There’s nothing quite like an engaged employee, as they hold superpowers that employers need to start tapping into. Beyond just fulfilling their job descriptions, employees who are passionate about their work become powerful advocates for their companies.
With the right plans and programs in place, employee advocacy can even extend into the realm of social media, where strategic engagement and employee advocacy converge to amplify brand visibility and foster genuine connections with consumers.
Why Engaged Employees Promote Their Companies Online
Employee ambassadors are individuals within an organisation who are passionate about the brand and willing to advocate for it. They possess in-depth knowledge about the company’s products or services and are enthusiastic about sharing their experiences with others.
The importance of employee happiness and satisfaction cannot be overstated in understanding why employees naturally become brand advocates. When employees feel fulfilled and valued in their roles, they naturally develop a sense of loyalty and commitment to the organisation, translating into genuine passion for the brand they represent.
52% of consumers trust brand recommendations from their friends and family over all other forms of advertising. This trust extends to employee ambassadors, whose authentic advocacy resonates deeply with consumers, fostering trust and building lasting relationships.
Unlike traditional marketing tactics, employee ambassadors have a genuine passion for the brand they represent. Their authentic advocacy resonates with consumers on a deeper level, fostering trust and building lasting relationships.
This additional emphasis on employee happiness and satisfaction highlights the organic nature of employee advocacy, where genuine passion and loyalty drive employees to become powerful advocates for their companies.
Advantages of Employee Social Media Advocacy
- Humanising the Organisation: Employee ambassadors serve as the face of the organisation, bringing a human element to the brand. By sharing their personal experiences and stories, they humanise the brand, making it more relatable and approachable to consumers. This human touch helps to break down barriers and foster genuine connections with the audience.
- Building Trust and Credibility: Employee ambassadors are viewed as credible sources of information by consumers. Their firsthand experiences and authentic endorsements instill confidence in the brand, leading to increased trust and credibility. As consumers trust recommendations from people they know and respect, employee ambassadors play a crucial role in building trust and credibility for the brand.
- Increasing Brand Awareness: Employee ambassadors have the power to amplify the reach of the brand’s message through their personal networks and social media channels. By sharing positive experiences and advocating for the brand, they help spread awareness to a wider audience. This increased visibility generates buzz and interest around the brand, ultimately driving brand awareness and recognition.
Employees have 10 times more followers than their company pages, and their posts generate twice the engagement rate. This highlights the significant impact that employee advocacy can have on increasing brand visibility and engagement on social media platforms.
- Fostering Brand Loyalty: Employee ambassadors are not just advocates for the brand; they are also loyal employees who are committed to its success. By engaging with consumers and building meaningful relationships, they cultivate a sense of loyalty among customers. Consumers are more likely to remain loyal to a brand when they feel a personal connection and sense of belonging, which employee ambassadors facilitate through their advocacy efforts.
- Aids in Recruitment & Employee Loyalty: Employee advocacy on social media also aids in recruitment efforts by showcasing a positive company culture and work environment, attracting potential candidates who resonate with the brand values portrayed by existing employees. Employee advocacy programs can attract top talent, with 87% of employees expanding their professional network through such programs.
Practical Steps for Employee Advocacy on Social Media
Establishing Clear Guidelines and Providing Training
To effectively harness the power of employee ambassadors, organisations must establish clear guidelines and objectives. These guidelines ensure that ambassadors understand their role and responsibilities in representing the brand.
Alongside this, providing comprehensive training programs and resources is essential to empower employee ambassadors with the knowledge and skills needed to effectively promote the brand while upholding ethical standards. This includes educating them about the company’s values, messaging, and target audience, as well as the ethical implications of their social media interactions.
Organisations integrating ethical considerations into employee advocacy not only uphold their values and reputation but also build stronger relationships with customers and stakeholders based on trust and authenticity.
Identifying Key Social Platforms for Engagement
Navigating the multitude of social media platforms available can be overwhelming, so to effectively amplify brand visibility, it’s crucial for organisations to:
- Conduct thorough market research and audience analysis to identify the social platforms where their target audience is most active.
- Pinpoint where potential customers spend their time online.
- Focus efforts on narrowed-down platforms to ensure reaching the right audience with the right message.
- Leverage cutting-edge content amplification tools and strategies to maximise reach and impact across all of your social channels.
Crafting Tailored Content for Each Platform
Each social media platform has its own distinct characteristics and caters to different audiences. To effectively engage users, organisations must:
- Tailor their content to fit the specific format and audience of each platform.
- Craft engaging and relevant content that aligns with user behavior.
- Make use of AI-driven tools like content optimisation and scheduling applications to streamline the content creation process.
Key metrics for evaluating brand visibility
To measure the success of strategic engagement efforts, organisations should track the following:
- Reach: This metric measures the total number of unique users who have been exposed to your brand’s content or message. It provides insights into the overall visibility of your brand across various channels.
- Engagement: Engagement metrics include likes, shares, comments, retweets, and other interactions with your brand’s content. High levels of engagement indicate that your audience is actively interacting with your brand, which can lead to increased brand awareness and loyalty.
- Sentiment: Sentiment analysis measures the overall sentiment or attitude of your audience towards your brand. Positive sentiment indicates a favorable perception of your brand, while negative sentiment may signal areas for improvement or potential issues that need to be addressed.
Analysing Employee Engagement and Impact
- Monitoring Employee Engagement: Track the level of participation and advocacy activities among employee ambassadors. By monitoring metrics such as the number of shares, comments, and likes generated by employee-generated content, organisations can gauge the level of engagement and enthusiasm among their ambassadors.
- Assessing Impact: Analyse data and feedback to assess the impact of employee ambassadors on brand visibility. This includes measuring the reach and engagement generated by employee-generated content, as well as monitoring changes in brand sentiment and perception among the target audience.
- Identifying Areas for Improvement: Analysing employee engagement and impact allows organisations to identify areas for improvement and refinement in their employee advocacy programs. By identifying trends and patterns in employee engagement data, organisations can make informed decisions about how to optimise their employee advocacy efforts for maximum impact.
Continuous Optimisation and Refinement of Strategies
Strategic engagement is an ongoing process that requires continuous optimisation and refinement. By staying informed about industry trends and consumer preferences, organisations can adapt their strategies to remain relevant and effective.
Real-World Applications of Employee Brand Ambassadors
Let’s now see how some of the world’s leading companies empower their employees to become influential advocates in the digital space.
At Google, employees are known as “Googlers” and play a crucial role in promoting the company’s products and services on social media platforms. Googlers share insights, updates, and behind-the-scenes glimpses into the innovative culture at Google. By showcasing their experiences and expertise, Googlers help to humanise the brand and connect with audiences in a more personal and engaging way.
Salesforce
Salesforce empowers its employees, known as “Trailblazers,” to interact with customers, share success stories, and demonstrate the impact of Salesforce’s products and services. Trailblazers serve as advocates for the brand, showcasing real-world examples of how Salesforce solutions have transformed businesses and empowered customers. Through their authentic and engaging interactions, Trailblazers help to build trust and credibility for the Salesforce brand.
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines refers to its employees as “Southwest Warriors,” who embody the airline’s core values of friendliness and reliability. These employees serve as brand ambassadors both online and offline, sharing stories of exceptional customer service, teamwork, and dedication to providing a positive travel experience. By showcasing the human side of the airline and highlighting the commitment of Southwest Warriors, Southwest Airlines strengthens its brand reputation and fosters customer loyalty.
Conclusion
Employee advocacy is a potent tool for enhancing brand visibility and fostering meaningful connections with consumers. By empowering employees to become advocates, organisations can drive online growth and cultivate a loyal customer base.
Author: Katherine Pierce – freelance blogger
Photo credit: StockCake
