It goes without saying that simply having an online presence is no longer enough.
The digital marketing landscape has evolved to the point where it’s not about just being online; it’s about leveraging the collective power of your workforce to amplify your brand’s voice online.
And that’s not an easy task.
The arrival of new platforms, evolving user behaviours, and ever-changing algorithms means staying ahead of the curve presents a formidable challenge – especially when it comes to cementing your presence through the advocacy of your employees. But what your staff say about your company online is now impacting business outcomes more than ever before.
Research from IBM found that leads generated through employee advocacy are seven times more likely to convert than those from company pages alone. This isn’t just a small boost; it’s a quantum leap in effectiveness, spotlighting the critical role of employee advocacy in today’s marketing strategies.
But how can you influence the things your employees are saying about your company on their personal social media platforms?
Surely trying to coerce individuals to spread on-brand messages on their personal feeds counts as morally ambiguous manipulation? It must be more of a dark art than a science, right?
Not necessarily.
The dark art of employee advocacy
At the heart of modern marketing is the push for authentic, human-to-human connections.
This shift towards human-centric marketing is not just beneficial; it’s essential for survival and success in today’s digital ecosystem.
But whether employee advocacy is driven by manipulation or motivation makes a huge difference in how effective the human-centric aspect is in driving business success.
When employees are forced to advocate for a company, their endorsements will come across as insincere or inauthentic, undermining trust and credibility with the audience you are trying to reach. If you mandate advocacy within your business, you’re more than likely to alienate your employees, leading to resentment and disengagement with your social media strategy and the business as a whole.
Nobody likes to feel pressured or coerced into promoting something they don’t want to, and forcing employees to do this on their own personal social feeds has ethical concerns around overstepping the work/home boundary.
What each individual posts on their private social media is entirely their choice. Forced advocacy not only strains relationships between employer and employee, but can also change the relationship of their friends, family or professional contacts.
Trust can be eroded and personal connections damaged if advocacy is seen as overly-pushy or self-serving, or if it’s just not what personal connections want to have forced on them.
Coercive or manipulative tactics that pressure employees to advocate for the company can be both unethical and detrimental.
So, how do successful companies manage to get their employees to share positive messaging with their wider network?
The science of employee advocacy
The secret to leveraging the collective power of your employees to amplify your brand’s voice, especially on platforms like LinkedIn, where personal connections reign supreme, is in how you approach it.
If you want your employees to use their personal networks to promote your brand, you need to inspire – not force – them to do it.
Effective employee advocacy is built on trust, authenticity and genuine enthusiasm for the brand and what it offers. Happy employees naturally become online brand ambassadors, but the focus needs to be on building that positive culture first.
While the idea of getting employees to willingly and enthusiastically spread brand messages seems like a social or marketing phenomenon on the surface, it’s actually rooted in psychological principles and can be more like a science than you may initially assume.
For example, employees who align with their company’s mission and values are more likely to advocate for it because they feel a sense of pride and purpose in promoting something they believe in. A positive work environment where employees feel supported, valued and respected is also more likely to lead to online advocacy as employees speak positively about how appreciated they are.
If you want your employees to feel inspired and motivated enough to post about your company, make sure they feel involved in the company’s wider aims and missions; not just their everyday role. Make it common practice to share the ‘why’ of your business initiatives and build a strong company culture.
Effective online employee advocacy – driven by motivated employees who post voluntarily – stems from an understanding of the psychological principles that will inspire them to do so.
Advocating for their company can also be of benefit to employees personally by enhancing their professional reputation and expanding their network.
Employees may see advocacy as an opportunity to showcase their expertise, build relationships, and advance their own industry standing – it’s an opportunity to establish themselves as thought leaders and industry experts, enhancing their professional reputation and opening doors to career growth.
Instead of forcing your employees to speak about you online, it’s far more effective to reward their own advocacy efforts after the event. Recognising and thanking your top advocates will encourage others to do likewise.
And if you really want to get scientific about it, remember to apply Cognitive Load Theory to make employee advocacy more likely.
This theory suggests that individuals have a limited capacity for processing information, so if you want them to do something, you need to reduce the cognitive load associated with performing that task. This could involve simplifying instructions, reducing the number of steps required, or providing clear visual cues.
In the case of employee advocacy, it’s about providing employees with the necessary resources, training and support they need to advocate easily.
Make it clear that their efforts will be recognised and rewarded by the company. Give them easy access to resources that they can share and talk about – blogs, web content, case studies, videos, etc. And make it quick and simple for them to be able to share those assets with their networks.
Consider something like a weekly email digest to let employees know about relevant content they can share easily, shout about company successes – and the individuals involved in them – and on-brand suggestions for copy, topics to talk about and ready-to-post social media content.
While the fact that increased employee advocacy will enhance your business aims is almost a given, the idea that your employees will feel motivated and inspired enough to do so without force or coercion isn’t.
Encouraging individuals to advocate for your brand may seem like a mysterious process, but by applying some psychological and scientific principles to your strategy, advocacy can be beneficial to both employer and employee; with no witchcraft applied.
Pamela Miller is the founder of digital marketing agency AB Fiftyone
