LinkedIn Just Made Employee Advocacy Harder for 2025
Michelle J Raymond
LinkedIn Coach for B2B teams & consultants on how to leverage LinkedIn?? for Business Growth. Services - Employee Training, Profile Writing Service, Company Page Admin training. International Speaker & Author
This LinkedIn change had me shaking my head.
On the one hand, the platform is being swamped with people promoting the benefits of employee advocacy (including me). Then LinkedIn announced that its tools that support employee advocacy are being discontinued. Yes really.
In some ways, I totally understand, and in others, I'm shouting at the screen, nooooooooo don't do it. I think if it were a new feature launched today, the uptake would be massive. Maybe it was just ahead of its time.
But at the end of the day - it is what it is, and we must evolve if we want to grow our business.
This article is inspired by the recent episode of the Social Media for B2B Growth Podcast hosted by Michelle J Raymond, which goes into much more detail.
Thanks to our podcast sponsor Metricool. Make sure to register for a FREE Metricool account today. Use Code MICHELLE30 to try any Premium Plan FREE for 30 days. https://i.mtr.cool/NEDXVZ
What Were the My Company and Employee Advocacy Tabs on LinkedIn?
The My Company Tab and Employee Advocacy tab have been key LinkedIn tools that allowed businesses to run employee advocacy programs directly on the platform. These features created a private mini-intranet within LinkedIn for teams to unite and support each other. It was only available to businesses with more than ten employees.
However, as of November 2024, these tools will disappear. LinkedIn is moving its resources towards other priorities, especially those with a more AI-driven focus, leaving businesses scrambling to find alternatives.
For all the details of this change - https://www.dhirubhai.net/help/linkedin/answer/a6836874?hcppcid=search
Why Did LinkedIn Remove the My Company and Employee Advocacy Tabs?
The simple reason for these changes is that LinkedIn is shifting its focus, and employee advocacy tools no longer fit its AI-focused vision for the future. While this move makes sense from LinkedIn's perspective, businesses relying on these free tools will feel the pinch.
I do wonder if this will come back in a different paid version in the future.
LinkedIn My Company Tab Alternatives for Employee Advocacy in 2025
For Small Businesses:
If you don't have the budget to invest in costly employee advocacy tools, it's time to go old-school. Tools like Slack or simple email notifications can inform employees about new content. Encouraging staff to share content manually might not be as streamlined, but it's an effective stopgap.
A basic Excel or Google Sheets system can help track participation and engagement. It's not perfect, but with a bit of manual effort, you can still maintain a degree of employee advocacy without investing in expensive tools.
For Larger Teams:
Consider investing in gamified employee advocacy tools if your business has the budget. These platforms can incentivise employees to share company content by turning participation into a competition, offering rewards for engagement. However, you'll need to ensure that these tools align with your brand and that their ROI justifies the cost.
Is Employee Advocacy Still Worth It on LinkedIn?
The benefits of employee advocacy are undeniable. Studies show that employees are 14 times more likely to share company-provided content than create their own. This statistic alone demonstrates how crucial it is to keep employees active on LinkedIn in 2025, even if it takes more effort.
Employee advocacy strengthens personal and employer brands, bringing a human face to your business.
While LinkedIn may be moving away from built-in advocacy features, employee advocacy is more important than ever. You can still reap the benefits by maintaining active engagement with your team and encouraging them to share relevant content.
Planning Your LinkedIn B2B Marketing Strategy for 2025: Don't Get Left Behind
As we move into 2025, it's clear that LinkedIn is evolving, and businesses must evolve with it. Whether you were using the My Company tab or not, it's time to reassess how you'll leverage your internal resources to achieve your business goals on LinkedIn.
There’s no substitute for a well-thought-out LinkedIn strategy aligned with your business goals.
Looking for help? You know where to find me ??
Cheers!
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Digital Content & Social Media @ Agiloft ?? | B2B SaaS Marketing and Communications | Former Journalist | LGBTQ+ ERG Co-Lead ?????
1 周My thoughts exactly! We used it almost like a pilot program to help foster a culture of sharing and social engagement at the company before we spent actual $$ on a paid tool. Definitely sad to see it go, but excited to see what Sprout can do!
Mettons l'???????????? au centre de votre ???????????????????????????? ???????????????? ????????????????? ???????????????? | ?????????????????????? | Marque Employeur ?Managing Director Eurekavox | ex-Dir. Marketing IBM
2 周I think that the employee advocacy functions via the “My company” tab were actually so rudimentary that they could almost be counterproductive for the platform's reputation in the end.
Marketing and Communications Professional
1 个月Just when everyone was getting started on Employee advocacy and its benefits! ??
?KTA? 色谱系统的蛋白质纯化专家 | 提供生命科学领域的技术知识和专业知识 | 优化从实验室台面发现到生物工艺规模的生产力和效率
1 个月This is a timely post, Michelle, since I recently provided some workshops about "Posting with a Purpose" to some of my colleagues as well as to other OpCo's within my umbrella company. What most resonated with me was about "employees are 14x more likely to share content that has been provided by their company to their own audience." While I'm supportive of social media employee advocacy programs, I feel that many companies in the #biotechnology & #lifesciences industries flood our feeds with more & more marketing crap (for lack of a better term) that focuses too much on their products, their company and their heritage/legacy rather than focusing on the customer, their challenges & not providing industry trends & insights. Additionally, we don't continuously encourage or even show how our own employees to comment & engage with the posts with their own thoughts & perspectives about the content, only to execute a "drive by ????", essentially a form of "post & ghost". I agree with you that 2025 will be even more difficult to reach our ICP due to the increased digital noise out there, so I hope companies & employees take heed.
Master E-networking & boost B2B Sales | Product Marketing & Going-to-Market for B2B tech | Helping founders sell more at trade shows and events | LinkedIn Trainer & Top Voice
1 个月Interestingly, LinkedIn initially bought an employee advocacy tool, and now it is gone.