Social Media Employee Advocacy

Tapping into the power of an engaged
social workforce

The use of employees to advocate on behalf of their brand is nothing new, but a combination of market forces and growing comfort with social business has created a tipping point for the growth of formalized Employee Advocacy programs. In Ed Terpening’s latest report, he surveyed brand leaders, employees and consumers to understand employee advocacy. His research uncovered motivations for companies investing in employee advocacy programs; what motivates employees to share information about their workplace; and what employee-driven content resonates most with customers.

Key Findings

• 90% of brands surveyed are already pursuing or have plans to pursue some form of employee advocacy
• Consumer response to employee posts often outperform traditional digital advertising results
• 21% of consumers report “liking” employee posts – a far higher engagement rate than the average social ad
• Employee advocacy drives employee engagement. When employees are asked how they felt after sharing work-related content, the leading response was “I feel more connected and enthusiastic about the company I work for”
• Employee advocacy supports employment branding. When asked which employee-shared content consumers found most relevant, recruiting rose to the top
• Interestingly, European consumers are less likely to be interested in a connection’s posts about work and European employees are less likely to share work-related content.
• Europeans have a stronger preference for keeping work and home life separate: 44% of Europeans cited this as a reason for not sharing work-related content, compared to only 23% of North American

Download the full report below.