Employee Advocacy: Boost Brand Awareness

Employee advocacy is a crucial component of modern go-to-market (GTM) strategies. Putting the influence of your employees to work helps you cut through the noise and capture your target audience's attention. An advocacy program drives brand awareness, customer acquisition, and employee engagement.

Marketing and sales teams no longer shoulder the entire promotional burden. Enabling employees to share company content, thought leadership, and experiences across their personal networks expands your reach and builds credibility that traditional marketing channels cannot match.

This guide explains the benefits of employee advocacy for both companies and employees, the key components of a successful program, and actionable steps to implement your own initiative. You will also learn how tools like Copy.ai can simplify content creation and amplify your advocacy efforts.

Employee advocacy is a strategic approach that aligns with your overall GTM strategy. An effective program helps combat GTM bloat, which keeps your efforts focused, efficient, and driving meaningful results.

This guide provides the insights and tools needed to make use of your workforce's influence and unlock the full potential of employee advocacy. Learn how to boost brand awareness, engagement, and your bottom line.

What is Employee Advocacy?

Employee advocacy is the practice of enabling your employees to promote your brand through their personal networks. It puts a strategic twist on word-of-mouth marketing.

When employees share your brand's message, they are not a faceless corporate entity. They are real people with real connections and credibility.

Employee advocacy is a critical component of a successful go-to-market strategy. Utilize the reach and influence of your employees to amplify your brand's voice, boost awareness, and establish thought leadership in your industry.

Your employees are already connected to a vast network of potential customers, partners, and influencers. They have their own social media followers, professional connections, and personal relationships. When they share your brand's content and message, they reach a wider audience and lend their own credibility and trust to your brand.

When a potential customer sees one of your employees sharing valuable insights or engaging with your brand's content, they are more likely to view your company as a trusted resource and thought leader.

Employee advocacy also has a profound impact on your internal culture and employee engagement. When employees feel they can share their expertise and advocate for your brand, they are more likely to feel a sense of ownership and pride in their work. They become true brand ambassadors.

Employee advocacy requires a strategic approach and a commitment to enabling and equipping your employees with the tools and resources they need to be effective advocates. The payoff for a well-executed program can be significant.

As you develop your go-to-market strategy, don't overlook the power of employee advocacy. Tapping into the reach, credibility, and expertise of your employees creates a powerful engine for brand awareness, thought leadership, and customer trust.

Benefits of Employee Advocacy

Employee advocacy drives business results. Here are the benefits for both companies and employees.

For Companies:1.  Increased Brand Visibility: When employees share your brand's content, they're exposing your message to their entire network. This can lead to a significant increase in brand visibility and reach. In fact, according to a study by MSLGroup, brand messages shared by employees reach 561% further than the same messages shared by official brand channels.

1. Boosted Organic Reach: Employee-shared content typically sees higher engagement rates than content shared through branded channels. This is because people are more likely to trust and engage with content shared by individuals they know and respect. A study by Cisco found that employee posts generate 8 times more engagement than posts from brand channels.
2. Increased Customer Trust: A message from a trusted individual—like an employee—carries more weight than traditional advertising. According to the 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer, 53% of respondents said they trust what employees say about a company more than what the company says about itself.

For Employees:1.  Enhanced Professional Reputation: When employees share thought leadership content and engage in industry conversations, they're establishing themselves as experts in their field. This can lead to new professional opportunities and career growth. LinkedIn found that employees who regularly share content are 27 times more likely to be seen as industry experts.

1. Increased Thought Leadership: By sharing insights and engaging in meaningful discussions, employees can position themselves—and by extension, your brand—as thought leaders. This is especially important in B2B content marketing, where establishing credibility and trust is essential for driving sales and building lasting customer relationships.
2. Improved Employee Engagement: Employee advocacy programs can have a profound impact on employee engagement and satisfaction. When employees feel they can share their expertise and advocate for your brand, they are more likely to feel invested in your company's success. Dynamic Signal found that companies with formal employee advocacy programs see a 39% increase in employee engagement.

The impact of employee advocacy is clear—and the proof is in the numbers. For example, Dell's employee advocacy program generated $1 million in sales in just one year. And when IBM launched its employee advocacy program, it saw a 50% increase in social media engagement and a 25% increase in website traffic.

The benefits of employee advocacy are far-reaching and significant. Enabling your employees to be brand ambassadors boosts your brand's visibility and credibility while also investing in the professional growth and satisfaction of your team.

Key Components of Employee Advocacy

A successful employee advocacy program doesn't happen by chance. It requires careful planning, strategic execution, and ongoing optimization. Let's break down the essential elements you need to consider.

Clear Goals and Strategy

The foundation of any effective employee advocacy program is a clear set of goals and a well-defined strategy. What do you want to achieve through employee advocacy? Is it increased brand awareness, lead generation, or thought leadership? Your goals will guide your strategy and help you measure success.

Align your employee advocacy goals with your overall go-to-market (GTM) strategy. This alignment helps your advocacy efforts work in tandem with your other marketing and sales initiatives, maximizing their impact.

Employee Training and Engagement

Your employees are the heart of your advocacy program. To set them up for success, you need to provide comprehensive training on social media best practices, brand guidelines, and content sharing. This training should cover topics like how to craft engaging posts, how to use hashtags effectively, and how to handle potential negative comments.

But training alone isn't enough. You also need to keep your employees engaged and motivated. Consider offering incentives for participation, such as rewards for the most shared content or the most engaged advocates. Recognize and celebrate your top contributors to encourage ongoing involvement.

Content Creation and Sharing

At the core of employee advocacy is content. To fuel your advocacy program, you need a steady stream of high-quality, shareable content. This could include blog posts, industry news, thought leadership pieces, or behind-the-scenes glimpses into your company culture.

Creating this content can be time-consuming. Tools like Copy.ai can help. With AI-powered content creation, you can make your content production more efficient, allowing you to develop more pieces in less time. A good GTM AI tool like Copy.ai's content marketing prompts can help you generate engaging social media posts, blog introductions, and more, making it easier for your employees to share compelling content.

Provide your employees with a library of pre-approved, on-brand content to make it simple for them to participate in your advocacy program. They can choose a piece that resonates with them, add their personal insights, and share it with their network.

Remember, the key to successful content in employee advocacy is balance. You want a mix of branded content, industry news, and personal insights. Encourage your employees to add their own perspectives and experiences to the content they share. This authenticity is what makes employee advocacy so powerful.

Focus on these key components—clear goals, employee training and engagement, and high-quality content—to build a thriving employee advocacy program. The next section details the step-by-step process of implementing your program.

Final Thoughts

Employee advocacy is a powerful tool in your go-to-market arsenal. Utilize the reach and credibility of your employees' personal networks to amplify your brand's message, drive engagement, and attract new customers.

Employee advocacy also strengthens your company culture, increases employee engagement, and positions your team members as thought leaders. When your employees feel they can share their expertise and insights, they become more invested in your company's success.

Building and managing an employee advocacy program can be challenging. Tools like Copy.ai help by automating and simplifying content creation, making it easier to develop and distribute high-quality, on-brand content at scale. Your employees will always have a ready supply of engaging pieces to share without overburdening your content team.

Also, Copy.ai's customization capabilities allow you to tailor your content to different audiences, platforms, and objectives. Whether you're targeting decision-makers on LinkedIn or engaging consumers on Instagram, Copy.ai can help you craft the perfect message.

As you begin your employee advocacy program, remember that it's an ongoing process. Keep refining your strategy, listening to feedback from your employees, and measuring your results. Continuously optimizing your approach will maximize the impact of your advocacy efforts and increase your GTM Velocity.

Take your employee advocacy program to the next level by exploring Copy.ai's suite of tools. Our AI-powered platform helps you create compelling content efficiently and effectively, from generating social media posts to crafting thought leadership articles. To learn more about how Copy.ai fits into your broader go-to-market strategy and improves your GTM AI Maturity, check out our guide on how to improve your GTM approach.

Employee advocacy can yield significant rewards for your brand, your employees, and your bottom line. Invest in your team and provide them with the right tools and resources to transform your workforce into a powerful marketing engine. Start enabling your employees to tell your brand story today—you might be surprised by the results.