Imagine walking into your workplace and feeling a surge of excitement, not just about your own role, but about the entire company and its mission.
Now, picture yourself sharing that enthusiasm with the world, becoming a powerful voice for your organization.
This is the essence of an employee advocate – a role that’s rapidly gaining importance in today’s social-media-first world.
But what exactly is an employee advocate? Who can step into these shoes, and why should you consider becoming one?
In this post, we’ll dive into the world of employee advocates, exploring its definition, its potential players, and the compelling reasons why it might just be your next career-boosting move.
What is an Employee Advocate?
Let’s keep it simple.
An employee advocate is someone who promotes their company or the products/services their company offers.
It’s essentially word-of-mouth marketing on social media.
If I (Lewis) share the latest DSMN8 blog post to LinkedIn…
I’m advocating for DSMN8.
Unlike traditional influencer marketing…
I’m not being paid extra to do it.
I’m simply an employee promoting the content from my employer on social media 👍
Similarly, if Bob from Apple posts about his amazing first day at the company.
Bob is advocating for Apple.
Bob is promoting Apple as an organization, and as a great place to work.
Whether intentional or not…
This is employee advocacy 💪
Who Can Be an Employee Advocate?
Brand advocates can be anyone in the company!
(generally speaking though, they need to be on social media)
From marketing and recruiters, to engineers and finance.
Anyone can be an employee advocate.
Everyone has their own network…
Their own audience.
Which, typically, is full of people like them:
Similar job role. Similar field. Similar interests!
The point I’m trying to make is, just because employee advocacy typically falls under marketing, it doesn’t mean that it’s exclusively FOR marketing.
Employee advocates from all departments are just as likely to generate engagement and start conversations with their audiences as the marketing/comms teams are 💪
Plus, as a marketer myself…
The more people you get involved with your program, the better your results!
What Is the Role of an Employee Advocate?
Now, if I write a post on LinkedIn about a company event, new product launch, or simply sharing company news, I am acting as an employee advocate.
(whether or not my company has an official employee advocacy program).
But what about those that do have employee advocacy programs?
If I’m asked by my organization to be an advocate, what would the role entail? 🤔
This will largely depend on how your company has decided to run its program.
For example, your marketing team might create pre-written social posts for you to share, tailored to your role.
Or maybe they’d like to focus on authentic employee-generated content, which would mean creating original posts yourself with the goal of becoming an employee influencer.
Technology will also play a role in determining how much time and effort it’ll take to get involved.
Your organization may be leveraging an employee advocacy platform like DSMN8, which comes with automation features to make participation easy.
The role of an employee advocate is to share content with their networks on social media (most commonly LinkedIn, the go-to place for professional networks).
This content may be provided to you, and your company may be using technology to streamline this. But either way, building and engaging with your network will become part of your routine.
Why Employee Advocates Benefit Companies
Why is having employee advocates on your team an effective marketing and sales strategy?
Simply put…
Now, more than ever, people want to hear from people.
Not brands 🙅♂️
People are much more likely to follow a company’s employees on social media than the company itself.
When a message comes from someone you know, it feels authentic.
In fact, 76% of people say they’d trust a message from someone they know over any form of branded content.
Content shared by employees is not only considered more authentic….
(after all, they’ve not been paid to do it)
But it’s more likely to generate engagement, too 👌
On average, employee posts receive 8x more engagement than the exact same content shared by brands.
Plus, in terms of reach…
Brand messages were found to reach 561% further when shared by employees.
A piece of content from an employee could travel the world while the company post was still putting its shoes on!
Why You Should Be an Employee Advocate
This is something often lost in translation when discussing employee advocacy.
Everything you hear is marketing-related.
More engagement, better company visibility on social media, higher content reach…
But what’s in it for YOU? 🤔
In a nutshell…
It’s really, REALLY good for your personal brand.
“The resume is dead” is something you’ll hear a lot these days.
And that’s all because of personal branding 👌
Having a strong personal brand makes you a very desirable candidate to employers.
Especially if hiring you comes with a hefty social media following…
Our CEO, Bradley, sums it up well in the podcast episode below 👇
But it’s not all about your career prospects.
Being active on social media will help with your current role too!
If you’re in sales, you’re generating leads from social 🔥
Why?
You regularly share company and industry content, and now your network knows you as the go-to person for [insert your speciality]. You could become a thought leader or subject matter expert.
If you’re in marketing, you’re elevating brand awareness.
You’re generating engagement on your content.
You’re starting conversations.
If you’re in HR, you’re demonstrating your company culture.
You’re showcasing your employer brand.
All of this helps attract top talent 🤩
No matter your job role, you have something to offer your audience.
Getting started with personal branding starts with building a social media presence.
And then establishing your niche (your area of expertise!)
What better way to do that than by sharing the latest and greatest content from your company?
If you’re still not convinced, read our article on the benefits of employee advocacy for employees.
Additional Resources
If you’re not using DSMN8…
Well, what are you waiting for?! 😉
Prefer to speak with us first?
No problem.
Schedule a call with one of the team.
Lewis Gray
Senior Marketing Manager and Employee Advocacy Program Manager at DSMN8. Lewis specialises in content strategy, growing brand visibility and generating inbound leads. His background in Sales lends itself well to demand generation in the B2B niche.
