Why Your Employee Advocacy Program Isn’t Working: Part 3

With the immense reach and continual growth of social media, it’s no surprise that brands are readily investing in employee advocacy tools. After all, a successful employee advocacy program can result in greater lead generation, increased website traffic, and better client retention. In short, they can make a tremendous diffference.

However, these are the benefits of a successful employee advocacy program. Employee advocacy mistakes are all too common and can turn a program designed to help your brand into a struggle. The wrong strategy and tools can hamper even the most energetic initiative.

This series is here to guide you through the top employee advocacy mistakes to avoid, and help you create a successful program that will last. Here are some of the top reasons why your program may not be doing as well as you had hoped.

Your Employees Are Unengaged

The power of engaged employees is undeniable. When employees are engaged it means they care. When employees care, they tend to go above and beyond what is required as they are emotionally invested in the success of the company. Engaged employees want to share and participate in employee advocacy programs; they find benefit in what they are doing.

They better understand and believe in the objectives of the program. Conversely, if employees are unengaged, their lack of investment equals a lack of enthusiasm and motivation required for a successful employee advocacy program. In short, your program won’t work if you can’t engage your employees.

Give Them Motivation, Keep Them Informed

Take steps to ensure that your employees are engaged at work before, during, and throughout your program. To start, inform your employees, and keep them apprised what is happening throughout the company. Provide them with the tools that are up to date with company values, news, and events. If employees don’t know what you value, you can’t reasonably expect them to identify and engage with them.

Additionally, you need to make it easy for employees to find and share engaging and relevant content.  Finally, engage with employees, and provide active feedback and recognition for their efforts. Instilling a sense of appreciation goes a long way in helping engage employees. Your employee advocacy tools only work if your advocates are on board. Building employee engagement brings employees into the fold and helps set the foundation needed to create a successful employee advocacy program.

Respecting Your Employee’s Personal Brand

While employee advocates can and will support your brand and marketing efforts it is important to remember that they are not just another marketing channel. When it comes to creating brand advocates it is crucial that you acknowledge the individual.

Creating a sustainable, positive, and impactful brand image begins with your employees and their personal brand. Give them the tools and the encouragement they need.

Help Build Their Profile

Teach employees how to interact and build their online profile. Provide social media training and easy access to relevant third-party content, which will help employees position themselves as experts in their fields. Focus on creating an environment where it is easy for employees to share content, engage with company news, and build a personal brand that lines up with key company values.

Doing so creates a link between your employees and your brand. In fact, helping your employees build a personal brand strengthens your message, and gives it more weight. It comes from a trusted and established source: your employees. Let their own expertise and experience become an asset to your company. Give them the platform and encouragement they need to become powerful ambassadors.

 A Successful Employee Advocacy Program

Launching and maintaining a successful employee advocacy program takes a great deal of work. The benefits, however, are well worth it. Engaging your employees and helping them to create a trusted and best-in-class profile are only a few of the simple steps you can take to build a successful employee advocacy program. 

To learn more about employee advocacy, and to find out how Sociabble can help your company, sign up for a free demo here.