#ContentWritingChat Recap: How Employee Brand Advocates Are the Missing Piece of Your Content Marketing Puzzle with Erika Heald
If you’re running a company, do you have employees that are advocates for your brand?
Or perhaps you are the brand advocate for the company you’re working for?
Either way, employee brand advocates play a huge role in companies today as they become the face of brands and help in establishing a content marketing strategy overall.
But how can you be sure this advocate relationship is a successful one? Well, that’s what we discussed in this round of #ContentWritingChat!
#ContentWritingChat Recap: How Employee Brand Advocates Are the Missing Piece of Your Content Marketing Puzzle with Erika Heald
👋🏻 Welcome to #ContentWritingChat!
Today, @SFerika is joining as our guest host to talk about employee brand advocates and your content marketing strategy. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/dzRcHwobcM
— Express Writers | Your Content Writing Team (@ExpWriters) October 1, 2019
Our guest host for this month’s chat was Erika Heald. Erika is a start-up content strategist, as well as a marketing consultant. She’s also the host of a weekly Twitter chat, #ContentChat, on Mondays at 3 PM Eastern.
Q1: What exactly is an employee brand advocate and what purpose do they serve?
New to the concept of employee brand advocates? No worries! We asked our chat participants to share their view on what exactly this role is and the purpose it serves for companies worldwide. Here are a few of the responses:
A1a: An employee brand advocate is an employee who has been given the training and tools to converse and share content about a brand. Their genuine enthusiasm for your brand mission helps them be an authentic brand messenger. #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/kuC9fFfKyH
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) October 1, 2019
As Erika said, employee brand advocates are those who have received training and tools to step up and share content about the brand they work for. Ideally, you want advocates who truly support you and are excited about your brand because their genuine enthusiasm will show through when they represent you online.
An employee brand advocate is someone who:
💼Works for the brand
📣Shares brand content
👍Engages with brand content
🗨️Creates their own content about the brandThey help amplify the brand’s content and message by reaching more people.
— Click Control Marketing (@ClkContrl) October 1, 2019
An advocate is someone who works for the brand, shares brand content regularly, engages with the brand content, and they create their own content about the brand as well. Those in this role can help expand reach for the brand, thus generating more traffic and leads.
A1
All employees are brand representatives. They become
advocates then they actively
live, support and share your brand efforts.What purpose do they serve?
-Share your purpose
-Share your voice
-Share your story
-Build trust
-Build loyalty
-Grow reach
etc#contentwritingchat— Bentley University (@bentleyu) October 1, 2019
Gaby mentioned that all employees are brand advocates. Whenever you work for a company, you have to be aware of your actions (especially online) because you’re representing those you work for. Advocates help to share the brand’s story, build trust, and so much more.
A1: Employees are the biggest cheerleader for a brand, people assume if you have happy employees your company is fantastic. It’s a layer trust. #ContentWritingChat
— Brandie McCallum (@lttlewys) October 1, 2019
Like Brandie said, look at advocates like a brand’s biggest cheerleaders. It makes a huge difference when everyone sees that you have happy employees.
Q2: How can you encourage employees to step up and become effective advocates for your brand?
If you’re running a company and want to get serious about creating an employee advocacy program, you might be wondering where to begin. These tips will help you encourage your employees to step into this role:
A2a: The first step to encourage employee brand ambassadors is to let them know how you’d like them to help. But this has to be followed up with tools and guidelines that help them understand what that looks like in practice. #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/NytZNJFc6y
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) October 1, 2019
A2b: For me, this means having documented employee social media guidelines complete with great examples from their peers. [Read more on this here: https://t.co/JzbCJNpPji] #ContentWritingChat
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) October 1, 2019
Erika’s first piece of advice is let your employees know that you’d like them to become advocates for the brand. From there, provide them with the tools and guidelines they need to understand what this role looks like so they can move forward confidently.
A2: Have a conversation with an employee about being a brand advocate. You can’t expect it to happen if you don’t talk about it. Also, be clear on expectations and incentives are always a plus too! #ContentWritingChat
— Netvantage Marketing (@netvantage) October 1, 2019
If you have someone in mind that would make a great advocate, sit down and talk to them! As Lexie said, you can’t expect employees to just step up to the role. Mention it and see how they feel about the idea.
A2
EQUIP them!
EDUCATE them!
ENCOURAGE them!Ensure that
they understand
your:-purpose
-voice
-vision
-audience
-storyGive them trainings
on how to use their
insight + the channelsOffer support
Offer feedbackCreate opportunities
for them to share#contentwritingchat— Bentley University (@bentleyu) October 1, 2019
Gaby’s advice is to equip, educate, and encourage your employee brand advocates. Make sure they fully understand what this means for them and the brand overall and provide them with everything they need to do the job successfully.
The best way to encourage employees to become brand advocates is to make it easy.
Have a brief training session to explain why & how.
Use tools that make it easy for employees to find & share brand content.
Reward brand advocates with praise or prizes.— Click Control Marketing (@ClkContrl) October 1, 2019
It’s important to make it easy! A training session can be a huge help when just getting started with your advocacy program.
A2 We’ve encouraged employees to share the content we produce that they think their followers would enjoy. Particularly, when they’ve contributed to the content, there’s a sense of pride in what we’re all accomplishing together.
#contentwritingchat— Bill Skowronski (@BillSkowronski) October 1, 2019
Bill suggests encouraging employees to share the content the brand produces, especially if they know their audience would be interested. It’s simple, but helps to generate more traction for the content.
A2: It starts with creating a company culture that your employees love. People talk about and share what they love!
But adding a layer of accountability never hurt. 🙂#ContentWritingChat— Simple Strat (@SimpleStratChat) October 1, 2019
But one of the most important factors in securing employee advocates? It’s crucial that you have built a company culture that people truly love and are happy to be part of.
Q3: How do you identify individuals that will make great employee brand advocates? What characteristics are important to look for?
If you’re trying to narrow down some great advocates for your brand, these are some of the key characteristics you’ll want to consider:
A3a: In every company, you likely have individuals who already are enthusiastic social media users. This is who you want to talk to first about participating in your brand advocacy program. New hires are the other great group to include via their onboarding. #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/mGFIWutjWz
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) October 1, 2019
A3b: Most importantly, however, you want to make the selection process inclusive (i.e. accept everyone who is interested) and absolutely voluntary. I can not stress this last point enough!! #ContentWritingChat
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) October 1, 2019
First, Erika suggests looking to those on your team that are currently enthusiastic social media users. They are already well versed in the platforms and would be more comfortable stepping into the role over someone who doesn’t use social media. She also feels it’s important to make this a voluntary position. Don’t force employees to become advocates for your brand.
A3: Someone who is enthusiastic about the brand, and really cares about the product/service they’re providing. Someone who has a good reputation, they’re willing to play by the company’s rules and only have good things to say about the product. #contentwritingchat
— Jennifer Stark (@jstark804) October 1, 2019
It helps to have advocates that are enthusiastic about the brand and genuinely care about the product/service you offer. When they speak about you, it’ll come so much more naturally this way.
A3: They are those employees who live your company values everyday—in the workplace AND in life.
• Passion
• Authenticity
• Positivity#ContentWritingChat— Simple Strat (@SimpleStratChat) October 1, 2019
Find advocates who live your company values every single day!
A3.
Brand advocates are:
-Transparent
-Passionate
-Understanding
-Trustworthy
-Proactive
-Empathic
-Flexible
-Communicative
-Resourceful
-Learners
-StorytellersBrand advocates
have to embody the
brand’s:-purpose
-message
-voice/tone
-values
-etc. #contentwritingchat— Bentley University (@bentleyu) October 1, 2019
Gaby said ideal employee brand advocates have qualities such as passion, understanding, trustworthiness, and resourcefulness.
Q4: What should employees know when they’re representing your brand online?
As an advocate, there are some very important things you need to keep in mind when. Here are some of the most important ones straight from the chat:
A4a: For employees to be successful brand advocates, they need to know which channels your ideal customers are on, and what they can do or share to better equip them and help them in their buyer’s journey. #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/Q3s7hzFwct
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) October 1, 2019
A4b: This means helping employees know the right messages, current product details, and where their ability to engage starts and ends. make it clear what sorts of customer comments they should escalate (and to whom) versus responding to themselves. #ContentWritingChat
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) October 1, 2019
Erika said that advocates need to know the ideal channels to use in order to reach the target audience. She suggests companies help employees to know the right messages, current product details, and more to ensure they do a good job.
Your vision and mission, the purpose of their communication and how it aligns with that vision and mission, and your audience. #ContentWritingChat A4 https://t.co/NpjoXMHkoo
— Jeremy Bond (@JeremyDBond) October 1, 2019
As Jeremy pointed out, all advocates also need to know the brand’s overall vision and mission. After all, that’s what they’re representing.
A4: It varies so much based on the company. Each personal advocate is going to have a slightly different approach, but a company should provide them with a set of guidelines and a common goal. #ContentWritingChat
— Netvantage Marketing (@netvantage) October 1, 2019
Lexie’s advice of providing employees with guidelines for advocacy is crucial. It lets them know what to expect and what’s acceptable, as well as what’s not.
For successful brand advocacy, employees need to know:
⭐️What info is okay to share
⭐️Where and how to share
⭐️Tools that make it easy to share
❤️That you are grateful for their voluntary advocacy!— Click Control Marketing (@ClkContrl) October 1, 2019
Employees should know what’s okay to share, where and how to share content, and which tools can make the job easier.
A4: Employees should understand the right topics to engage others with, what to stay away from, brand standards, and visual standards. They should also be cognizant of representing their brand in only the best light online. #contentwritingchat
— Jennifer Stark (@jstark804) October 1, 2019
And Jennifer brought up a a great point that employees should always be aware that they need to represent the brand in the best light online.
A4
-Visual brand standards
-Topics to engage and stay away from
-Resources (like awesome Twitter Chats, wink wink)
-Examples of what success looks like
-Company (#Ideamktg) and industry (#marketing) hashtags to use.
#contentwritingchat— Bill Skowronski (@BillSkowronski) October 1, 2019
Bill said advocates should be aware of visual standards that the brand has, topics to engage in and which ones to avoid, and resources to utilize.
A4: That they are the first-line ambassadors for the brand. People will hold them to a higher standard than customers because they work there. #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/MHcFiF8HCq
— Carlarjenkins (@carlarjenkins) October 1, 2019
As an advocate, you’re held to a high standard as you represent a brand online and offline. Keep that in mind before you post anything.
Q5: But how does brand advocacy play a role in your content marketing?
The great thing about having a team of employee brand advocates is that it can truly help your company in the long run. Here’s how it can shape your content marketing:
A5a: Once you’ve equipped your employees to be brand ambassadors, you’ll start to see who has an engaged audience and where. Keep this in mind for your content distribution and for identifying UGC + potential customer case studies and advocates. #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/CIS6VJ6OgW
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) October 1, 2019
Advocates can really be beneficial when it comes to content distribution and searching for user-generated content. Pay attention to which advocates have the most engaged audience and which platforms are performing well for them so you know where to focus on posting.
A5: A follower of your employee can become a follower of the brand. If someone has a connection with an employee, they are more likely to trust the brand the content is coming from. #ContentWritingChat
— Netvantage Marketing (@netvantage) October 1, 2019
Remember that someone who follows your employee could ultimately follow your brand. Having that connection with someone from the brand establishes trust and could become a potential lead.
A5.
Brand advocacy
helps your tell your
story in a way that is more
authentic and representative of
your whole business.It gives you access to diverse
perspective and audiences.It allows you to grow your reach and build trust, externally and internally.#contentwritingchat
— Bentley University (@bentleyu) October 1, 2019
Gaby feels advocates are a great way to tell your brand’s story. It’s authentic and gives you greater reach to a wider audience.
Brand advocacy can help expand your reach and amplify your message. It can also be an excellent source of UGC and curated content for you to share.
I know I love to see brands share content from employees – makes it all feel more real 😊
— Click Control Marketing (@ClkContrl) October 1, 2019
Have your advocates keep an eye out for user-generated content that be shared from various platforms too!
Q6: How can you get your employee brand advocates to contribute?
Getting employees involved doesn’t have to be hard. These ideas will help get them participating:
A6a: There are a few approaches you can take to encourage brand advocacy program participation. While I don’t encourage paying employees, it can be good to tap their inner competition by using a leader board to show who’s rocking it when it comes to advocacy. #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/dbLHxqq8XM
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) October 1, 2019
A6b: I’ve frequently introduced a silly “trophy” like a Toy Story doll—or in one case a huge ceramic chicken—that gets passed from department to department as a visible display of participation. #ContentWritingChat
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) October 1, 2019
Erika knows that a little competition can be effective. You can create a leader board and give away fun gifts that your team would enjoy. She’s found this to work well in the past, so give it a go!
A6: Incentives. You’re already paying them, but a lot of people like free food!😜 You could also incentivize them with items that would help their personal brand. #ContentWritingChat
— Netvantage Marketing (@netvantage) October 1, 2019
Incentives of some sort are always a winner. And let’s be real, you simply cannot go wrong with free food.
A6: By having them write content that they are passionate about, whether it’s a blog article or social media post about a certain topic. You can also have them contribute by sharing the content their coworkers or they have written themselves.#contentwritingchat https://t.co/2urvrp1srJ
— Jennifer Stark (@jstark804) October 1, 2019
And if you want your employees to create content for you, let it be on a topic they’re passionate about. It’ll be much more enjoyable for them this way.
Q7: Which brands have done a great job at empowering their employees to become advocates?
Erika shared some examples that we can all check out and learn from:
A7: Both @IBM and @Dell do a great job of empowering employees to feel comfortable about being on social and engaging as brand representatives. On the employer branding side, @zappos does a fantastic job at this. #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/s0nNHGyuZL
— Erika Heald | Marketing Consultant (@SFerika) October 1, 2019
I really like what I see from @SproutSocial in terms of employee brand advocates. They don’t just talk the talk with their @BambuBySprout service – it looks like they use it!
— Click Control Marketing (@ClkContrl) October 1, 2019
Erika feels IBM and Dell have done a great job at empowering employees. Zappos is another company that stands out as well. She also mentioned SproutSocial and their Bambu by Sprout tool. Their team actually seems to use their tools, which is definitely a plus.
Want to join us for the next chat? #ContentWritingChat happens on the first Tuesday of every month at 10 AM Central. Mark your calendars, follow @ExpWriters and @writingchat, and then we’ll see you there!
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