1. Employee advocacy: interests for the company
Increase your audience and generate leads
The power of social media cannot be disputed – Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest have a total of 38 million users in France, i.e. 58% of the population! Therefore, it seems logical that companies are aware of the benefits of recognition, and are gradually entering the social sphere of their employees.
Did you know that at the beginning of 2018, Facebook accelerated things by reviewing its algorithm in order to favour content posted by each member’s personal network to the detriment of brand and media visibility.
By encouraging your employees to share content produced by your marketing and communications teams, you increase their impact and reach with people who weren’t necessarily following your brand. On average, an Internet user has 300 contacts per social network, of which 90% will not be familiar with your brand.
A lot of potential prospects, don’t you think?
According to many studies, employee advocacy can increase:
- the reach of your publications on social networks by more than 500%
- your brand visibility by 14x
Although developing and implementing an employee advocacy programme takes time, especially with training your employees, it proves to be a winning strategy in the long run.
If an employee advocacy programme complements a promotion strategy, chances are it will boost your online, and overall global visibility.
Bonus: in addition to reducing your digital marketing costs, implementing an employee advocacy programme will also reduce your recruitment costs. Recruitment through referrals are increasing at the same rate as the decline in the number of job adverts.
Turning your employees into your company’s spoke persons also gives another image of your brand on social networks.
From a HR point of view, employee advocacy is an excellent way to develop your employer brand and attract new talent.
Indeed, a company that gives its employees a voice will be perceived as:
- attentive to its teams
- genuine and transparent
- having strong human values
Employee advocacy is a good internal measure of the quality of life at work and of your employees’ adherence to your company’s values.
2. Employee advocacy: benefits for your employees
By encouraging your employees to represent you online, you give them the opportunity and the means to share their opinion.
Social media then plays an essential role in the relationship you have with your employees. By giving them the keys to your brand image, you prove that you trust them and recognise their expertise. Therefore, your employees become both promoters and advocators of your brand.
This recognition is an undeniable source of motivation and also contributes to the loyalty of your in-house talent.
Tips: to give a playful side to your teams’ commitment, think about setting up a “rewards” program. The rewards don’t necessarily have to be monetary; above all, your employees want to be recognised for their commitment and their role in the development of the company.
By sharing relevant content with their own networks, your employees enhance their expertise and improve their personal visibility. By empowering them, you allow them to improve their employability; another great proof of trust!
Far from being a mere fashionable trend, employee advocacy is a strategy of choice for companies that want to generate business and visibility via social networks. But to be effective, this strategy must be based on a voluntary approach by your employees!
If you want to engage in an employee advocacy program, there are many solutions available on the market: lumapps, ambassify, Sociallymap, … don’t hesitate to have a look at them.
