In my last blog, I explained why employee advocacy is crucial for building your brand; now, I will help you put it into action.
What is Employee Advocacy?
Employee AdvocacyEmployee advocacy is a marketing technique whereby an organization's staff act as spokespeople for the brand. Employee advocacy is a marketing technique in which an organization empowers and encourages employees... More refers to promoting a company’s image through its employees.
It allows you:
- To drastically increase visibility, mainly because it is done through social media, and grab the attention of new potential customers.
- To transmit brand and trust values (which humanises your brand). This helps you to connect with the user’s needs and make them identify with the product or service you offer, ultimately resulting in a purchase.
- To increase employee engagement and consumer confidence.
Recommended practices for Employee Advocacy
1. Set objectives and KPIs
Employees may already post about their work on social media feeds, but you need an organised system and clearly defined goals to track results.
The more clarity you have when defining your objectives, the easier it will be for your employees to help you. If you want to increase brand awareness, encourage employees to post about the brand. If you’re launching a new product, create content that employees can share and feel proud of.
When creating a promotional campaign, you should always align at least one of its main objectives with your company’s. The next step is choosing the social media metrics you want to track. For example, the traffic of the website or the leads generated.
Once the campaign has finished, measure your social media ROI to see where you stand.
2. Educate on social media best practices
The level of comfort each employee has with social media varies. First, make sure everyone is informed about social media best practices. All employees across all departments, regardless of position, are included. It fosters equality to train all employees on social media and company policies and procedures.
Employees must know what to share and how to communicate it. This includes the language and tone they need to use, the frequency of posts, etc. Educating employees on social media best practices clears up any doubts. It also helps protect your company’s reputation and prevent legal and security risks.
A company that has excelled at doing this is Xerox. They have created social media guidelines in both text and video formats. We sometimes underestimate the power of a short, simple video, especially when communicating a topic that can be seen as “dull” and “boring”. The content of their guidelines is solid throughout, which also helps when communicating it to their employees. You can find other great examples here.
3. Appoint leaders
Company leaders are typically the most visible on social media (unless you have an Employee Advocacy program). But this doesn’t mean you should focus on these leaders to run your brand ambassadors’ program. Instead, look for employees who are active users of social networks and enthusiastic about the company, brand and products/services offered. Teach them how to participate in the Employee Advocacy program. Involve them in defining and communicating campaigns and their objectives or create appropriate incentives.
You may see an initial increase in the amount of content being shared on social media when you launch your Employee Advocacy program. Still, without effective internal leadership, that passion will fade over time. Appointing leaders helps ensure that the focus remains.
Tools for Employee Advocacy
Now that you understand the value of an Employee Advocacy program, here are some tools to help you get it up and running.
The most challenging part of an Employee Advocacy program is often the execution. How do you get employees to share company messages on social media?
The following tools make it safe and easy for employees to share approved social media content on their social media platforms.
1. Employee Advocacy by Sprout Social
The platform is a cloud-based employee advocacy solution that is most effective for corporate businesses and large-scale organisations. Thanks to its round-the-clock support, online and in-person training sessions, and a wealth of webinars to help you navigate the platform, it is quite simple to sign up and use. Overall, it is a fantastic tool and a requirement if you want to maximise the effectiveness of your employee advocacy programs.
2. Sociabble
One of the top employee advocacy platforms in the globe, Sociabble is currently used in more than 80 nations. Large global corporations, including Microsoft, L’Oréal, BNP Paribas, and PwC, are among its main clients… I mean, what more endorsement does it need?
3. Smarp
When it comes to employee advocacy or even social media marketingWhat is Social Media Marketing?Social Media Marketing (SMM) is a strategic approach that uses social media platforms to build a brand, increase sales, and drive website traffic. It involves creating... More, Smarp is a potent tool. The program is designed for business use and performs at its peak in firms with more than a thousand employees. I encourage using this product for organisations due to its proven track record of generating results and increasing ROI.
Put your Employee Advocacy program into action
Not sure what tool to pick or if an Employee Advocacy campaign is something your company needs? Contact us to discuss the different solutions we can offer you based on your company’s unique needs.
You can get in touch with us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bora-design/.
Or through our website: https://www.welcometobora.com/contact-us/.
