What is an Employee Advocacy Program?
A simple definition of employee advocacy is the promotion of a brand or company content by an employee of that company. Most people are used to seeing their favorite influencers/celebs promote a brand but in this case the promotion is done by the companies own employees.
Examples of Employee Advocacy
Employee advocacy could be as simple as the following:
- Wearing a branded t-shirt
- Talking about your work experience with the company
- Recommending products to family/friends
- Offering an “inside look” on what goes on in the company
Employee Advocacy Benefits
One study found that their company had a 561% reach when their branded messages were shared by their very own employees compared to a branded channel.
Employees will more than likely already have social media accounts. These may include some platforms that the company they are working for doesn’t have. And these employees will definitely have followers that the company doesn’t. Posting about the company on their personal social media accounts will expand the reach.
Starbucks
Starbucks is a great example of a successful employee advocacy program. They created “partners” to create content for them on various social media platforms. Handing over content creation ideas to employees can be risky but Starbucks created guidelines on what is acceptable for the employee to post on behalf of the company. They also created their own hashtag “#tobeapartner” that they encourage their employees to use. The hashtag benefits both the employee and the employer. The employer will get second-hand engagement from people who may not follow the company and the employee will gain more likes from using the hashtag.
Trust
Not only are employees easier to contact/approach than your favorite influencers/celebs – they are also the most trusted source of the buyer.
When purchasing products, the buyer typically will trust the employee over the CEO or a spokesperson. This is why employee posts generate way more engagement than the same content shared through a branded handle.
Teaching Social Media 