With social media’s ever-growing prominence, companies of all sizes should consider tapping into employees’ social networks. As with influencer marketing, companies are drawing on their employees to create content and leveraging their followings to expand reach more organically.

The new wave of employee influence is centred on social media platforms like LinkedIn, where corporate brands are seeking to launch their marketing initiatives through employees.

What is an employee influencer? An employee influencer is an employee ambassador who advocates for their organization by sharing their content and creating content.

How far into your employee influencer journey are you?

Every organization’s culture is different. Your employees might be further along the journey than you realize!

Let’s jump in:

Observers

Employees will watch from afar, maybe checking your advocacy platform for highly relevant news, maybe only reading headlines.

Initial Engagement

Employees will start to read and engage with company news and internal content.

Sharing

Over time employees will begin sharing, this can be initiated by; highly relevant content, colleagues sharing or even rewards.

Internal Engagement

Liking and commenting on posts becomes the next step. Employees will feel comfortable lightly engaging with content before sharing.

The Lightbulb Moment

Once employees start sharing there is a lightbulb moment where value is realised. They see engagement on social channels and understand the benefits of social sharing.

Increased Sharing

Value is recognized from sharing content. Employees start to increase the amount they share, more content across more channels increasing their exposure and building their personal brand.

Increased Visibility

More people begin to see employee posts, providing value to viewers. This leads to employees becoming trusted thought leaders within their networks.

Conversations

Employees will see a rise in their overall conversations, and conversation quality due to their thought leadership and displayed expertise.

Internal Ambassadors

As an advocacy program increases in traction you will be able to identify high performing employee influencers.

Employee Generated Content

Employees will begin to generate their own content for social. New images and even blog posts advocating your company in the most authentic way!

Employee Influencers

Employees continue to grow their networks with thought leadership and proactive engagement across their social channels, driving employee-led growth for your organization.

Everyone has different levels of experience and confidence with social media.

Whether you already have an advocacy program in place or are looking to start one, understanding where your employees are in their influencer journey will help identify next steps.

To find out how you can leverage your own employee influencers, Book A Demo today.

Check out The Ultimate Guide to Employee Influencers to learn more about employee advocacy and how to turn your employees into full-blown influencers. The Guide covers everything from trends driving the demand for employee influencers to an all-encompassing business case. It also includes industry leader insights, infographics, and checklists for success.

Jody Leon

VP of Marketing at DSMN8. With over 20 years of experience in marketing and advertising, Jody leads the DSMN8 marketing team, covering brand, demand, and product marketing.

The 10 Steps to Employee Influencers