How can you measure the impact of employee advocacy programs?

kinda of a conflict here for me, I would first try to understand why the employee isn't sharing the companies post, or advocating for the business and celebrating its culture. Until we understand that, then we can move forward into defining objectives, working within the organisation before moving to planing and defining objectives for your employee advocacy program.

A powerful way to create objectives for your employee advocacy program is to invite your employees to craft a vision of the future they would be proud to be part of. Cross that with the strategic business goals your organisation needs to achieve, and you have a foundation for what is essential and some key messages about the future goals your employees want to achieve!

Once your objectives are set, choosing the right metrics to measure success is crucial. For brand visibility, this could include the number of impressions, shares, and the overall reach of content disseminated by employees on social media. For lead generation, you could track the number of leads generated through employee advocacy, the conversion rate of these leads, and the average cost per lead, comparing these to other lead sources. For instance, an employee might share a product demo video that leads to a tracked increase in inquiries about that product.

Measuring success with employee advocacy programs requires a combination of quantitative and qualitative. It’s important to analyze and track on a regular basis to make adjustments that improve outcomes. Focus on: 1. Employee engagement 2. Reach and engagement of social content 3. Web traffic 4. Lead generation 5. Sales (or other actions) made as a direct result of employee advocacy 6. Employee retention

Deploying an employee advocacy strategy is always tricky. Getting it right or introducing it at the right time is of great importance. But what's even more important is the vibe you get. 'Vibe' from all the content getting shared by your employees/ advocates in any form or another should speak about your organisation's brand and proposition. And if not, its extremely important to course correct by introducing interventions during townhalls, onboarding sessions to support and equip your employees to be confident in posting and talking about various things happening at your organisation.

Data-driven strategy adjustments are pivotal for maintaining the efficacy of an employee advocacy program. If the analytics indicate that video content shared by employees is generating more engagement than written content, the strategy can shift to produce more video content. Similarly, if certain social platforms yield better results, efforts can be concentrated there. A/B testing different types of posts can also inform what resonates best with the audience, allowing for more targeted content creation.

While metrics provide quantitative data, qualitative insights are equally important. Regular surveys and feedback sessions with employee advocates can reveal much about the program's reception and areas for improvement. Analyzing brand sentiment through social listening tools can help gauge the public's perception of the brand in response to advocacy efforts. Staying abreast of emerging digital platforms and trends ensures the program remains current and engaging, providing opportunities to pioneer advocacy efforts on new channels before competitors do.