Organizations have realized the importance of showing a personal side on social media. Emotionally, people connect with people, not logos.
In the world of social impact, where trust and authenticity are everything, having your employees share their stories can be a real game-changer. Yet employee advocacy is much more than that; it’s a strategic tool that fosters internal collaboration and amplifies online engagement.
“Individuals tell better stories than corporations: always have, always will. We are more receptive to hearing stories from individuals and having relationships with those individuals,” said Joe Pulizzi, the bestselling author of “Content Inc.” and “Epic Content Marketing”, in my interview with him.
Gone are the days of relying solely on external partners to spread the company message. Instead, your focus should be shifting toward harnessing the expertise and passion of those within the organization itself.
First-person storytelling helps create an emotional connection that can touch your audience and truly bring your impact to life. People yearn for authenticity, so this blog post is meant to help you quickly create an employee advocacy strategy in three simple steps. You’ll learn why employee advocacy is so beneficial, how to set up an employee advocacy playbook, and how to develop a team of brand ambassadors to eventually create a virtuous circle of sharing online.
The Dual Benefits of Employee Advocacy
At its core, employee advocacy serves a dual purpose: it humanizes the organization while empowering employees to actively participate in the communication process. By encouraging staff to become advocates, companies not only showcase their authentic identity but also foster a culture of inclusivity and engagement with the communications team.
When employees are involved in the communication process, it enhances transparency and strengthens alignment with organizational goals. It’s a win-win.
The algorithms of digital platforms encourage employee advocacy. In fact, studies indicate that employee posts outperform company pages by 561%. This underscores the immense potential of tapping into the collective voice of your organization.
Step 1 - Create an Employee Advocacy Playbook
The first step in developing an employee advocacy program is creating a Playbook, says Jacques Foul, a Communications Consultant I spoke with on the benefits of employee advocacy.
Foul suggests creating a simple guide aimed at educating employees on the best practices for sharing content online. This Playbook can serve as a compass, outlining company values and providing guidelines for consistent and proactive content sharing.
Feel free to find inspiration in Hootsuite’s Employee Advocacy Toolkit that includes a blueprint to help you plan, implement and measure the success of your employee advocacy program.
By empowering employees with the knowledge and tools to effectively communicate the brand’s message, organizations can amplify their reach and impact in the digital space.
Step 2 - Develop a Team of Brand Ambassadors
The next step is to create a group of Brand Ambassadors composed of a diverse set of staff who are already engaged online. The ambassadors will work with staff to shape personalized content and build momentum internally. This is what WWF Germany has done.
Former Communications Director of WWF Germany Marco Vollmar explains: “In the recent German government elections, we ran a campaign to raise awareness and present our demands to the new government, and we introduced a panel of experts who could help the new government with key environmental issues.”
“This positioned us as experts and enablers of key policy discussions with the new government. By ensuring that we have ‘WWF Ambassadors’ who can lead policy discussions online, we’re becoming known by our stakeholders as experts in their field. This is what digital communications has made possible”.
These individuals, already experts in their respective fields, became the voice of the organization online. By tapping into the wealth of knowledge and passion existing within their own team, the WWF was able to create authentic and compelling content that resonated with their audience.
“On social media, these WWF Ambassadors are engaging directly with policymakers through direct messages that support our discussions. Thanks to this online relationship, it is easier than ever before to communicate with political stakeholders.”
WWF Germany is pro-actively building its reputation and relatability by using a mix of videos, blogs, and podcasts featuring its Ambassadors.
“The WWF Ambassador concept is similar to the influencer concept. They may not be reaching so many people, but they are influencers on their own merit thanks to their expertise and network,” adds Vollmar.
The beauty of this approach lies in its simplicity. “The gold is already in the house,” says Jacques Foul when discussing the untapped potential of employee advocacy.
Organizations often overlook the wealth of expertise and quality content that exists within their own walls, instead seeking external influencers to amplify their message. As highlighted by the WWF example, the most powerful stories and insights often come from within.
Step 3 - Encourage a Virtuous Circle of Sharing
Once established, the Brand Ambassadors can share useful resources internally to help other employees curate their own content. This allows everyone to take ownership and express themselves in their own way on issues that matter to them, helping them craft their stories in a more personal manner.
By doing so, you’ll also encourage collaboration across the whole organization.
“Create a culture of reflection and sharing at the level of our humanity,” recommends Tania Bhattacharyya, Founder of Lumos Marketing Co. During her presentation for The Communications Network, Bhattacharyya suggests actively fostering executive buy-in to encourage leadership by example and create that virtuous circle of sharing.
The idea is to give everyone the tools to speak up – if they choose to.
“That’s a good approach,” said DeniseRenee, a book writing coach, while commenting on LinkedIn. “I can see it being more effective if employees see each other doing it. It would probably come off like you’re being encouraged by a friend and not as some extra ‘thing’ I must do because the bosses are watching!”
By encouraging all employees to freely share their expertise, organizations can support the creation of valuable content and ideas that external partners may not offer. From behind-the-scenes stories to expert insights, your staff has the potential to enrich the organization’s content strategy in authentic and impactful ways.
Overcoming the challenges of employee advocacy
As organizations strive to stand out in a crowded digital space, harnessing the power of employee advocacy proves to be a win-win approach. It improves internal communications, encourages authenticity, and increases online engagement.
Yet it can be challenging if you’re a highly bureaucratic institution that is used to controlling external communications.
Pulizzi offered his advice for large organizations looking to tell personal stories: “If you’re a big company, and you’ve got a lot of internal politics and red tape, how do you switch to a more personal approach? Just be real, flaws and all. It’s all about trusting your employees and trusting your spokespeople to be the lead storytellers, instead of it coming from the top down.”
“The most important marketers in your company are your employees! There is absolutely some risk of losing control, but the upside is far greater than the downside.”
By creating a culture that encourages and empowers employees to share their voices online while also setting guidelines, your organization can amplify its reach, enhance its brand identity, and make a lasting impact.
Look around, and the most powerful stories about your organization might be right next to you!
