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Businesses have realized the value of leveraging the trust their employees enjoy. Within their personal digital networks on various social media platforms. A value unlocked when employees get active in employee advocacy programs. But this is a novel field where the digital literacy across staff vary a lot. Where role models and how they act can boost your digital efforts. By sticking to a few basic principles.

Evolve personal digital engagement recipe

The field of digital marketing in social media channels is dynamic. What made you stand out yesterday, make you blend in today. In this reality, you need to challenge the way you do things, every day. With an aspiration to up your game daily to remain valuable.

Role models take an active role in refining their personal digital engagement recipe.  For others in your company to learn from.

Grow personal digital network

The value of each employee grow with the size of their network. And the part of their network reaching relevant professionals. Representing customers and influencing their buying decision journeys. Representing partners, who are part of your eco-systems.

Beyond professionals you can influence direct, you want to expand the network accelerators. Professionals whose primary value come when they relay tour insights. Super-connectors who everybody in your industry listen to. Journalists covering your industry in detail. Industry analysts making sense of more and more complex markets.

Role models prioritize to grow their personal digital networks. With a proactive agenda towards people they meet in the digital domain first.

Share company and third party content

With a strong network in place you need to maintain your relevance by sharing great content. With a mix of company created and third party content. Your credibility grow when share insights from trusted sources.  A new report, and interesting article or an insightful info graphic.

Your value to your company come from your digital network reading what you share of company created content. Focused on inbound marketing content. Designed for an audience attracted by learning from your insights and ideas. Where the option of adding a small voice to reinforce the outbound push is useless.

Role models combine the two content sources in a balanced way. With the ultimate goal of accelerating your inbound marketing momentum.

Write posts in authentic tone of voice 

Authenticity is the attribute that make individuals more credible than companies. And your personal credibility is what make you attractive as a voice for your company. A credibility you can ruin if you don’t use an authentic tone of voice in your posts. You will not come across well if you adopt a “corporate preach” tone of voice in your messages. Take your time to think through how you can make each post attractive for your audience.

Role models re-craft all corporate posts to come across as their authentic tone of voice. With the time invested in re-crafting offsetting the increased value delivered.

Active in influencing content creation

Great employee advocates challenge the proposed content. With a potential to provide good judgements about if your inbound content is good enough. Do you get the same traction from won and third party content? Is it easy to craft an attractive post text for the content it links to? Does it come with attractive visuals to increase likelihood of generating a click?

Role models are an untapped resource for guiding your content agenda. Reading way more of your content than a typical customer.

Coach colleagues

Digital natives need a lot of support to become productive in employee advocacy programs. Leveraging the experiences of their digital savvy colleagues. Where you as a role model want to pull your digital colleagues with you. And not disappearing beyond their horizon.

Role models dedicate time to coaching their colleagues. Face to face or in digital form.

Questions for you and your team

1. How have we evolved our employee advocacy approach this month – never stand still
2. In which way is it most rewarding to grow our digital network – aim of accelerated output
3. What is our approach for sharing great content – company, third party or both.
4. How do you we adjust the tone of voice to come across as authentic – rather than corporate relaying.
5. How can we influence our own content to become better – listen to role models.

Additional reading suggestions 

• Four common employee advocacy challenges and how to overcome them [BLOGPOST] – by Smarp
• 5 Do’s and Don’ts of employee advocacy [BLOGPOST] – by Marketo
• 10 Brands that “get” employee advocacy [BLOGPOST] – by Everyone Social
• 5 ways to grow employee brand advocates [ARTICLE] – by Forbes
• 10 stats that prove the importance of employee advocacy [BLOGPOST] – by Maximize Social Business
• 5 ways to select employee advocates [BLOGPOST] – by Smarp
• Transforming employees into advocates [WHITEPAPER] – by Social Chorus