Employee advocacy – when employees become brand ambassadors
Marketing
Posted 11 Apr 2024
It is undisputed that social media now set the tone in communication. However, the perspective on corporate messages has changed fundamentally. Traditional advertising and marketing strategies are increasingly losing their effectiveness, while the voices of employees are gaining unprecedented importance, and an innovative method is entering the stage: employee advocacy. Below, we take a closer look at the importance and benefits of employee advocacy in corporate communications.
Before we turn to the fields of action and objectives of employee engagement, we will focus on the various terms that appear in connection with this topic. The terms brand ambassador, brand ambassador and corporate influencer are often used in conjunction with employee engagement.
Employee advocacy refers to the involvement of employees in the external communication of a company. At the same time, it involves encouraging and empowering staff to function as ambassadors for the brand. This takes place in social networks, but also in other public forums. The idea behind this is simple: the most credible and authentic voice for a company is often that of its own employees – their experiences in their day-to-day work and about the product and brand are also used to improve e-reputation.
The idea behind it is simple: the most credible and authentic voice for a company is often that of its own employees – at the same time, the company’s e-reputation is improved through experiences in everyday working life as well as through the product and brand. This can be divided into four different categories:
1. influencers: focus on pure influence
2. brand ambassador (brand ambassador): Focus on brand & transfer
3. social media influencer: focus on reach and target group
4. corporate influencer: focus on credibility, recommendation, brand & recruiting
The corporate influencer is the most generic form when implementing employee advocacy strategies.
However, not all team members are destined to become corporate influencers (CI). It is crucial that those involved feel completely “at home” in terms of content and that nothing is imposed on them with which they can´t identify. A “one-fits-all principle” does not work in this case. It is therefore important to select in advance which content suits which type of ambassador:
The person shares ready-made content on the corporate brand and products, or publishes job offers.
As a credible spokesperson, the professionals comment on specific service and expertise topics or provide insights into their job. The corporate influencer also acts as a spokesperson or opinion leader online and at events.
As a Sinniast (or ), the person likes to share ecological, socio-political, and social topics that correlate with their own understanding of values.
This type shares personal professional experiences and emotions from their own working life.
Information shared by employees is often perceived as more credible than traditional marketing messages. This is because people tend to trust recommendations from people they know or trust to be sincere.
By utilizing employees’ social networks, a company can significantly increase its reach. Employees share information with their own networks, which leads to the organic distribution of content.
Employee advocacy allows the company to show its human side. Team members can give insights into everyday working life, share success stories, and thus establish an authentic connection with customers and prospects.
Companies that encourage their employees to share their positive work environment can also attract talented professionals as a result. Potential applicants not only see the official company message, but also the individual experiences of employees.
At the same time, employee advocacy ensures lower expenditure in the paid media sector, because unlike paid advertising ambassadors, corporate influencers share content because they find the content important and interesting for themselves and their followers. This in turn allows the budget to be used elsewhere.
Training and guidelines: Firstly, it must be ensured that those involved are informed about the basics of employee advocacy. Clear guidelines should be provided on what can and cannot be shared. Internal training is a good option here.
Technological support: The implementation of tools and platforms simplifies the sharing of content. This can range from simple share buttons to specialized employee advocacy platforms.
Create incentives: Rewarding engaged employees pays dividends in getting employees excited about Employee Advocacy. This can range from public recognition to material rewards.
Feedback and customization: Feedback from professionals is a key component. This is because the various forms of feedback can be used to adapt the strategy accordingly. A successful employee advocacy strategy is agile and continuously evolving.
Overall, employee advocacy can make a significant contribution to improving corporate communication. Utilizing the collective voice of employees can not only increase reach, but also build an authentic, trustworthy brand.
If we have piqued your interest, and you would also like to engage in employee advocacy, please contact us at vibes@hbi.de, and we will work with you to develop a customized strategy for your company!
Junior Communication Consultant at HBI Communication Helga Bailey GmbH
Annika Müller has been supporting HBI in the areas of PR and marketing since 2022. As a Junior Communication Consultant, her responsibilities include the creation of professional articles & the conceptualization of social media postings.
Furthermore, Annika is involved in directly assisting our client work.
