootsuite Amplify allow employees to share content with just a click, streamlining the process and ensuring that the posts align with your brand’s goals.

3. Encourage Authenticity

One of the key benefits of employee advocacy is the authenticity it brings to your brand. Employees should feel free to add their own personal touch when sharing content. Encourage them to share their experiences or stories that show what it's like to work at your company.

When employees share from the heart, it resonates more with the audience. It also helps humanize your brand, making it more relatable and trustworthy.

4. Offer Incentives

People are more likely to get involved in employee advocacy when there’s something in it for them. Offering incentives can motivate employees to participate more actively. This could be in the form of rewards like gift cards, recognition at company meetings, or even bonuses tied to successful advocacy campaigns.

However, it’s important to avoid making the incentives the sole reason for participation. The goal is to build a culture of advocacy, not just reward actions. Focus on the value that employee advocacy brings both to the company and the individual.

5. Provide Guidelines and Training

Employee advocacy is a great opportunity for employees to share their thoughts, but it’s crucial to provide them with proper guidelines. Create a document or session that explains the dos and don’ts of promoting your brand.

Guidelines should include:

• What type of content is appropriate to share
• How to write captions that reflect your company’s tone
• How to handle negative comments or feedback
• Encouraging employees to remain respectful and professional at all times

Also, consider providing training or workshops to help employees understand how they can use social media to promote the brand effectively. The more confident they are in their ability to share content, the more likely they’ll be to do it.

6. Make it Easy to Share Content

The simpler you make it for employees to share, the more likely they are to do it. Automate content sharing, and give employees quick access to ready-made social media posts. For example, create posts that employees can simply copy and paste onto their social profiles. The more effort you make to remove obstacles, the better.

Encourage employees to share across multiple platforms but ensure they’re aware of which platform works best for each type of content. LinkedIn may be better for professional content, while Instagram could be better for visual or lifestyle posts.

7. Track Performance and Adjust

It’s crucial to measure the success of your employee advocacy efforts. Tracking metrics such as engagement rates, traffic to your website, or leads generated can help you determine if your strategy is working.

Encourage employees to track their own success as well. Provide tools that allow employees to see the impact of their advocacy. This could include tools like Google Analytics, or simple reporting tools that show the number of shares, likes, and comments their posts receive.

Regularly review the metrics and adjust your approach if needed. If a certain type of content is getting more engagement, make that type of content a bigger focus. Employee feedback can also be valuable here – find out what’s working well for them and what they need more of.

8. Celebrate Success

Don’t forget to celebrate the wins, both big and small. Whether it’s recognizing an employee for a successful post or sharing success stories with the whole team, it’s important to acknowledge and reward employee efforts. Publicly acknowledging employees boosts morale and encourages others to participate.

Sharing the results of your advocacy efforts with the wider team is also a great way to build momentum. When employees see the tangible results of their advocacy, they’re more likely to continue sharing and engaging.

Best Practices for Successful Employee Advocacy

To make sure your employee advocacy program is as effective as possible, here are some best practices to keep in mind:

- Be Transparent

Be open about why you’re implementing an employee advocacy program and how it benefits everyone involved. Transparency builds trust and gets buy-in from employees.

- Encourage Engagement, Not Just Sharing

While sharing content is great, it’s important that employees also engage with your audience. Responding to comments, liking posts, and engaging in conversations builds a stronger relationship with followers.

- Keep It Fun

Make employee advocacy enjoyable. Encourage creativity, and give employees room to express their personality. The more fun and authentic it feels, the more natural the advocacy will be.

- Be Consistent

Consistency is key. You want employees to be involved in advocacy regularly, not just during a big campaign. Keep the momentum going by encouraging advocacy even during slower periods.

- Make It a Two-Way Conversation

Employee advocacy shouldn’t be one-sided. Encourage employees to also share their ideas, content, and feedback. This helps create a more interactive and engaging experience.

The Power of Employee Advocacy

Employee advocacy doesn’t just promote your brand; it can build a stronger, more connected workplace culture. When employees feel invested in sharing your brand’s message, it fosters a sense of pride in the company. They become ambassadors, both online and offline, and the impact can be substantial.

By focusing on authenticity, offering tools and incentives, and providing the right guidance, you can tap into the full potential of employee advocacy. The result is a more connected, engaged team that’s helping spread your brand message to the world.