What is Employee Advocacy & How Can it Boost Your Social Strategy?

Summary

This video explains the power of employee advocacy on social media and how it can significantly boost brand awareness, trust, and engagement. By encouraging employees to share their experiences on personal accounts, businesses can expand their reach and attract talent while empowering employees as thought leaders. The video outlines a five-step strategy to launch an effective advocacy program, including setting goals, creating an advocacy system, providing training, incentivizing participation, and tracking progress. With the right approach, employee advocacy can become a key driver for both brand success and employee growth.

Takeaways

• 😀 Employee advocacy involves employees sharing their work experiences on personal social media channels to amplify the brand's reach.
• 😀 Posts by employees generate 8 times more engagement than brand content, significantly increasing brand visibility.
• 😀 Employee-generated content is perceived as more credible than content shared by CEOs, making it a powerful tool for brand trust.
• 😀 A successful employee advocacy program includes clear goals, such as increasing brand awareness and attracting qualified talent.
• 😀 Curating ready-to-share content, like blog posts and company news, helps employees engage more easily with advocacy efforts.
• 😀 Employee advocacy programs can attract talent, strengthen your employer brand, and even drive sales by positioning employees as thought leaders.
• 😀 Setting up an employee advocacy system requires considering regularity, responsibilities, ready-to-post content, and rewards.
• 😀 Training is essential to ensure employees are comfortable posting and aligned with brand voice guidelines, while still allowing for personal authenticity.
• 😀 Incentivizing employee participation through rewards or recognition can increase engagement and make the program more appealing.
• 😀 Tracking progress and measuring external and internal metrics (like reach, engagement, and top contributors) is key to refining the advocacy strategy.
• 😀 Tools like Sprout Social's employee advocacy platform can streamline content curation, tracking, and reporting for better program management.

Q & A

What is employee advocacy in the context of social media?

Employee advocacy is when employees share their personal experiences and company-related content on their own social media accounts, promoting the company and its brand organically.

Why are employee posts considered more effective than brand content?

Employee posts tend to receive about eight times more engagement than brand posts. This is because employees' networks are more likely to trust their opinions over corporate messages, making their posts more authentic and relatable.

What are the primary benefits of an employee advocacy program?

Employee advocacy can increase brand awareness, provide more user-generated content, attract qualified talent, enhance the employer brand, and drive sales through thought leadership. It also helps maintain a cohesive brand message across social channels.

What metrics should you track to assess the success of an employee advocacy program?

You should track both external and internal metrics. External metrics include engagement and reach, while internal metrics include participation levels, top contributors, and post performance. These help determine the effectiveness of the program and where adjustments are needed.

How can you set up a successful employee advocacy system?

A successful advocacy system involves determining the frequency of employee involvement, how content will be shared (e.g., via Slack, email), assigning roles and responsibilities, curating ready-to-post content, and offering rewards to incentivize participation.

What type of training should employees receive for an advocacy program?

Employees should be trained on social media best practices, the company's brand voice and style guidelines, how to use advocacy tools, and the importance of authenticity. It's also helpful to train them on editing content to make it personal and aligned with their own voice.

How can you incentivize employees to participate in an advocacy program?

Incentives can include rewards like company swag, gift cards, or recognition (e.g., shoutouts in company meetings or emails). Gamifying the process by offering points or prizes for frequent posts can also motivate employees to engage more actively.

What are some tools that can help manage an employee advocacy program?

Tools like Sprout Social's employee advocacy platform can help curate shareable content, provide post-ready copy, track engagement metrics, and streamline communication with employees. These tools can make the process more efficient and organized.

What kind of content should employees share as part of an advocacy program?

Employees can share a variety of content, including company news, blog posts, industry insights, personal experiences, and company updates. Content should be easily shareable and reflect the company's values, while still allowing employees to add their own personal touch.

How important is it to track and adjust the employee advocacy program over time?

Tracking and adjusting the program is crucial for its success. By monitoring post performance and employee engagement, you can identify what content works best and which employees are most active. This data helps refine the strategy and ensures the program remains effective.