The Human Touch: Maximising Social Media Success Through Employee Advocacy
. . . . . . . . . . . .
06-09-2023
Organic social media is a key part of the marketing mix, and it’s crucial for businesses to maintain a strong presence on social platforms. In a recent survey conducted by Small Business Trends, Time Warner revealed that 30% of people are likely to skip doing business with a company that’s not active on social media. That’s a significant portion of potential customers that businesses cannot afford to overlook. Achieving social media success by harnessing the power of employee advocacy can truly help to anchor a company’s social strategy. In this article, we’ll delve into how to harness the power of employees to supercharge your social media success.
Strategy and management
It can be helpful to have a dedicated person or team in charge of coordinating the various aspects of your social media efforts, such as the development of your social strategy, content creation, social listening, monitoring industry stories and trends, and responding to messages and interactions promptly.
Interfacing with corporate social media accounts
Having professional corporate social media accounts with a strong brand identity and purpose is essential, but it’s equally important to include a human element in your social strategy too. Solely relying on corporate accounts can limit your reach and distance you from your customers. Humanising your social strategy is key to maximising engagement.
People-powered, social media employee advocacy
Your staff can be your company’s greatest asset. Encourage employees to share posts from corporate social accounts. This not only increases employee engagement but also multiplies and extends the reach of organic posts. People prefer dealing with people, so having personal accounts that are company-branded shows there’s a human face to your business. There’s plenty of opportunity to play to your team’s strengths too, with individuals posting about their own areas of expertise.
Content variety and cross-promotion
Deliver content in various formats, such as posts, videos, blogs, webinars, and infographics. Use individual social accounts to originate content as well as aggregate and cross-promote content from corporate accounts and other team members. Building an interconnected social persona that wraps personality around your business giving authenticity and weight to your brand.
Supporting social media employee advocacy
To ensure the success of employee advocacy, here are 6 key tips:
- Encourage: Let employees know the benefits of content sharing and authoring. It helps the company thrive, keeps employees informed, and boosts their own profile, helping them build their personal brand.
- Reward: Acknowledge and thank employees when they share or create content. Consider incentivising advocacy with competitions or rewards.
- Unite: Social advocacy is inclusive and can unite teams while flattening hierarchies. Everyone in the company can participate.
- Brainstorm: Tap into the hive mind of your team. Encourage staff to share content ideas, company news, and relevant trends. Set up a system for sharing ideas such as a spreadsheet or software like Slack, Trello, or similar.
- Create: Be creative to maximise the value of your collective content. Use different formats and channels to engage your audience and nurture leads.
- Regulate: Provide onboarding documents that outline social media rules, the company’s tone of voice, and any off-limits content topics. Guide teams regarding content types, themes, and calls to action. Implement a shared content calendar to harmonise efforts across the company and avoid duplication.
Employee advocacy is a powerful tool in your social media approach. By tapping into the enthusiasm and expertise of your team, you can build a more authentic, engaging, and influential presence on social media.
Need some help?
We work closely with teams to help coordinate a company wide social media strategy as well as hands-on support with content creation and management. Get in touch or book a discovery call to find out more.