Why employee advocacy is key to social media success

Employee advocacy is key to boosting social media engagement for professional services firms, according to a recent Business 2 Community post.

And employee advocacy is about more than just the promotion of a firm’s brand by its people.

“It’s a culture of believing and buying in to the content your firm produces, and seeking out opportunities to spark discussions on social networks with other individuals who share the same passion or interest,” writes John Tyreman research specialist at Hinge Marketing.

Employee advocacy is effective, he says, because people are naturally inclined to interact with other people.

“Just the ability to see a person’s name and picture on social media can go a long way in humanizing digital interaction,” he writes.

Employees who contribute to conversations are also building their personal brand and expanding their professional network by increasing their visible expertise.

“This thought leadership reflects positively on both the firm brand and the employee, creating a two-way halo effect,” Tyreman continues.

He suggests that LinkedIn “discussions” started in groups relevant to the topic at hand can serve as a first step toward engaging with other professionals.

But he cautions that employee advocacy won’t work unless your employees buy in and take pride in the content that your firm produces, a process that doesn’t happen overnight.

Here are a few prerequisites:

• Firm-produced content must be compelling, thought provoking, and relevant to your target audience.
• Leaders should communicate the benefits of employee advocacy, encourage employees to be active on social media, and set goals or expectations for employee engagement.
• Employees must know when, where, and how to share content and must also feel comfortable engaging in other conversations.

Firms that have implemented a formal employee advocacy program can measure its success in several ways: increased web traffic, growth in the number of social followers, better search engine rankings and increased number of leads from social channels.

Read more from Business 2 Community.