Building a Strong Brand Through Authentic Advocacy

  By Kelsey Taylor

 

Without inspiration, employee advocacy can feel like giving a bland speech on an assigned topic. Authenticity and originality should be the foundation of promoting your organization and generating exposure for it. Without a sincere spokesman or exciting content, employee engagement is hardly convincing.

Refining your brand’s image from the inside is how you’re going to successfully attract and uphold a strong workforce. Not only will it humanize our brand but establish trust. As an employee, you’re one of the most trusted sources of your buyers. Read on for valuable tips on how to master authentic employee advocacy at your company and create a buzz around your brand that lasts.

Co-branded Content Campaigns

Two heads are better than one! Don’t be afraid to ask industry experts for their opinions. Joining forces with other companies is not only mutually beneficial, but an opportunity to break into new markets while promoting your own. Finding shared values with another company and pairing them with another is a smart tool for effective advocacy. Plus, it keeps things interesting for the customers, and gives you the opportunity to associate your brand with something different.

Tell Individual Stories

Individual stories and case studies from the employees themselves will drive your company’s advocacy and brand. Choosing topics both inside and outside of your industry that are relevant to the interests of the customers, informative, and personable are all very attractive ways of presenting information. Whether you’re writing company blog posts, sharing stories and experiences within your own network on LinkedIn, or creating podcasts, you can leverage employee advocacy through content that’s both alive, and real. Plus, People pay over 2x more attention to recommendations from friends. Word of mouth is vital!

Inspire Your Current Employees

Recognizing your employees accomplishments and using leadership boards will not only instill confidence in your employees, but will drive their efforts forward. Happy employees will more readily produce content that’s authentic, and credible. Your employees deserve to feel appreciated, not like a pawn to market your company. Gamification is a helpful tool to propel healthy and successful advocacy forward.

Monitor Employee Engagement

Staying on top of your employee advocacy programs to measure its effectiveness is important for retention and brand building. Employee Advocacy tools like EveryoneSocial, Trapit, and others, are both exceptional ways of sharing relevant content within your organization, define objectives, and communicate ideas before moving forward with advocacy plans. Powered by artificial intelligence, these solutions provides structure for your team, and allows for communication in a central location.

Harness a Comprehensive Social Media Presence

In addition to being active on your company’s social media accounts, it’s valuable to post content to your personal account that has the potential to engage third party candidates. 40% of CEOs in Fortune 500 companies have a social media presence, which sets the tone for their employees. With more than 2 billion people on social media, and communication channels constantly expanding, the line is blurring between personal and professional networks. There’s not an issue with this, as long as you take the appropriate opportunities to share personal experiences related to your company that are of substance.

Prioritize Company Culture

Making your company’s work environment enjoyable and appealing to your employees. The standards are higher, and some candidates have said they would sacrifice a pay cut up to $7,600 for a higher quality of work life. What is your company’s social purpose? How do you support your employees? What incentives do you offer your employees? These are defining questions that will shape your company culture and drive genuine advocacy.

Kelsey Taylor is a creative writer and lover of all things digital media. She’s a poet, educator, and regular contributor to TrustRadius where she continues to write about software and tips for B2B companies.