Why You Should Build an Employee Advocacy Social Media Program

Are you looking for smart ways to attract new supporters and create new business opportunities on social media? An employee advocacy program can help you do just that. Here’s more about what a social media advocacy program involves, how it can benefit your brand, and how to create one.

What is employee advocacy?

In a social media advocacy program, your employees are empowered to serve as trusted advocates for your brand on social media, posting approved content on your behalf. Because your employees have such a close relationship with your brand, they are perfectly positioned to tell your story. And by allowing employees to share their authentic experiences with their own networks and followers, you can reach far more people who are likely to be interested in what you offer.

Benefits of a social media advocacy program

A social media advocacy program can deliver powerful results. According to Social Media Today, brand messages enjoy 561 percent greater reach when employees share them than they do when they go out over the official brand account. Employee advocacy posts generate eight times as much engagement and convert leads at seven times the rate of officially branded posts.

Even if you’re already effectively promoting your brand on one of the top five social media sites, there may be newer channels where your brand doesn’t have as strong of a presence. By inviting digitally savvy employees to post about your brand there, you can expand your reach in a more cost-effective way into new digital frontiers where there may be less competition.

How to create a social media advocacy program

Ready to have your employees post about your brand on social media? Here are some tips for creating an effective social media advocacy program.

1. Get executive sponsorship. For your social media advocacy program to gain traction, it’s essential to make sure that your top leadership fully supports the program. This way, employees are more likely to buy into the advocacy program, too. Even if you’re a smaller brand or business, this step is still key to a positive outcome.
2. Set strategic goals. Any successful marketing strategy relies on clear and measurable goals. Determine what you want your employee advocacy program to achieve — whether that’s increased brand visibility, a bump in qualified leads, expanded reach, additional earned media, or more effective talent recruitment. Measure your results so that you can track your progress and make smart adjustments where appropriate.
3. Train employees. Make sure your employees know what your social media advocacy program is for, how it will work, and what resources they can use to share branded content with their networks. Keep employees regularly updated on how the program is performing and reward their advocacy with public recognition and special awards.
4. Make participation voluntary. Employee advocacy only works when it’s genuine, so make it clear that participation isn’t mandatory. This way, you’ll be sure that only the employees who are truly enthusiastic about representing your brand are engaging with potential fans and supporters.

An employee advocacy social media program is a powerful, cost-effective strategy to have in your digital marketing toolkit. By making your WordPress.com site more social media-friendly in other ways — by integrating and connecting your site to social media — you can further amplify your social media impact and drive increased website traffic at the same time. With employees championing your brand online, you’ll enjoy even greater results from your social media marketing efforts.