Employees are the backbone of your organization. However, they’re not just the people that complete projects, they’re also ambassadors in your organization. These individuals know the ins and outs of your products and services and are the first point of contact for anyone who wants to know more about what you do. What’s more, they are also familiar with the practices of social media, and most of your employees will have at least one platform they regularly use.
Taking advantage of employee advocacy can be beneficial for your company; here are some ways it can boost your marketing efforts:
1. Using employee ideas
A great way to utilize employees is to ask them if they have any ideas to improve your products and services. These are the people that know your organization and can relate to the frustrations and recommendations customers may have. By looking at ideas from a different perspective, you can gain insight into new ways of working and alternative practices. Even the most hair-brained ideas shouldn’t go unnoticed, as digging a little deeper could unearth something useful. You don’t have to use the old-fashioned suggestion box either, companies such as Inpulse.com have handy employee engagement surveys to help you collate the information.
2. Encourage social sharing
As most of your employees will have access to social media, encourage them to share your company news and highlights to boost your reach. People are heavily influenced in their buying decisions by people they trust, and what better way to get insider knowledge than from the people behind your brand. Ask employees to engage with company content and follow all of the social platforms. It’s also a great idea for staff to list you as an employer on platforms such as LinkedIn to showcase your standing as a good employer too.
3. Get staff to write posts for your company blog
If you find it challenging to come up with ideas regularly for your company blog, why not ask your employees to guest post. Ask them to write about something they know as each person has a specialism. Most people love to share areas of their expertise, and this can make for natural and authentic reading. Company blogs are often very rigid in their approach, and although keywords should be a prevalent focus for your content, people are looking to read posts that are engaging and real.
4. Let employees try out your products and services for free
A great way to get real feedback to improve your marketing is to let employees try everything out for free, if it’s relevant to their lifestyle, of course. When people try things out, they can feedback with authentic viewpoints and offer suggestions on how to improve. In this respect, employees can be viewed as an extension to your customer base, and this can generate new and creative ideas to push your business forward.
Employee advocacy is becoming a prominent marketing feature for companies, and now is the time to try it out and see if it could work for you.
Author Bio
James Daniels is a freelance writer, business enthusiast, a bit of a tech buff, and an overall geek. He is also an avid reader, who can while away hours reading and knowing about the latest gadgets and tech, whilst offering views and opinions on these topics.
