[Episode Eighty-Five of ‘The Employee Advocacy and Influence Podcast] 🎧
Nick Martin, Social Media Marketing Manager at Tipalti, discusses how the company builds authentic advocacy by embedding social media habits into day one of onboarding. He explains how empowering sales teams to share personalized content in their own voice has directly led to closing major deals.
In this episode, Nick breaks down the unique challenges of the mid-market middle ground where you’re too big to tap everyone on the shoulder but too small for a dedicated five-person advocacy team. You’ll learn why Tipalti prioritizes employee advocacy during new-hire onboarding and how they use it to drive a culture of authenticity.
Key Takeaways:
- Why catching new hires (especially sales) on day one is the most effective way to build lasting habits.
- How traditional gamification often fails, and why Tipalti uses a minimum share raffle to maintain quality.
- A real-world example of how a single shared post revived a “lost whale” and closed a massive deal.
- How to encourage employees to write like they’re texting a friend while keeping it professional.
Catch New Hires on Day One to Build Habits
Building a successful employee advocacy program starts with embedding it directly into the new employee onboarding experience. Nick Martin emphasizes the importance of catching employees, particularly those in sales, during their first days when they are most focused and motivated. By framing employee advocacy as a core expectation of the role rather than a marketing add-on, Tipalti ensures it becomes a long-term habit. This early intervention helps employees understand from the start that social influence is a tool for filling their own pipelines. For leaders, this strategy shifts employee advocacy from a request to a foundational element of the company culture.
Prioritize Intentional Curation
In mid-sized organizations, the temptation to blast every update through employee advocacy channels can lead to content fatigue for the employees’ audiences. Nick advocates for a curated, intentional approach to content, treating it as a “drip” rather than a “fire hose”. This strategy allows the most important announcements and campaign launches to stand out without being buried by lower-priority noise. By being selective, the advocacy lead can better guide employees toward the highest-value posts. For social media managers, this means focusing on quality over quantity to maintain their employees’ personal brands.
Connect Advocacy Directly to Sales Success
The ultimate proof of an advocacy program’s success is its impact on the bottom line. Nick shares a powerful anecdote of a salesperson who revived a “lost whale” account simply by sharing a product spotlight from their employee advocacy tool. The prospect saw the post on their LinkedIn feed, reached back out, and the deal closed. Sharing these specific bottom-of-the-funnel wins is far more persuasive to a sales team than abstract marketing metrics like impressions. It demonstrates that consistent social presence keeps the brand top of mind throughout the buyer’s decision-making process.
Ready to start your own employee advocacy program?
Whether you’re exploring employee advocacy or considering DSMN8 as your platform, we can help you get started with confidence.
Learn More About Employee Advocacy:
Selina Sher Gill
Selina has a Master's Degree in Marketing and Brand Management, and is DSMN8's Digital Marketing Executive. She's a pro at creating and editing video content, using these skills to create short-form social media videos and edit the Employee Advocacy and Influence podcast.
