Companies shell out big bucks on influencer campaigns, social ads, and content creation. But most overlook their best marketing asset: their own employees. Keep reading to see how employee advocacy can play a critical role in your organization’s social media marketing strategy.

What is employee advocacy?

Employee advocacy is the promotion of a company by its own workforce. This can look like anything from employees sharing information about specific products or campaigns to employees talking about company culture online. Employees promoting companies on social media not only extends the reach of a brand’s messages, but significantly increases online engagement.

According to a study by The Marketing Advisory Network, brand messages reach 561% further when shared by employees versus when the message is shared over the brand’s social channels. The same study found that brand messages are re-shared 24 times more frequently when employees share content. 

Still not convinced? Check out these stats.

• The 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer found that more people trust a regular employee (53%) than a CEO (47%).
• Nearly 86% of employees participating in a formal advocacy program say it had a positive effect on their careers.
• LinkedIn discovered that employees of a company tend to have 10 times more followers than the company itself.

Employee Advocacy Best Practices

Although employee advocacy is crucial more than ever, many businesses face obstacles when it comes to motivating employees to promote company content. Follow these guidelines to maximize your company’s abilities.

• Make workplace culture a priority. Strong brand ambassador employees need to actually love their jobs, not just their paychecks. Evaluate company culture to see where your organization can improve.
• Give employees a reason to share. Employees might need some motivation to share content. Hold a company lunch or seminar where you discuss how advocating for their company and being active on social media helps them build their personal brands and establish themselves as thought leaders. 
• Make the process easy. Its essential to make company and industry content as easy to share as possible. Use an internal hub or cloud to make content available at employees’ fingertips.
• Recognize employee advocates. A little recognition goes a long way. Make your employee advocates feel appreciated for their efforts with a complimentary lunch or card.

If you want to boost brand recognition, make recruiting easier, and share your company’s culture, employee advocacy is for you. To learn more about employee advocacy on social media, check on this kickstart guide.

It’s 2:00 A.M. and the impending early morning hovers over your latest Netflix binge. The latest season of ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians’ is in cue and ready to stream. Should you watch one more episode? Today, most Americans are suckers for reality television. In fact, reality shows such as ‘The Bachelor’ gain nearly 8 million viewers per week to watch 30 women fight for one man’s heart. Is it the drama that keep viewers tuned in? Is it the glitz and glamour? It is safe to say, reality television is popular in this digital world.

Misinformation about the coronavirus on social media has started to spread almost as quickly as the disease itself. The epidemic has left a considerable amount of room for confusion and panic in the general public, allowing social media to become more influential than ever. As increasing numbers of people look to voice their concerns on these platforms, the need for transparency regulation increases as well. The recognition of opinions as matters of fact can be detrimental to society when dealing with widespread disease. This is why both Instagram and Twitter have taken matters into their own hands, updating certain rules and regulations to strengthen public knowledge about the coronavirus and how to stay healthy.

Food bloggers or “foodies” have taken the social media world by storm. This is understandable because who doesn’t love food? A “foodie” is someone who has an intense love for trying and finding new food and consider it a hobby. Food bloggers inform us of the latest hotspots, easy recipes, and what the latest must-haves are from Trader Joes. Since there are so many food bloggers on social media platforms, it’s essential to understand how to make your page stand out.

Companies worldwide are taking advantage of International Women’s Day. Across all social platforms, companies like Apple, Reebok, and Absolut are using March 8 to push female-empowering messaging. Even if these companies highlighting women today are not normally female-focused, they are using today to do so.

You are told from a young age that you need to dress a certain way. But what about when you enter the “real world,” how do you dress for the job you want? Internship attire is one thing, but what says “I deserve this job” as an Account Coordinator after receiving a B.A. in Communication?

You can’t deny your love for food! Pictures of late-night cravings or Sunday brunch fill your social feeds with food. For some, these posts inspire a quick run to the nearest Trader Joe’s to try a healthier option. And for others, food posts influence an extra-large with extra cheese pizza after a night out. Social media influences consumer’s consumption habits. You trust the restaurant recommendations and trending product tips from influencers you follow. Social feeds with food have opened a new avenue of brand awareness. Here’s how food influencers are transforming social media.

If you’re considering designing or redesigning your organization’s logo, there’s a lot you need to take into account. The most important decisions you can make when making the logo are based on the form, font, and color. These choices should be dictated by your organization’s industry, target audience, and brand.

Twitter has evolved from a casual platform that teenagers used to share quick, funny updates with friends to a primary news outlet for millions of users. To keep with current trends and reach new audiences, an excellent Twitter presence is a requirement for successful companies. Keep reading for the tools and tricks in our Business Guide to Twitter. 

Your Business Guide to Twitter:

1. Your Twitter account should reflect the personality of your company. If you are a company like Disney that has a visible mascot such as Mickey Mouse, consider tweeting from their point of view to bring your organization to life. If your company is very policy-oriented, keep your followers updated on changes, elections, and trends related to the topic. Playful companies like Budweiser or M&M can share engaging videos or graphics to play on the brand. The most important takeaway of this Business Guide to Twitter is to know your company’s personality and let it shine through. Always be consistent!
2. As long as the content is consistent with your company’s personality and brand, be creative and innovative. Tease new products and partnerships, release videos that will get followers excited about upcoming events, and share news updates about the organization.
3. Use hashtags to get your organization trending on Twitter. Hashtags will optimize the amounts of searches your tweets will appear in and help strengthen the impact of your words and content.
4. Keep your Tweets short and to the point. There is no need to use all of the characters, especially since Twitter users scroll quickly.  
5. Verify your account. While this seems like a small feature, it builds a large amount of trust with your consumers. The more official your company looks, the more credibility the organization will build.

While these are the most crucial points, Hootsuite has created a more extensive guide to using Twitter commercially. Click here to read it! For other tips and tricks to include in a business guide to Twitter, read this helpful article.

No matter what career path you choose, communication is a skill you will need to use in every job. The way you communicate reflects directly on you and your professionalism. Email is one of the most widely used forms of communication in and out of the workplace. Per The Atlantic article entitled “Bosses Don’t Want Overwhelmed Employees Either,” the average American worker sends and receives approximately 122 emails per day. Being able to write the perfect professional email is a skill you need to master before entering the workforce. Here are some tips!

Social media plays a huge role in both our lives and careers, so it’s important we know how to use it correctly. Here’s how to avoid some common social media mistakes.

Engage the Public by Sharing News on Twitter

With over 200 million monthly active users, Twitter has become the fastest way to discover what is happening in the world. Some individuals access this network in order to pass the time while others rely on it to keep in touch with people they know. However, roughly 86% of Twitter users access the platform for news. When natural disasters or terrorist attacks occur, Twitter is one of the first places individuals turn to for coverage about the breaking news. Promote your brand by following these three tips about sharing news on Twitter.    

The influencer marketing campaign tactic has transformed how brands communicate with their target audiences. An influencer marketing campaign is when a company partners with influential people to promote a product to their followers on social media. This type of marketing isn’t necessarily new, but as of recent, it’s becoming the norm.

Before a company hops on the bandwagon in joining influencer marketing, it’s essential to know what makes them successful. Here are a few tips for creating a successful influencer marketing campaign. 

Graduating college can be scary. The idea of starting over completely can be daunting for many young people. For this reason, new grads should consider carefully where they should start their career. Picking a city with an up and coming job market is important and will create ease in your job search. It is equally important as well to meet new people and explore a different city. These factors will make all the difference when you are adjusting to a new environment. Here are the best Cities to live for young professionals! 

Static images used to make pop culture references, otherwise known as memes, have become the backbone of millennial culture and love of the internet. Used for years as a simple means of communication on social media platforms, the inherently comedic photos have started to reference significantly more than just pop culture itself. Political memes on Facebook have started to spread like wildfire as a result of the upcoming 2020 election, flooding the newsfeeds of people everywhere. Acting somewhat as advertisements, Facebook has implemented a separate page for these posts, as well as other political branded content, in an attempt to heighten transparency in political campaigns.

During the age of all things social media, it is no secret that targeted advertisements pop up daily. With more consumers turning to applications like Instagram to do their shopping, direct-to-consumer brands with a high following are gaining traction. What is even more interesting is how these brands are now making headway into brick-and-mortar stores through store concepts like Showfields. Self-labeled as “the most interesting store in the world”, Showfields is reimagining how shoppers interact with online-only brands.

We traditionally think of social media as a place to connect with friends and family, share photos and videos, and stay updated on current events, but for brands and companies, its far more than that. The use of social media for customer service is becoming a game changer for any company with an online presence.

Hundreds of customers reach out to companies and brands on a daily basis, and they expect a timely and helpful response. Keep reading to see how your company can avoid a PR nightmare by effectively using social media for customer service.

Why is customer care on social media important?

We all know what an important role customer service plays in the success of any business. Thoughtful customer care ensures customer retention, customer advocacy, and most importantly, sales.

If you were working in a brick and mortar retail store, you would never ignore a customer who walked up to you and asked you about a product or had a complaint. Yet, brands only respond to 50 percent of customer messages online. Ignoring customer messages has a big impact that business don’t realize. According to Marketing Land, failing to respond can give you a 43 percent decrease in customer advocacy while a reply can increase it by 20 percent.

Responding to all direct questions lets customers know that you’re watching and actively participating. Selectively responding sends a message that you don’t care about all of your customers or that your business doesn’t have the resources to provide an answer. Customer care on social media is a springboard for brand loyalty, increased sales, and customer retention.

What should you do when a customer complains on social media?

• Find all mentions. To fully address customer dissatisfaction, it is crucial to find all instances of it. To find all your mentions, employ a social media listening software and set up Google Alerts.
• Display empathy. Even if you think your business was not in the wrong, offer empathy to the customer to set them at ease and begin communications on the right note.
• Respond to all complaints. Selective responses put your business in a poor light. Be sure to respond to all customers in a timely manner.
• Offer a solution. Customers reach out on social media often because traditional customer service channels have failed them. When possible, offer a constructive solution to their complaint.
• Have a consistent customer care voice. Your social approach should be cohesive across all service responses and platforms. To keep this in check while allowing multiple people to manage accounts, create a voice strategy so everyone on your team knows how to represent the brand on social media.
• Know other customers are watching. Social media is the most public of all customer service domains. In drafting responses, keep in mind that all your customers have an eye out.

Customers have more power and influence on social channels than ever before. If you fail to treat social media as more than just a promotional platform, you could find yourself in a world of trouble. To keep learning about social media for customer service, check out Hootsuite’s comprehensive guide here.

Social media is prevalent in everything we do – including in our careers. Whether you’re applying for a job or just want to keep the one you have, maintaining a professional presence on social media is crucial. These simple rules will help make sure you’re looking professional on social media.