Employee Advocacy

Buzzing brands sell best. Every organization dreams of high-volume, positive, and continuous engagement with its brand. Sales take off as the word spreads. Great effort goes into building engaging brands. To get people talking, each organization needs the right channels, communities, audiences, and messaging. Easily overlooked, employees make an excellent source to build a community and audience.

Picture a strategy for organizations to empower their employees and indirectly increase sales. That is employee advocacy. Employee advocacy programs enable employees to promote corporate brands online, through social media, and offline, in conversations with family, friends, and others. Through employee advocacy, organizations build a network of entities - employees - advocating on behalf of their brand. Instead of starting from scratch, this network provides access to preexisting communities and audiences that organizations might otherwise have difficulty with accessing. Employee advocacy is a marketing initiative through which organizations provide their employees with the necessary tools and training to become brand ambassadors. Employees are equipped with knowledge on how to use their platforms to build and strengthen (customer) relationships, increase brand awareness, improve brand reputation, and increase brand loyalty and trust. Ultimately, the initiative aims to have employees engage with and attract future customers.

Employees can make a brand. Strong employee advocacy elevates the position of brands. Consider the reach of the workforce. The average combined total of followers of employees is significantly higher than the followers of a brand page. That also applies to organizations that haven't managed to attract the likes of Pharell Wiliams. The combined networks of employees have the potential to boost the reach of a brand significantly. The personal relationship between employees and people in their networks can have a seriously positive impact on engagement with brands. Organizations effectively make use of their talent to advocate their corporate brands, attract new customers, and sell more to existing customers. In addition to higher sales, there are other benefits of employee advocacy. The willingness of employees to promote their employer's brand is a great indicator of their satisfaction. Satisfaction with their job and the organization. High satisfaction is crucial to retaining talent. Talk from employees about their organization's brand also impacts the perception of these organizations as employers. Organizations with a strong employer brand are more successful in attracting new talent. Employee advocacy is a great strategy to grow revenues and measure the popularity of a brand among existing and future employees.

The impact of employee advocacy can be measured in various ways. First, there are improvements to the reach and engagement of a brand. A survey conducted by PostBeyond and Golfdale Consulting (2018) found that the reach of company messages improved by 561% when shared by employees. 79% of organizations that implemented formal employee advocacy programs reported more visibility and 65% reported increased brand recognition (Hinge Research Insitute, 2016). Posts by employees got 800% more engagement than the same posts shared by official brand accounts (Social Media Today, 2014). Second, successful employee advocacy has a measurable impact on retaining employees. According to LinkedIn (2018), organizations that have adopted effective employee advocacy programs are 20% more likely to retain top talent. Third and finally, employee advocacy affects the ability of organizations to attract talent. Employers that have their employees advocating on their behalf are 58% more likely to attract high-quality talent (LinkedIn, 2018). In addition to direct improvements to the position of a brand toward customers and talent, there are cost savings in each of the aforementioned areas. When done right, employee advocacy can make a significant difference for organizations. 

Simply asking employees to (re)share branded messaging is not an effective approach to employee advocacy. Instead, it starts with communicating value to employees. Increased visibility is good for their personal brands. Profiles that have strong personal brands are noticed more quickly and attract better career opportunities. Training that helps employees polish their brands adds immense value. Furthermore, it's a great way to engage employees in participating in shaping the corporate brand. Their participation brings brands to life, inviting creativity to craft messaging styles that resonate with potential customers. When employees feel they play a vital role, they'll be much more likely to continue promoting the brand.

Employee advocacy is empowering employees to promote the corporate brand in online and offline conversations. It's an effective strategy to improve the position of a brand, improving visibility and reach. Additionally, it is a great approach to getting employees more engaged, increasing retention, and building a robust employer brand. Having employees advocate on behalf of their employer is a win-win, boosting sales for the organization and increasing mobility for talent.