Newsletter #8: Sharing work-related posts doesn't need to be scary, perfect or time-consuming. 3 Myth busters to get your team on board!

Last month, I talked about how you can start to include your colleagues on your ambassador program. This month, let’s talk about employee advocacy and how to reassure your colleagues that it’s a good thing. It isn’t as complicated as it sounds.

Overall, the best way to explain employee advocacy is that at its heart, it’s just like a conversation you might have with somebody about your work. As my colleague Nicole has discussed before (Dutch post only), the process of employee advocacy is a bit like a traditional birthday party in the Netherlands.????

While together in a circle or at tables with family and friends, the inevitable question to ask someone you might not have seen for a while is…how are things at work? Now, if the respondee is positive about their employer, their response will probably be enthusiastic and they’ll share a good experience. ?? This positive interaction will linger in the memory of the group of people, and spring to mind whenever they encounter your company brand.

Similarly, employee advocacy via social media can leave a lasting good impression for minimal effort. But so many companies aren’t doing this yet…even though it’s so easy! So, I want to move on to a bit of myth busting for when you’re talking to someone in your company who might need further convincing. Let’s have a look at the top three concerns and give them some context.

Myth 1 - You need to be a professional copywriter to be a brand ambassador. ??

Actually, overthinking the copy won’t help here. Authentic content needs to sound like that conversation at the birthday party table. Your colleagues just need to describe what they did and how they felt about it. Slick corporate language will make it sound fake and rehearsed ?? what works in employee advocacy is a natural, relatable voice.?

Myth 2 - Posting content for your employer is scary ??

If anyone is worried about the responsibility that comes with posting about your company on social media, reassure them about the process of creating content. Your (social media) content manager takes responsibility for crafting posts and will ensure that content is appropriate, so there’s nothing for anyone else to worry about. Reassure your ambassadors about this, so they know they won’t be posting anything that could harm the company's reputation. Every brand ambassador will be doing the same thing, including some at a senior level.?

Hopefully that creates a snowball effect. ? Once established spokespeople are posting, it makes it less scary for others to follow in their footsteps. Always remind everyone that they retain control over their social media accounts at all times. If they post something and feel uncomfortable, for any reason, they can always delete it any time.

Myth 3 - I don’t have time for employee advocacy tasks ??

Repeatedly, people tell me that they don’t have time for employee advocacy. Well, you should always consider any extra workload that may be produced as a result of starting something new, and some tools may not be worth the extra effort.?

Using Apostle, I can reassure you, definitely won’t cost much time and everyone involved will soon barely notice they’re doing it. Sharing a post takes only a few seconds to a few minutes, depending on if you want to edit the post or just approve the suggested post. People used to think email ?? would eat up too much of their day. And probably phone calls too ?? but none of us are old enough to remember that…

Keep in mind that the content will be supplied by your (social media) content manager, and the Apostle tool ensures that users can post in as few clicks as possible. Ambassadors are likely to gather many ideas for improvement ??from their followers, which will be great to feed back to the content manager. If someone isn’t sure how to respond, just agree to link them to a colleague who can, as with any other customer enquiry.

Simply put, if you get the right tool, starting an employee advocacy program is easy. And you’ll be able to keep it going because it’s easy to participate in for the employees engaged as brand ambassadors using the tool. Soon, you’ll have better quality content that’s reaching many more people. ?? ?? ?? ??

How? Personal posts receive a lot more attention and interaction than corporate ones - about 25-30% compared to just 2-7%. ??

Can you afford not to be part of this movement?

In the meantime…

If you have any additional questions about SRO, brand ambassador programs or want to discuss the possibilities for your organization, feel free to reach out to me:?

??+31 6 24111692 or ??[email protected]

Or schedule a meeting to discuss the possibilities of SRO for your organization: Calendly Koen

About the Author

Back in 2010, I cried out that I wanted to work on something big, something new, and that I would be able to serve companies all over the world. At the time, I was working in the hospitality industry, but I felt the need to do something different. At home I got plenty of support, but those around me couldn't quite understand what exactly I wanted to do. My future was already pretty much mapped out, wasn't it? And I was earning quite a bit of money with my previous company, wasn't I? So why take so much risk?

A personal tweet changed everything back in 2011. I tweeted about my trip to New York and got in touch with the director of a large bank in the Netherlands. The topic quickly changed from New York to social media and it resulted in a new client. A new customer with just one personal tweet? The idea for a brand advocacy platform was born.

From an incubator in Venlo, I started my startup to further develop the idea of including personal accounts in the marketing mix. It gave me a great network and above all allowed me to get to know myself as an entrepreneur. As a true innovator and a builder. Before that time I didn't know that about myself. Ultimately, the step into this new world has been more than worth the risk!