By Ava Vertullo
In a world where authenticity and trust are the currency of the digital age, brands are discovering an incredibly influential new voice… their own workers. An employee advocacy program encourages employees to share their employer’s content, culture, and values on their personal social media platforms. When done right, this strategy doesn’t just drive visibility, it makes employees authentic and trusted brand ambassadors, generating reach and engagement far greater than a brand page alone.
Trust Drives Engagement
People trust people more than logos. Studies show that employee-shared content receives 8x more engagement than brand channels alone. That’s because employees are seen as real, authentic, and credible. If an employee shares a positive day at work, promotes a product, or celebrates a company’s success, their fans see it as real — not a pitch.
This authentic promotion creates a stronger emotional connection with the audience. In fact, 84% of consumers value recommendations from friends and relatives more than any other type of advertising (Nielsen). By encouraging employees to become advocates, a company is tapping into this powerful credibility factor.
Extending Reach at Low Cost
Most have a small audience in their own channels. But think of 100 staff members with 500 fans each pushing out company content. That’s 50,000 potential impressions — without spending a dime on advertising.
Employee advocacy is a natural way to expand reach and decrease the cost per impression. Employee posts are reported to deliver a 561% increase in reach compared to branded content, by Hootsuite. This benefits the brand by expanding its audience, especially to communities or professional networks that they would not otherwise reach.
Besides, since these are written in less of a marketing tone and more of a personal story, they’re more likely to be consumed, shared, and liked — driving campaigns deeper, faster.
Empowering Employees Gives Rise to Culture and Retention
When staff are empowered to participate in brand storytelling, they feel more engaged with their place of work. Employee advocacy campaigns foster engagement, morale, and give employees pride in representing their company.
It can affect employees to write about success stories, behind-the-scenes, or even their personal achievements and makes the brand more human and open. This not only works wonders for the reputation of the brand outside but also for the internal culture.
Successful campaigns like those run by Dell and Adobe don’t merely instruct employees to “post more.” They provide training, ideas for content, and even incentives for top sharers — all while maintaining brand voice and guidelines intact (Sprout Social).
In Conclusion..
With the media world of today, reach is not anymore a shouting-match game — it’s now a question of who boosts your message and how genuine it will feel. Employee advocacy allows brands to extend their voice, enhance credibility, and make stronger connections with their audience while engaging with their most powerful resource: their people.
Set to turn your team’s voice on? Begin with creating shareable content, providing training and rewards, and demonstrating your employees that they are an important part of your brand history.
Teaching Social Media 