How to generate authentic brand advocacy from your employees
Incentives for glowing endorsements or staunch defenses of your organization might work in the short term, but more intrinsic sentiments will resonate and endure. Here’s how to proceed.
More and more employers recognize the power of employee advocacy on social media.
They’ve learned that employees offer an authentic and cost-effective way to spread company PR and marketing messages. Consumers trust personal connections more than brand marketing or promotion.
Employees are widely available and can both defend and promote their organization. They can also recruit job applicants and support their employer’s positions on industry or social issues.
Many companies offer employees incentives—such as prize drawings, company logo items, extra time off or cash—to promote the brand’s message on their personal social media accounts.
Some PR and marketing pros caution against the practice, questioning whether it’s effective or ethical.
Motivated by rewards
If authenticity is the goal, what happens when employees share messages only for a reward?
“Organizations need to ask themselves if their actions are intrinsically motivating employees to engage in the desired advocacy behavior or simply motivating them to get the reward?” writes Patrick Thelen, a research editor for the Institute for Public Relations’ Organizational Communication Research Center.
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