Your most powerful sales tools aren’t the products and services you offer, or the marketing materials you’ve developed. It’s the people in your buildings – the ones sitting at desks and that sometimes don’t even have any direct contact with your customers. It’s your staff in IT, HR, finance - it’s your employees.
Your employees represent your brand everywhere they go – online and off. It’s important to empower and engage them, not restrict them. They have the power to take your message and amplify it in a meaningful way. In fact, a study from 2014 found that the general public trust ordinary people nearly twice as much as they do company CEOs.
Empower your employees to take your brand to new audiences with these three guiding principles:
Social media is a friend, not a foe.
Many managers fear rather than embrace social media. Instead of focusing on the opportunity for amplification, they worry about the loss of control. Considering employees’ personal social media posts reach 20 times more than a typical brand, the potential impact is worth the work to encourage their participation and establish an effective and robust approach to social media in your organization.
Establish expectations.
The most successful employee ambassador programs are prepared with clear expectations. Let your employees know it’s okay, and even encouraged, to share their thoughts with friends, family and neighbors. Social media policies can help guide discussion and offer parameters, tips and suggestions on what is appropriate and when to post company information.
Give them support.
Make it easy for them to share information. Provide resources – from posts to articles and company news – that are easily shared with their social networks. can make this step simple, ensuring employees are sending out approved and positive messages.
Even if they don’t post online, it’s essential to educate employees about what’s happening in their company so they can share the good news in person.
Your employees are already talking about you to friends, family and social media networks. Give them the tools they want and need to help carry your brand forward.
