Chapter 14: Employee Advocacy
What are some examples of recognition or incentives companies can give out to employees who participate in advocacy programs?
"Thank-You's" by upper management, a company wide email newsletter highlighting the participants, a social employee-of-the-month program, and contests with prizes for the top sharers or top brand advocates for the company
What are the employee benefits of being an advocate?
1. Career Growth 2. Thought Leaders 3. Network Growth 4. Incentives 5. Grow Personal Brand 6. Increased Employee Engagement
How can a company or brand create an employee advocacy program?
1. Create an Advocacy Team 2. Set Goals 3. Educate and Train Employees 4. Get Employee Buy-In 5. Use Tools and Resources 6. Recognize and Incentivize 7. Track and Report
What are some tips companies can use to succeed with employee advocacy?
1. Customize 2. Communicate 3. Don't Force Employees 4. Provide the Right Tools 5. Get Leadership involved 6. Provide the Right Content
What are the business benefits of employee advocacy?
1. Greater Reach 2. Increased Brand Engagement 3. Increased Business 4. Higher Customer Retention Rates 5. Attract Top Talent and Retain Employees 6. Trust in Employees as Thought Leaders
The average company's employees have _____x as many connections as a company has followers.
10
People are ___x more likely to read a social media post from a friend than from a brand
16
Employees get ___x higher click-through rates from their shares compared to company shares of the same content.
2
Companies with good engagement can generate ____x more revenue than their disengaged counterparts
2.5
Brand messages get re-shared ___x more frequently when shared by employees vs the brand.
24
____% of 18-29 year-olds have more than 500 Facebook friends in their networks.
27
The average adult Facebook user has _____ friends.
338
Customers referred by an advocate have a ___% higher retention rate.
37
On LinkedIn, people who share content regularly grow their networks ____x faster than those who do not.
4
___% of companies attribute new revenue streams to employee advocacy
45
___% don't think that the marketing team makes it easy for them to advocate for the company on social media.
52
___% of companies report that it is difficult to find the right content to share, while ___% state that it is difficult to keep employees motivated and ___% find that there is a low adoption rate among employees.
53, 49, 47
Social enterprises are ___% more likely to attract top talent, and ___% more likely to retain them.
58, 20
Nearly ___% of employees are not given enough guidance on how and when to advocate for their brand and more than _____ of people feel discouraged to use social media at work.
60, half
___% of companies with formal employee advocacy programs credit advocacy with attracting new business.
64
Leads from employee advocacy are ___x more likely to close than other forms of leads.
7
Harvard Business Review reports that ___% of executives rank recognition as having a significant impact on employee engagement.
72
___% of people would rather see a friend's social post than a brand's.
81
___% of employee advocates say being involved in social media has positively impacted their career.
86
How can employee advocacy programs be more successful?
By offering incentives for employees to participate (company outings, gift cards, a bonus, etc.)
What is the key to success in employee advocacy programs?
Constant reminders through weekly emails or training calls to keep employees engaged
Why is it important for brands to apply employee advocacy for promotion?
Consumers trust employees from a brand for product info/promotion; Companies will be able to reach a wider audience and see higher engagement with posts
What positive effect do employee advocacy programs have on employees who participate in them?
Employees report feeling more connected and enthusiastic about the company they work for
What should be done before launching and advocacy program?
Employees should be trained on the company social media policies and brand guidelines, trained in social media education
What social media platform ranks first among the leading platform that employees use?
What is the best social media platform for a B2C company to focus their employees efforts on?
Facebook and Instagram
According to a 2016 survey of global brands, consumers, and employees from Altimeter, a research and strategy consulting firm, what was the top business driver for employee advocacy programs?
Increase the reach of our messages in social networks (54%)
Why is it important that brands give out benefits to employees who participate in advocacy programs?
It will never succeed; employees will be much more enthusiastic about participating after receiving benefits
What are the most common type of posts that tend to be shared by most employees on their social media channels?
Job postings and daily workplace life posts
What is the best social media platform for a B2B company to focus their employees efforts on?
According to a 2016 survey of employees from Altimeter, what was the top employee motivation to participate in the company's employee advocacy program?
Motivators with shared brand and employee benefit were the most important to employees with 57% wanting to promote their employees mission, and 46% believe in sharing their experience with company products
What are the least common types of posts that tend to be shared by most employees on their social media channels?
Product promotions and product information
What are advocacy leaders responsible for within an employee advocacy program?
Setting goals, getting employee buy in, communicating the program, and recognizing and incentivizing employees to keep participating, creating social media content and disseminating it to employees to share on their social media networks
How can employees be seen as true thought leaders and experts in their fields?
Sharing industry-related content on social media
How can a company create brand advocates with their employees?
Show them how it will benefit them; educated them on the benefits (career, network, personal brand growth, opportunities to become thought leaders)
What does using employees as advocates demonstrate to customers?
That the company employs intelligent employees who are knowledgeable about the industry and are ready and able to answer customer questions at any time
Why are product promotions and product information posts least popular among employees?
They feel disinclined to pitch product sales to their personal friends and family members
According to a 2016 survey of employees from Altimeter, what was ranked last among all employee motivators?
To be seen as a leader among peers, and defend a company during a crisis
Why are content curators crucial to the success of employee advocacy programs?
Without them, it will be difficult for employees to create their own content on a regular basis
What are some tools and resources companies can use to help employees succeed?
Written guidelines, training programs, sharing and collaboration tools specifically designed for employee advocacy, analytic tools
Employee Advocacy
defined as the promotion of a company or brand by employees who share information about the company's brand, product, or services on their social media networks
earned media value
the dollar amount that you may have paid via social media advertising for a given amount of exposure or reach on social media
What are some social media metrics that companies should track and report throughout the program?
• employee participation rate • active participation • top contributors • average engagement rates for posts • organic reach • traffic • sales • audience growth • earned media value
What are some examples of goals in an employee advocacy program?
• increase reach • increase engagement • increase website traffic from social media • increase revenue/sales • recruit and retain top talent • reduce the cost of paid social advertising
