And the popularity of this type of program is growing with companies, primarily due to the success brands see from implementing advocacy.  

In fact, a study from MSLGroup found that employee-shared or created content receives a whopping 561% larger reach online compared with company posts. And those posts from employees, when written with authenticity, receive nearly 800% more interactions than company-shared posts.

With an effective employee advocacy program, you can leverage the collective power of your employees to generate more leads, build brand awareness and trust, and strengthen customer retention.

But how do you make sure your program succeeds? And what steps can you take right now to start building an effective program? In this guide to implementing an employee advocacy program, we’ll take a closer look at some creative ways to introduce the concept of employee advocacy to your organization.

What Is An Employee Advocacy Program?

First, let’s take a closer look at what an employee advocacy program actually is.

In short, an employee advocacy program is a system designed to encourage and enable employees to actively promote the company’s products, services, content, and events. It typically involves giving employees specific guidelines for sharing information on social, as well as providing them with resources like articles or promotional materials to share across their networks.

Employee advocacy programs vary greatly in terms of size, scope, and implementation methods; however, they all share a few key components:

1. Clearly defined goals. You need to have clear objectives for your program, so everyone is on the same page in terms of what you’re trying to accomplish. A goal could be anything from increasing brand awareness to generating more leads.
2. An effective strategy. Your program must have a solid plan in place that outlines how you’ll reach your objectives and what tactics will be used. This could include tactics like gamification, contests, or rewards for sharing content.
3. A team of advocates. You need to identify a group of employees who are willing and able to share company content. This team should be composed of people with different levels of experience, expertise, and job functions to reach a broad audience.
4. A system of rewards. Finally, you need to provide incentives for employees who participate in your program. This can include things like leaderboard bonuses, prizes, or recognition from senior leadership team members.

Implementation aside for a moment, just consider the encouraging stats behind employee advocacy programs in general. A study from the Hinge Research Institute recently found that 86% of employees who actively engage with their company’s employee advocacy program found it beneficial to their careers. 

Compare that to a Nielsen study that found that 88% of consumers prefer to buy after hearing about a product from someone they know and trust (i.e. an employee of the company) and you can see the beneficial feedback loop at work.

Happy team members who feel passionate about their careers sharing that passion with their networks? That makes for a powerful marketing engine.

7 Ways To Introduce An Employee Advocacy Program To Employees

Now that you understand the basics of employee advocacy let’s look at seven creative ways to introduce the concept to your people.

These methods can be done in tandem, or you could choose to focus on just one or two.

1. Build A Team Of Champions

One of the best ways to introduce and promote an employee advocacy program is to create a team of “champions” who will be responsible for helping launch the initiative and motivating other employees. Advocacy champions should be knowledgeable about the company, passionate about their work, and willing to share content with their networks.

These champions can help change the new program from “just another management initiative” to something employees feel passionate about and want to be a part of.

Plus, they become drivers of engagement, helping to increase the reach and effectiveness of your advocacy program.

2. Hold An Advocacy Launch Event

An in-person launch event is an effective way to introduce the concept of employee advocacy and spark enthusiasm among your team members. Consider hosting an event where everyone can learn more about the program, ask questions, and network with one another just like Instructure did.

You can also use the event to recognize some of your champions and give them a special platform to share their experiences. This will help create an environment where others feel more comfortable participating in the program.

Don’t stop with just one event — think about ways you can keep events going throughout the year.

Host regular training sessions and networking opportunities to keep the momentum going and ensure your employees get the most out of their advocacy program.

3. Host A Training Webinar or Online Experience

Hybrid and fully-remote teams don’t have to miss out on the excitement of an employee advocacy launch event. Simply host a webinar, where you can provide everyone with essential information about the program and answer any questions they may have.

When developing your webinar, consider ways to make it more than just a presentation. Think of interactive activities that will encourage engagement. You could also provide employees with helpful tutorials on how to get started sharing company content and tips for building relationships online.

4. Create Collateral For Employees

Creating collateral for employees to learn more about your employee advocacy program is a great way to increase participation.

This could include a variety of content, such as an FAQ document, best practices guide, cheat sheet on how to share company content on social media, or even posters that feature inspiring messages and promotional materials.

Make sure that all of the materials you create are easy to find and refer to. Include them in your team’s internal communication channels, or provide each employee with a packet during the launch event.

5. Offer Incentives & Rewards via Gamification

People are more likely to participate in an advocacy program if there are rewards involved. 

Consider offering incentives for employees who reach certain milestones or share specific types of content. This can help make the program more fun and engaging for employees while helping drive more awareness for your company.

You could also use a gamification platform to track employee activity and encourage competition between team members.

Gamification, which can include elements such as leaderboards and points, helps foster an environment of friendly competition that encourages employees to participate more in the program.

By taking some time to plan and implement these strategies, you’ll ensure that your employee advocacy program has maximum impact from day one. This will help create momentum for the initiative and grow reach and engagement among employees — as well as increase your ROI.

6. Create A Culture Of Openness 

Fostering a culture of openness around employee advocacy is key to your program’s success. The last thing you want is employees to feel discouraged from speaking up or sharing their thoughts and experiences.

Encourage dialogue between team members, both inside and outside of the program. Make sure everyone knows it’s okay to ask questions and share thoughts freely — even if they don’t necessarily agree with the company’s position on a particular issue.

Promoting an open and collaborative environment will help foster a sense of trust, which is essential for employee advocacy to be successful.

7. Measure & Evaluate Your Program’s Performance

It’s essential to measure and evaluate the performance of your employee advocacy program to ensure it’s meeting its objectives. Look at key metrics such as reach, engagement, and sentiment to get an understanding of how successful the program has been so far.

Monitoring and updating your teams on their performance is beneficial as it helps them track their progress and feel motivated to continue participating in the program. Tracking metrics also allows you to adjust your program if necessary or identify areas that need more attention.

Consider adding an employee feedback mechanism to your program — this could be as simple as a survey or questionnaire that employees can take after they have completed tasks. Gathering employee feedback will help you gain insight into what works well and the areas that need improvement.

Empower Your Greatest Asset: Your Employees

Employee advocacy can be a powerful tool for driving brand awareness and engagement, and implementing a program doesn’t have to be a daunting task.

Companies that take advantage of the creativity and enthusiasm of their employees can reap the rewards of a successful advocacy program.

By planning and executing an effective employee advocacy program, you can ensure your company is making the most of its greatest asset: its people.

Get creative and show your employees they are valued by supporting them in their advocacy efforts. This will help create an engaged, committed workforce that proudly represents your brand!

Interested in learning more about how to best activate employees to reach your business goals? Let’s chat!

The post 7 Ways To Introduce an Advocacy Program to Employees appeared first on EveryoneSocial.

As your team gains skills and knowledge, chances are, they’ll want to progress, and professional development is key. Yet, in recent years, career development and employee advocacy has been put on the back burner for a lot of industries. But this presents you with quite a unique opportunity! 

In this article, we’re going to talk about the benefits of investing in employee advocacy and encouraging your key players to focus on career development. So grab a coffee, and let’s get into it!

What Is Employee Advocacy?

First, let’s recap what employee advocacy actually is.

Employee advocacy is the practice of empowering employees to represent and promote their company’s values, mission, and brand on social media and other digital channels. Essentially, it is a type of marketing that leverages the power of employee networks to increase brand awareness, trust, and, ultimately, revenue.

Employee advocacy has become increasingly important for B2B companies lately, especially with the rise of social media and, in particular, LinkedIn. The adoption of online communities means that businesses can no longer rely solely on traditional marketing methods to build their brand and attract new customers.

Employee advocacy, when done right, can have a significant impact on a company’s bottom line. In fact, according to recent data, 84% of consumers value recommendations from friends and family, and 77% of consumers are far more likely to make a purchase after hearing about it from someone they trust. This means encouraging employee advocacy as a business can really help improve brand awareness and increase your sales potential!

Additionally, companies that encourage employee advocacy are seen as more trustworthy and authentic, which can help to build long-lasting relationships with clients and customers.Want to learn more? Here’s everything you need to know about employee advocacy.

Why B2B Companies Should Prioritize Employee Advocacy

B2B companies should prioritize employee advocacy for several reasons.

It allows companies to tap into the power of their workforce.

The average employee has a network of 400 people, many of whom could potentially become customers or clients. By encouraging employees to promote their brand on social media and other channels, B2B companies can significantly increase their reach and generate new business leads.

It’s the most cost-effective and authentic way to market a company.

While traditional marketing methods can be expensive, employee advocacy is essentially free. By empowering employees to share their brand story on social media, companies can significantly reduce their marketing costs while still achieving their business goals.

It build trust and authenticity for B2B companies.

In a world where consumers are increasingly skeptical of traditional advertising, employee advocacy can help companies build more authentic relationships with their target audience.

And, when it comes to career growth, employees can enhance their own online credibility and position themselves as industry experts by investing in employee advocacy programs. In fact, 86% of employees involved in formal advocacy programs revealed that it had a positive impact on their careers!

By leveraging the power of their workforce, B2B companies can show that they are committed to transparency, honesty, and integrity, which helps build long-lasting customer relationships.

The Connection Between Employee Advocacy and Career Development

Employee advocacy and career development are intimately linked.

By investing in employee advocacy, B2B companies can demonstrate their commitment to helping employees grow and develop in their careers. In doing so, they can create a workplace culture that fosters innovation, creativity, and collaboration.

One way that B2B companies can promote career development through employee advocacy is by encouraging employees to participate as themselves on LinkedIn. Engaging in the comments of other people’s posts is a great place to start!

LinkedIn employee advocacy is a great example of how companies can utilize employee networks to drive career development.

The platform offers employees a unique opportunity to showcase their expertise, connect with industry peers, and build a personal brand. By encouraging employees to engage with LinkedIn and other social media platforms, companies can help employees to establish themselves as thought leaders and expand their professional networks.⁴

Another way that employee advocacy and career development work together is by creating a culture of learning and development within the workplace.

By encouraging employees to share their knowledge and expertise with others, B2B companies can create a more collaborative and supportive work environment. This, in turn, can help employees to develop new skills, gain new perspectives, and grow in their careers.

Final Thoughts on Employee Advocacy and Career Development

Investing in employee advocacy is a smart move for any B2B company that wants to improve brand awareness, build trust with customers, and foster employee growth and development.

Just take the IT software company Ivanti, for example. The company used an employee advocacy program to supercharge its brand awareness and reached 16 million people on social media in the first month!

By empowering employees to become advocates for their brand, companies can tap into the power of social networks and build a competitive advantage in the marketplace. However, to successfully implement employee advocacy, B2B companies must be willing to invest time and resources in training and educating their employees.

Training is something we excel at and take great pride in at EveryoneSocial, so don’t hesitate to ask us how our client success team can work with you every step of the program. Get in touch with us, we’d love to discuss how advocacy can help your organization facilitating employee career growth and reach your business goals.

In short, employee advocacy training should focus on educating employees on how to effectively represent themselves (i.e. building a professional personal brand) and their company on social media and other digital channels. This includes providing guidelines on what can and can’ be shared, as well as best practices for engaging with others online.

Additionally, B2B companies should provide ongoing support and feedback to employees who participate in employee advocacy programs. This can include monitoring social media activity, providing regular updates on the company’s brand story and mission, and recognizing employees who go above and beyond in promoting the company’s values.

Ultimately, employee advocacy is not just about promoting a company’s brand. It is about empowering employees to become thought leaders, influencers, and advocates for their industry.

By investing in employee advocacy, B2B companies can create a more engaged and empowered workforce, multiplying your employees’ social media reach for optimal networking and career growth!

Want to empower your workforce through employee advocacy? Let’s chat!

The post Why B2B Companies Should Invest in Employee Advocacy for Career Development appeared first on EveryoneSocial.

“Authenticity is an overused word…”

How do you balance the need for personal branding and employer branding? According to Senior Social Media Manager Sabrina from Okta, authenticity is still the answer. 

Specifically, content from your personal side lands best when it speaks to your followers. 

This is the kind of authentic success Sabrina has facilitated while managing social at several top companies including Apple, Salesforce, and HBO. Now at Okta, the world’s leading independent identity provider, employee authenticity still takes the content cake.

And yet, B2C hasn’t warmed up to employee advocacy in the same way as B2B has with many success stories to show for it.

So, why?

Okta’s Social Media Senior Specialist Linden points out: a brand message has over 500% greater reach than compared to official brand messaging. With a coefficient that big, why would any company hold back on activating their employees to share authentic content on social media?

Good question. What we know for sure is that people want to hear from people, and that’s only becoming more true here in 2023.

Linden, Sabrina, and Cameron cover:

• What B2C is missing out on
• Okta’s “not siloed” social strategy
• How employees create resonant content
• Breaking the wall between brand and audience
• Giving employees ownership of their social voice
• Promoting company initiatives with your people
• Transparency and executives on social
• How the pandemic changed social media
• Should you invest in advocacy this year?
• Okta’s social goals and tactics right now.
• And much more…

Watch the Full Episode

Three valuable takeaways:

Key takeaway 1: People trust people

Of the many changes in social media over the past few years, allowing followers to see behind the curtain is increasingly expected. 

The previous imperative of production polish is out, and the aesthetic of authenticity is in.

This is great news for brands hoping to connect with their followers as it means everyday employees can make an impressive impact on social media with meaningful results.

Linden explains the importance of humanizing content.

How is it that brand messages reach 561% further when shared by employees versus the same messages shared via official brand social channels? The same reason content shared by employees receives 8x more engagements than content shared by brand channels. (Social Media Today)

There are many amazing statistics like these that reinforce the power of employee advocacy but as Linden knows: social media success depends entirely on trust. 

IDEA: Off the pod-record, I suspect the trust professionals build with real “verified” people on social media will become increasingly imperative given the emergence of AI across the board.

Speaking of artificial general intelligence, the future is surprisingly here! But hoping that customers simply trust your brand moniker was last century’s ad tack. 

Nowadays, your followers, advocates, prospects, and customers are almost certainly engaging with your people first.

Just as we all have to increasingly “Confirm Humanity” as individuals online, so must brands confirm their humanity now by putting their people first.

Key takeaway 2: Find your niche

You don’t have to be a trending micro-influencer to create value. 

Because most of us are not going viral daily, there’s always the temptation to feel like an imposter when thinking about sharing content that pertains to your profession and job. 

Who am I to sound like a thought leader? What do I really know, in a new role, crossing lanes, insecurities and all? 

Sabrina reassures us: that’s a great place to start.

As mentioned above however, more than ever people want to see the reality of a company’s culture – the people and ideas on the inside devoid of pretense.

Listen how a former developer found their content niche.

Speaking of professionals who have found their content niche after pivoting their careers, two former architectural designers have had tremendous success building a social cadence into their routine. 

Sophia Panova (founder of SO-ZHA) and Jake Rudin (founder of Out of Architecture) regularly garner huge engagements from architects by posting niche architectural content, even though they have both moved on from that professional practice, properly speaking.

That’s just one example that comes to mind, but no doubt when you see someone regularly making a splash on LinkedIn, it’s not only a result of them knowing their niche, but that niche might come from a previous chapter in their career!

What previous experiences of your own could constitute a niche follower-focused social content strategy?

It’s worth thinking about!

Key takeaway 3: Advocacy for brands of all sizes

“End of the day, you are telling a story on social media, and having your employees tell that story is so powerful.”

Sabrina has had the unique experience of seeing how employee advocacy scales. Just as effective for small organizations as enterprise corporations, advocacy’s returns are not linear however thanks to network effects. 

Advocacy delivers significant earned media value and ROI no matter how small your team might be. But when implemented at scale the combined reach and engagements of an enterprise advocacy program compound with unparalleled benefits to the brand and advocates.

NOTE: 76% of individuals surveyed say that they’re more likely to trust content shared by “normal” people than content shared by brands.

How do Apple, HBO, and Salesforce benefit from social media?

If you’re listening to this and thinking, those are massive brands with a lot of employees, don’t overlook Okta where Sabrina and Linden currently leverage employee advocacy. 

As both social media veterans mention in the podcast, their goal is to double down on advocacy. Specifically, ensuring that employee advocacy is part of onboarding, with more special training, and evangelizing the power of advocacy throughout the entire company.

Related to employee advocacy, Okta also activates customer advocates as well!

Whether you’re in B2C or B2B, learn more about the foundational value and future importance of employee advocacy and why everyone’s an influencer. 

Thanks for checking out this week’s Social At Scale episode, and until next time, happy sharing!

The post Individuals Driving Brand On Social And How B2C Can Learn From B2B Success appeared first on EveryoneSocial.

“That’s one of the best parts of LinkedIn: Who is social stalking me? So, when I see those profiles, I’m most likely to click and view them back at that time.”

Today on Social At Scale we are excited to sit down with Liliana Christensen, our Head of Business Development and Partnerships here at EveryoneSocial.

Lily wears many hats. From sourcing new partners, to implementation and activating resellers, she’s always on the balls of her feet and keeping us on our toes. Which is appropriate, because she has a background in dance and fitness entrepreneurship as you’ll hear.

Some topics Lily and Cameron go over:

• Personal brand building
• Employee influencers
• Importance of partnerships
• Consolidation, and synergies
• Hunter gatherer mindset
• Sales leaders on social
• The long-tail is a big deal
• Start with relevance
• And much more…

Watch the Full Episode

Three valuable takeaways:

Key takeaway 1: Sharing content helps close deals

As a seller you’re just trying to close as many deals as you can. So how does social media factor in?

Lily explains why sharing social content wins in the long-term.

Leaning on the longtail, so to speak, of building out your social presence (and profile) with branded and non-branded content helps buyers understand who you are, and what sets you apart as a vendor.

Especially if you curate your content according to a targeted industry, beginning conversations and trust will be so much easier.

If you’ve ever been in a sales role, you understand that at the end of the day, activity and closed-won dollars are the two things you’ll be graded on at the EOQ. Sales leaders are often stuck on call-email-call-email, get on ZoomInfo, and they set metrics around that. 

Getting social might seem out of the ordinary, but it’s increasingly how buyers weigh their options, and how lucrative long-term partnerships are formed.

Key takeaway 2: Build influence like a dance studio owner

“End of the day, people buy from people.”

What does your profile and content activity say about you in the eyes of a prospect? Do you stand out as an expert in your field compared with all the other vendors they’re considering?

Through her past experiences of business ownership and entrepreneurship, Lily has found that influencing with your personal brand is the best way to start your pipeline on social media. 

What does fitness have to do with social selling?

NOTE: If you’re interested in taking a page out of Lily’s strategic playbook, you’ll want to make sure your profile is set up for social selling.

For sales, building influence through content engagement will prompt meaningful conversations that can lead to deal-making. 

Or, as Lily learned while running a dance studio, influence is how she got people to sign up for her fitness classes. By sharing her authentic self and why she loved the routines, people were enticed to sign up and get dancing!

Key takeaway 3: Hold off on the InMail until later

What’s the number-one no-no of social selling?

Sending cold InMails.

You probably already know that. But instead of blasting prospects, start out with your funnel wide open by sharing industry content that resonates with them and the greater group they belong to. This is a solid first step for building an effective social selling pipeline.

NOTE: An employee advocacy program can drive 16% better win rates, 2x pipeline, and deliver 48% larger deals. (EveryoneSocial)

After your content has started conversations with prospective buyers or partners, that’s when the InMail direct messaging becomes appropriate. 

We can all relate to Lily. After all, who doesn’t ignore the cold InMail or upfront DMs? A message without a shared (and often public) context doesn’t hold anyone’s attention. Social content is the conversational context.

Hear how sharing social content ultimately scores.

As you’ll hear Lily mention, relevance is key. Building trust, or a conversational context depends on relevant content — relevant to their industry, their business needs, their opportunities for growth, etc.

“You really need to be creating a persona.”
Getting in the comment section of your prospects is one of the best ways to get the attention of anyone across all social media. In addition to liking their content, also tag them on relevant content you see elsewhere if you think it would resonate with your prospects.

Lily has more tips on our blog for how to drive ROI with your social content strategy.

Learn more about the foundational value and future importance of employee advocacy and why everyone’s an influencer. Thanks for checking out this week’s Social At Scale episode, and until next time, happy sharing!

The post The Long-Term Value of Partnerships and Social Selling appeared first on EveryoneSocial.

In addition to new filter options for searching EveryoneSocial content, users will also be able to tag and @mention companies on LinkedIn now. (As always, mentioning users on Twitter and Facebook is also available when sharing out from EveryoneSocial.)

Read below to get the full details on how these two updates significantly impact engagement for your content and your program success.

Advanced Search and How it Works

Value: Save time, scroll less and share more relevant content.

Status: Live!

The EveryoneSocial search bar remains at the top no matter what you’re looking at, but now search is better than ever.

We decided to trade a little conspicuity for a little elegance by getting rid of any graphical borders, but simply click on the top-bar “Search” whitespace and you’ll be prompted to type your query. Hit enter or return to perform your search, and your results will appear below.

Keep in mind, search results will only include posts that are published to Groups you can access. You can review your Group permissions and memberships by clicking on the Groups tab along the top navigation bar.

After running a search, click on any post’s title to access it, or Share or Engage with that post directly from the search results!

Behind the scenes, our search functionality ranks results from post titles, descriptions, internal commentaries, and URLs. 

And just a quick note on URLs: Only verbatim searches will return a web address, but no substrings (e.g. searching “ama” won’t return a post linked to “amazon.com”).

Cold-Pressed Filtered Content for Best Results

Value: Old content enjoys a second life thanks to targeted search criteria.

Status: Live!

Speaking of cold-pressed, the metaphor gets mixed depending on how oily the content is.

Once you enter a search query, you’ll have access to our new filters.

There are four main filter criteria, and then four additional filter options. The main criteria include: Group, Created By, Post Type, and Shared. 

Type in your criteria in these fields and suggested results will appear on the fly. Otherwise, feel free to click the plus-button to choose from a complete list for each Filter field.

As for the supplemental options, these will help you narrow your search if you know for example that the Post you’re looking for is “Branded.” Or if the main criteria is ever insufficient to find what you’re looking for, these additional four Options will add additional focus to your search.

Mentioning Companies on LinkedIn When Sharing

Value: Tag LinkedIn company pages without leaving EveryoneSocial

Status: Live!

Over three-quarters of people trust individual profiles over business profiles, but tagging company pages on LinkedIn can quickly prompt engagements with other users.

Mentioning or “tagging,” as it’s called, is a great way to effectively invite another brand or person into your content conversation, facilitating new connections and opportunities.

You can now @mention and tag companies when sharing from EveryoneSocial to LinkedIn.

Just to clarify: This means you don’t have to then navigate to your shared post on LinkedIn to add a company tag if that was your intention; you can do it all from EveryoneSocial.

Tagging and mentioning is pretty simple, but, as with everything on social media, there’s an art to the science. We recommend experimenting with tagging companies in your shares to see who responds to what, and when they do so.

As discussed more below, just keep in mind you’re effectively sending a notification to that company’s social media manager when @mentioning a company on LinkedIn.

This is a powerful tool, and as such should always be used for good! Always tag for the benefit of your brand reputation and theirs.

Why Tagging People and Companies is Smart

Value: Increase content exposure and engagement

Status: Live!

Mentions make the social media world go round. 

Whether you want to simply bring a share to the attention of a colleague, or @mention another company altogether, your posts will likely benefit from tagging either way.

Using mentions (and hashtags) in your EveryoneSocial share copy can multiply the reach of your content. This is especially true when other EveryoneSocial users post your already written and tagged-up share copy to LinkedIn as well.

And just like hashtags, @mentions are clickable hyperlinks on LinkedIn, allowing viewers to immediately navigate to the tagged company. If said company hasn’t thanked you, they really should! 

By and large, tactfully tagging companies is good algorithm karma, and for the most part expands the audience of your content.

PRO TIP: If you’re ever unsure about whether you should tag another person or company, trust your gut! And if you’re already connected with the person, don’t hesitate to ask them if it’s okay to tag them first. This can sometimes result in them engaging even more with your post!

Add a Mention to Twitter and Facebook Shares

Value: Tag accounts without leaving EveryoneSocial

Status: Live!

The nice thing about Twitter is all accounts are essentially the same profile type, instead of substantially differentiating between people profiles and company pages as LinkedIn does. 

You can always @mention any Twitter account from your EveryoneSocial share copy, regardless of the Twitter profile’s specific label.

Similar to Twitter, any and all profiles on Facebook can be tagged with the @mention regardless of their label.

Simply typing the ‘@’ symbol when sharing to Facebook from EveryoneSocial will aggregate a suggested dropdown list of both companies and people alike.

With Great Mentions Comes Great Responsibility

There have been plenty of times when I’ve tagged a company and gotten no response, which is totally fine. A few times, however, a major company does engage back, and sometimes this is enough of an algorithm boost to go viral on LinkedIn.

If the company you tagged engages with your content by either commenting or resharing, the results can be phenomenal. But always be mindful that any brand handle (or company page) on LinkedIn is managed by a real human, so tag responsibly!

Like most best practices on social media, keep the audience in mind. Tag and @mention companies when your content adds value to their brand and is mutually relevant. 

So, try out our new advanced search to discover forgotten content that still adds value — tag a company, and share away!

The post Introducing LinkedIn Tagging and Improved Search appeared first on EveryoneSocial.

Have you ever traveled to Japan and seen an NTT branded manhole cover?

According to today’s guest Grant Byington of NTT DATA, the NTT brand is so prominent in Japan’s greater corporate culture that you’ll literally step on it while walking through Tokyo.

If only branding urban infrastructure was enough however. For a global organization like NTT, leveraging employee advocacy is essential for cohering and communicating who they are to the world.

Some topics Grant and Cameron go over in this episode of Social At Scale:

• Why invest in an employee advocacy program?
• What made you choose EveryoneSocial?
• Where does advocacy rank among your investments?
• What are your biggest marketing challenges?
• NTT’s goals for their advocacy program this year.
• And where Grant sees advocacy headed.

Watch the Full Episode

Three valuable nuggets:

Key takeaway 1: You can only do so much with a corporate channel

Hear why Grant says so in this episode clip.

Especially for an international brand like NTT DATA, trying to build awareness about who you are as a company with a singular corporate channel is not only ineffective, it’s nearly impossible.

“If I said yes to every request that I have to post on our corporate channels, we would be posting once every fifteen minutes”

So what’s to be done?

Embrace the multiple locations, geographies, demographics, and networks of your employees and executives, wherever they are in the world.

Key takeaway 2: Talk about who you are, not what you do

“When we talk about who we are, we get so much more engagement than when we talk about what we do.”

Listen to Grant explain in this clip from the full episode.

Particularly powerful for executives to share – leading with who you are makes an immediate impression and in effect humanizes your brand.

And while advocacy is having yet another hot moment right now as many companies are stepping back from paid media, employees are always the foundation of any program. 

Yes, executives are incredibly impactful, but never lose sight of your employee stories, who they are, and the massive combined reach of their networks.

Key takeaway 3: Make your culture on social with rich media

Grant points out a generational divergence that is shaping the future of advocacy and how brands are engaged with online.

Instead of a monolithic brand culture that employees adhere to, especially millennials now expect to make the culture themselves.

“I contributed to this culture – not: this is the culture I’m in.”

As the future of social media and advocacy is in motion, communicating your story as a brand increasingly involves user generated rich media and content. 

As digital natives rise the ranks across all departments, sharing their stories as video and audio is easier than ever. 

Looking ahead, Grant believes we’ll see and hear the face of brands as individuals creating their own content, redefining how a brand is perceived by customers, clients, and prospects.

Having an employee advocacy platform in place is essential to streamlining these efforts at NTT DATA.

Coming full-circle and no pun intended: if you’re envious of NTT’s manhole cover branding – rest assured: you can get onboard with advocacy just the same.

Learn more about the foundational value and future importance of advocacy in our “Why” page. Thanks for checking out this week’s Social At Scale episode, and until next time, happy sharing!

The post How NTT DATA Leverages Employee Advocacy Globally appeared first on EveryoneSocial.

Have you ever been to West Virginia? If not, today’s guest on the Social At Scale podcast will tell you why advocacy is a central tool for driving awareness about “Almost Heaven”. 

With thirty years of marketing experience and as the Director of Communications for the West Virginia Department of Commerce, Andy Malinoski knows what works best for promoting the wealth, beauty, and prosperity of his state.

But marketing for economic development deals and tourism has faced the same difficulties any organization has nowadays: relying exclusively on paid and official brand channels isn’t cutting it anymore.

As you’ll hear in this episode, Andy has been leveraging employee advocacy for almost a decade to make sure the most authentic and relevant content about West Virginia is reaching the audiences he wants to engage with.

Some topics Andy and Cameron cover:

• How advocacy reifies relationships
• Sharing the wealth, beauty, and opportunity!
• Engaging people in environments they trust
• Positioning employees as experts
• For any industry or size, always advocate
• Managing multichannel brand content
• Andy’s ultimate goal

Watch the Full Episode

Three valuable takeaways:

Key takeaway 1: Leverage relationships at any scale

Whether your advocacy program is 100 people or 4,000 – leveraging employee advocacy literally starts word of mouth conversations as Andy points out. 

We hear so many stories like this.

So what about word of mouth reputation?

As Ambassador Marketing puts it, “For centuries, word-of-mouth marketing has influenced purchasing decisions on everything from buying a new car to restaurant recommendations to software vendors.” 

When your colleagues (or your employees) are already advocating for their personal brands on social media, giving them the tools to do so from the workplace using an employee advocacy platform will enable WOM at scale.

EXTRA: check out the official West Virgina Department of Commerce website if you haven’t already.

Key takeaway 2: Building reach, frequency, and trust

If you could simultaneously optimize for reach, frequency, and trust, would you achieve all your marketing and business goals?

In a social-media-first world where the antecedent content distribution techniques of yesterday are eroding, employee advocates can reach your audience in an environment that they trust.

Listen to Andy talk about reach, frequency, and trust.

Building positive reputation begins with your people. You always start with your employees. This was true before social, and is only more relevant now that everyone has a network of connected relationships online.

EXTRA: this is his daily304 podcast that Andy mentions in the episode!

Key takeaway 3: Virtuous content circles for any industry

When employees are organized via an advocacy platform to share the content they are already creating that then drives traffic to your official paid or branded content, a positive feedback loop will occur.

Your company following will grow, and your combined advocacy audience will grow as well.

“I really don’t care what company you are… I’ve seen employee advocacy work for Fortune 50 and ten person HR consulting firm.”

Listen to this clip below!

What are your brand goals for 2023? 

If you’re like Andy and want the best advocacy program on the planet, then let’s talk about what that looks like and how to make it happen.

Or for starters, learn more about the foundational value and future importance of advocacy in our “Why” page. Thanks for checking out this week’s Social At Scale episode, and until next time, happy sharing!

The post Advocating for Almost Heaven, West Virginia Department of Commerce appeared first on EveryoneSocial.

Let’s unpack the two main themes of this title: reach, and registration. 

1⃣ Firstly, advocacy can go beyond the walls of your organization to include any number of other cohorts (expanded reach!)

2⃣ And secondly, employee advocacy is your best bet for driving event registration, expanding your signups significantly.

One. Two. That’s the gist of today’s episode of Social At Scale, the only podcast dedicated to employee advocacy – why it matters, what’s new, and who is doing it right. 

Speaking of doing it right, look no further than Savannah Martin who manages all the corporate social channels at Qualtrics using EveryoneSocial.

In this episode, Savannah and Cameron discuss:

• The importance of authentic reach for any brand
• Why advocacy is a network unto itself
• Advocacy success story for driving registration
• The many people ecosystems for advocacy
• Building an internal brand ambassador program
• Why advocacy will have a big impact next year.
• And much more! LISTEN BELOW

Watch the Full Episode

Three actionable takeaways:

Key takeaway 1: leverage employees for brand growth

For Qualtrics, advocacy is one of six social channels, and with their combined reach using EveryoneSocial, it is their largest channel.

There’s no better way to drive brand growth than with the authentic content that is shared by employees. On social, people trust people – especially those they’ve already networked with.

Granular analytics onboard EveryoneSocial allows social media specialists to measure impressions on shared employee content and their total audience size to see exactly how their program is making an impact.

And especially as social media algorithms are increasingly shifting away from brand accounts and instead prioritizing the content of users and employees. The future rests in the hands of people and their UGC, not company accounts.

Because advocacy is so central to this future of people-centered content sharing, it’s not unreasonable to regard EveryoneSocial as a network with massive latent value to leverage for many purposes.

Check out this clip from the full episode.

Key takeaway 2: expand advocacy beyond just employees

What if you could open up your next event for alumni to also share and promote on social media? Would that double your authentic brand reach, or perhaps more? 

With the power of Public Post Pages, you can do exactly this. Add in partners, prospects, customers, power users, and all of a sudden your reach has gone exponential.

Today’s guest Savannah took advantage of the EveryoneSocial “PPP” by embedding them in their 2022 XM Innovation Event confirmation landing pages. 

This allowed confirmed registrants to share the XM event landing pages to their social networks (LI, TW, FB, etc) altogether driving 140 additional registrations for the event.

Savannah’s embedded PPP strategy resulted in 800 shares, and nearly one-fifth of those shares converted to a new XM event registrant from the Qualtrics EveryoneSocial network!

Check out this clip from the full episode.

PRO TIP: An EveryoneSocial Public Post Page hosts a single piece of content posted from EveryoneSocial that can be accessed by anyone on the internet. EveryoneSocial users can create a PPP and anyone who accesses it can share it to their social channels.

Key takeaway 3: total advocacy will be very important in 2023

“Next year will probably be the biggest impact we’ve ever had.”

Can you say the same about your outlook for the next year? If not, consider taking a (public post) page out of Savannah’s playbook and put advocacy at the top of your list.

For Qualtrics, the next step is clear: create an advocacy program that leverages more than just employees – including partners, prospects, customers, alumni, company fans, Qualtrics users, and other people ecosystems.

And then internally, Savannah plans on doubling down on effective employee advocacy proper – by honing their structured brand ambassador program using EveryoneSocial.

Listen to this clip from the full episode to hear more!

“We have to really enable our network, our people network in the right way. And it’s working, it’s going to work well next year.”

Do you want record-breaking brand awareness in 2023? 

If the success story of Qualtrics has you wondering how you might leverage advocacy for your own brand growth and event registration, we’d love to talk more.

That’s all for this week of Social And Scale, and until next time: happy sharing!

The post Advocacy That Expands Beyond Employees For Brand Growth And Event Registration w/ Savannah Martin at Qualtrics appeared first on EveryoneSocial.