Employee Advocacy (EA) is a growing marketing superpower. Employees of a business promote and champion the brand they work for by sharing content via their own personal social channels.
What are the benefits of Employee Advocacy?
Employee Advocacy has several benefits, especially for businesses looking to give their marketing an air of authenticity.
Grow consumer trust in your brand
Communications and PR company Edelman found that 53% of global consumers see employees as the most credible source of information when researching a brand.
It indicates a potential move away from the juggernaut that is influencer marketing. 61% of respondents in Social Media Today’s Employee Advocacy Survey 2019 said they were more likely to research a product or service after seeing a friend post about it. That’s considerably more than the 36% who chose content posted by an influencer or celebrity.
Increase social engagement
The same survey also found that content shared by employees received an average of 8 times more engagement compared to content shared through branded platforms. In a social marketplace saturated with businesses shouting their wares, it seems that employees are better able to cut through the noise.
Lower cost engagements
Lower in cost – Influencer marketing, paid social promotions and ad space can all be extremely expensive ways to expand your brand reach. Implementing EA can be a great alternative, or at least a solid way to supplement other marketing activity.
What kind of content works?
Any content you create should complement your business, and how you want to position your brand in the marketplace. That said, the SMT survey did throw out a few trends in terms of engagement which you might want to bear in mind:
How can I get staff to become employee advocates?
There are several ways that you might encourage staff to become advocates of your brand through their own social media channels. The important thing to remember though, is authenticity. Forcing staff to represent your brand through their personal networks will have an impact on your working culture, as well as the success of the campaign.
You might offer financial incentives, or highlight it as an option. Many businesses find that if staff love the job, they’ll share the content anyway. Gain the loyalty of staff by being a good employer!
Is Employee Advocacy something you’re already reaping the rewards of? Or is it something you’re looking to write into your next marketing strategy phase? We’d love to hear your thoughts and experience on the topic. Leave them in the comments below or join us over on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.
