If you\u2019re not running an employee advocacy program, you could be missing out on a lot of potential reach.<\/p>\n
Why? Your employees are one of your biggest untapped marketing resources \u2014\u00a0and psst, they\u2019re already on social media. Yup, these influencers and brand ambassadors have been under your nose all along. <\/p>\n
Read on to learn everything you need to know about kick-starting your own employee advocacy program. <\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Bonus: Download a free employee advocacy toolkit<\/span><\/strong> that shows you how to plan, launch, and grow a successful employee advocacy program for your organization.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Employee advocacy is when employees share their company\u2019s content or values on their personal social media accounts to boost brand awareness and build trust<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Advocacy content can include everything from job postings to blog articles to industry resources to new product launches.<\/p>\n However, employee advocacy on social media can also happen via original<\/em> social media content<\/a>.<\/p>\n That\u2019s right: whether employees are re-posting your brand\u2019s content or crafting their own, any social media content that promotes your company can be considered employee advocacy<\/strong>. <\/p>\n Sure, your employees are probably already posting about your workplace or brand without you asking. However, an\u00a0official employee advocacy program<\/a>\u00a0can help take that organic influence to the next level.<\/span><\/p>\n Why is employee advocacy important? Here are three ways programs like these can benefit companies:<\/p>\n Ninety-eight percent<\/a> of employees are already on social media, which is now a top channel for online brand research<\/a> (second only to search engines). <\/p>\n Studies show that advocacy from your team can help shorten the sales cycle<\/a>, attract and develop new business, and build your employer brand. Plus, you can extend your organic reach by 200%<\/a> and increase profitability by 23%.<\/p>\n Why does employee advocacy work so well?<\/strong> It\u2019s all about trust, which Edelman calls \u201cthe ultimate currency<\/a>.\u201d In fact, fifty-nine percent<\/a> of consumers will stop buying from a company if they don\u2019t<\/em> trust the brand.<\/p>\n Eighty-nine percent<\/a> of consumers trust recommendations from people they know over branded content or traditional ads. Fifty-six percent of millennial and Gen Z consumers <\/a>trust influencers more than brands. <\/p>\nWhat is employee advocacy?<\/span><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/employee-advocacy-channel-4.png.webp)
\n<\/picture>\n<\/noscript>Benefits of employee advocacy<\/span><\/h2>\n
\n
![\"bar](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.hootsuite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/employee-advocacy-01-620x461.png?resize=620%2C461&ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n