Employee - the best brand ambassador!

Employees' opinions about their company on social media are one of the most credible sources of information about an employer. Employees' posts about the organization are also a magnet for business partners and job candidates – it is estimated that eight out of ten people trust recommendations from rank-and-file employees rather than their bosses. This is a reason to start image-building efforts from inside the company.

This is claimed by a team of scientists and practitioners in the fields of marketing and HR – Prof. Grzegorz Mazurek and Dr. hab. Paweł Korzyński from Kozminski University, and Prof. Michael Haenlein from ESCP Business School. In an article in the "European Management Journal," the researchers, based on the results of their own research titled "Building a brand through employee activity on social media," analyze the role of employees in supporting companies' activities on social media.

– Many bosses wonder how to bring about a situation where employees spontaneously speak well about the company outside of work. Meanwhile, the phenomenon of "employee advocacy," also popular in Poland, which consists of making employees brand ambassadors, is entering a new level and also covers the area of social media – says Prof. Paweł Korzyński, head of the research project.

The researchers verified the hypotheses on a group of nearly 100 academic employees from 19 countries who in recent years have published articles in 50 reputable journals according to the Financial Times ranking. – We believe that these people act as representatives of the university in its relations with stakeholders. Thanks to this, they have the greatest influence on how the environment perceives the institutions where they work. Research confirms that academic employees willingly engage in communication about the employer brand on social media, where they are often "first contact" people, e.g., for students – explains Korzyński.

Voluntary promotion is credible promotion

Voluntary promotion is credible promotion

The authors of the study write that with the development of employee advocacy, awareness is growing that they can bring the company more benefits than, for example, image campaigns.

– Voluntary promotion of an organization by the people who work in it is, above all, credible. Research shows that rank-and-file employees enjoy 8 times more trust than directors, also within the company itself – argues Korzyński.

Companies have ways to persuade staff to publish positive content about the brand's activities. These are often special programs that provide a reward system for the most engaged employees. – However, the results of our project clearly indicate that in order for people to do this voluntarily and derive satisfaction from it, it is necessary, among other things, to include them in decision-making processes, build a relationship based on trust, and also provide a sense of agency and real influence on the future of the organization – emphasizes the professor.

Initiative in employees' hands

Initiative in employees' hands

At the same time, experts warn managers that their intensive actions may bring more harm than good to strengthening the company's image. Research indicates that too much company content can harm the creation of staff engagement.

– If, as a result of such communication, we feel almost "obligated" to post on our profiles, then we perceive the pressure as unnecessary control that we do not want to experience. The ideal situation is when the employer leaves employees freedom so that they take the initiative themselves and their actions are authentic. At the same time, the boss can sustain this enthusiasm and show that they appreciate the team for the effort put into building the brand. This is about having fun – explains the researcher.

To be or not to be... a brand ambassador?

To be or not to be... a brand ambassador?

The researchers conclude that employees are an important link in the process of strengthening the corporate brand on social media. The effects obtained thanks to well-thought-out employee advocacy programs confirm the thesis that the company's greatest asset is its employees.

– Instead of creating costly advertisements or engaging opinion leaders for promotion, it is enough to look around and ask yourself which team members could become brand ambassadors. Our analyses show that the best person for this role will be someone with an extensive and diverse network of contacts on social media, thanks to which there is a greater likelihood of interaction with potential company stakeholders. Secondly, they must be up to date with current events and interested in the company's activities as a whole, e.g., by following social media profiles, participating in discussions under posts, and interacting with this content using various reaction buttons – lists the professor.

According to the scientists, on the one hand, the project results may be a guide for heads of marketing and HR departments who want to use the potential of social media more effectively. – However, on the other hand, this knowledge may also be useful for small companies, which, due to the lack of large budgets for promotional activities, should think about building the strength of their brand online through employee advocacy on social media – says Korzyński.

What is employee advocacy and how does it work in practice?

Here are examples of effective employee advocacy activities on the international market:

Dell

In 2015, Dell launched an ambassador program among employees. It took only two years for them to share 150,000 different pieces of content about the employer online. The company's employees thus reached 1.2 million people, and this translated into 45,000 visits to the computer manufacturer's website. The success of the program was so significant that new recruitment was overflowing. By mid-2015, the ambassador program had gathered 10,000 applicants. The company also gives employees the opportunity to publish online from the company account. In that case, employees decide what may be interesting for customers.

Adobe

Adobe invited its employees to design T-shirts that illustrate what it is like to work in this organization. Employee engagement made the T-shirts sell out quickly within a few days. As part of the #AdobeLife campaign, there is also a hashtag online under which employees share their content about the company.

OsloMet

At OsloMet, the third-largest university in Norway, students and university employees are its influencers. The university's Facebook profile, followed by 30,000 people, had significantly smaller reach than 15 individual ambassador posts.

Vodafone

Among large companies that have implemented "employee advocacy" programs, Vodafone stands out for proactively creating corporate content that can be shared. Go Social, Vodafone UK's program, offers its employees a wide range of content on the group's blog. It can be shared on social media, and employees can submit their own content to the publicly available Go Social platform. It reaches the company's official profile after approval by administrators.

Reebok

Reebok uses a similar two-way approach – the sportswear company creates articles and blog posts that it shares with employees for posting on their social media profiles. Content created by employees reaches the company's social media channels.

More examples of effective employee advocacy strategies can be found, among others, HERE and HERE.

Summary

Research by a team of scientists from Kozminski University and ESCP Business School indicates that employees are the most credible brand ambassadors on social media. Rank-and-file employees enjoy 8 times more trust than directors, and their voluntary recommendations build the company's image more effectively than advertising campaigns. However, it is crucial to leave them freedom and authenticity, without pressure from managers.

As examples such as Dell, Adobe, Vodafone, and Reebok show, well-designed employee advocacy programs bring measurable effects – from increasing social media reach to an increase in recruitment numbers. The best ambassadors are people with an extensive network of contacts who actively follow the company's activities.