Six Tips To Turn Employees Into Brand Ambassadors on LinkedIn

Chances are, you already know the basics about social media for your business. Your company posts regularly — with clever copy, striking images, compelling CTAs and links with UTM tags. So, what is your social media program missing? Employee brand ambassadors. According to research from MSL, brand messages get shared 24x more frequently when distributed by employees than by brand accounts. That same research showed that companies with engaged employees outperform those without by more than 200 percent.

When we talk with B2B clients about the touchpoints their sales and marketing teams have with customers and potential customers, LinkedIn is inherently a part of all of them. LinkedIn can:

·?????Drive demand

·?????Amplify content

·?????Generate web traffic

·?????Establish a brand as a thought leader

·?????Keep a brand top of mind for customers, stakeholders, and media

·?????Foster positive customer interactions

·?????Feature employee culture and talent

Despite these positive outcomes, employees can be intimidated by how to use LinkedIn. That’s why we put together these brand advocacy tips to help steer your team in the right direction and best represent your company on LinkedIn.

Keep an Updated Profile

Update your profile with a current headshot and job title and connect with your company’s page. Make sure your education and experience are both up to date. Highlight your achievements such as awards or speaking engagements. Use the “Publication” section to showcase articles you have written as well.

Pro tip: Ensure each section of your LinkedIn profile contains complete and accurate information.

Share Consistently

Once your profile is updated, it’s time to start sharing. Sharing frequently from your profile can increase your credibility as a subject matter expert. Keep in mind, a fine line exists between sharing too often or not enough. Sharing too much can look unprofessional while sharing too little reduces your visibility to your network.

Pro tip: Stay top of mind by logging onto the platform once a week and sharing a post at least once every two weeks.

Deepen Customer Relationships

Follow companies, customers and people that you find interesting — then engage to show you are listening. Connect, follow, share, like or comment on customer pages and posts. To get started, it’s best to connect with people that aren’t complete strangers. You can also join groups and associations relevant to your background and expertise.

Pro tip: Increase the likelihood of users accepting your invitations to connect by sending personalized connection requests.

Expand Your Company’s Visibility

Helping your company get into the newsfeeds of clients, prospects, partners and influencers is simple: Engage with your company’s posts with a quick like, comment or share. You can even talk about your company in professional groups or by using popular hashtags. Also, don’t forget to proofread before you post!

Pro tip: Not sure what to post? Share your company’s most recent post or a recent award with a personal comment, or trends you’re seeing and upcoming events.

Get #Hashtagging

Use hashtags. The primary purpose of a hashtag is to engage and network with others. You can either create your own and encourage others to pick up on your trend or you can use popular hashtags. Using hashtags on LinkedIn will make your posts more discoverable and help you connect with members that may be interested in your company.

Pro tip: Limit yourself to a maximum of five hashtags per post.

Be Authentic

In the world of social media, striking an authentic balance between personal and business can be as difficult as teaching your grandma how to FaceTime. Because you’re connecting with people you already know personally, it’s important to merge your real life with your online persona. Be yourself but also be professional. Steer clear of posts that act as sales pitches and avoid sharing confidential information or controversial commentary.

Pro tip: Looking for a no-fail rule of thumb? If you would say it to your grandma, it’s safe to post to social. When in doubt, don’t post.

Not only do employee ambassadors increase brand awareness and positive perceptions among customers, but they can also improve employee recruitment, retention, and engagement. Job seekers say current employees are the most trusted source of information about a company and even rank social networks as the most important resources in their job search. According to Hootsuite, 86% of employees actively engaged in social media say it had a positive effect on their careers — so start connecting on LinkedIn!