What is Employee Advocacy and How Can This Help Build My Brand?

Here’s how an effective employee advocacy strategy can build loyalty in your organization and amplify your social media messaging.

What is Employee Advocacy? This may not be a term you’re familiar with, but it’s undoubtedly one that is impacting your business and your bottom line.  A study from Weber Shandwick found that 50% of the U.S. workforce is voluntarily sharing about their employer via social media—that’s 60 million people talking about their place of employment. With that kind of exposure, ask yourself: What message are my employees sending out about my company?

Sales representatives using social media outsell 78% of their peers.

This is where an Employee Advocacy Plan comes into play. Studies indicate that when specific employees talk about your brand on various social media platforms, brand awareness can increase by 14x. [Check out these statistics!] This is because your employees are already on social media, and the average employee has 10x more followers than a corporate network. Not only that, but 90% of their audience is new to your brand. If that isn’t enough to convince you that your employees may hold the key to your next big marketing push, consider this: Only 15% of people trust recommendations from a brand. But, if that same recommendation comes from a person they know, that number jumps up to 84% (WeRSM).

How is a social media policy different from employee advocacy?

If you have a social media policy in place, that’s great—but it’s not the same as an Employee Advocacy plan. Your policy tells your employees how they can act on social media channels. Or, in most situations, they should NOT be participating in social media activity while at work. It’s the best way to stave off legal or security problems, but it doesn’t guarantee that your employees will post anything positive about your brand.

This is the big difference between social media policies and advocacy plans: One sets boundaries for your employees, while the other tells specific employees how they can advocate for your brand within those bounds. Of course, you don’t want every employee speaking on behalf of your company!

Who makes a good advocate?

Why not use every employee as an advocate? After all, the more employees you use, the more exposure your brand receives, right?

Wrong. This is NOT what we’re talking about.

Do you want every employee in your organization sharing posts on behalf of your company and adding their own ‘unedited’ comments? Absolutely not. There is a time and place for strategies that invite all employees to participate (I’ll touch on that later), but you should be selective about who is acting as your brand ambassador. Good advocates are employees who directly connect to your customers and prospective buyers and have already received training on communicating your message. They are individuals you know will use good judgment in what they “like”, “share,” and “comment on”. Potential candidates include management (specifically sales and marketing), field sales representatives, and perhaps customer service representatives.

5 Tips on Creating Your Employee Advocacy Plan:

1. Make the benefits clear. No employee wants to spam their social network. Participation should be voluntary since it relies on employees using their social media channels. What do they get from blurring the lines between work and personal life? Create a competition and offer an incentive to the advocate who generates the highest number of leads. Of course, you need to define the measurement up front and keep it simple.

2. Invest up front. If you’re considering attaching your advocate’s social media profile directly to the company (e.g., your head marketer has a secondary X (Twitter) account linked to the company), hire a photographer to take professional headshots. Consider holding a special training on how they should interact on behalf of your brand: Is your company’s voice fun and youthful? Serious and professional? Please make sure they can be both themselves and consistent with the brand.

3. Choose the right social platforms. The days of feeling obligated to have a presence on every social media channel are over. Based on your industry and target market, choose the social media channel(s) best suited to build your brand and deepen your relationship with existing customers. Did you know that 80% of those who participate on LinkedIn do not engage on any other social media channels? LinkedIn is the top B2B lead-generating social platform for reaching professionals and key decision-makers. Here are some statistics for you. Another underestimated social channel is Pinterest. Building product manufacturers, architects, designers…there is so much more B2B activity on Pinterest than expected. Need a project or product showcase? Pinterest makes it easy!

4. Communicate and monitor. Ensure you communicate the difference between your social media policy and your employee advocacy plan. Designate someone on your marketing team to be responsible for monitoring your social media activity to ensure everyone is complying—at least until you are comfortable.

5. Focus on the benefits. Be cautious, but don’t overthink the potential negatives because the employees you choose to be advocates for your brand already are, right? They are on the front line for you daily, talking with customers and prospects. All you are doing is asking them to “tune in” to what your marketing team is posting on social media to “like” and “share” with their connections and followers—many of whom are customers and influencers.

Look at the number of social media connections on your company page. Now, look at the number of connections some of your key sales representatives have. People connect with people, not as much with company pages. The company page is more of a repository—a place to share information that should be shared exponentially by its employee advocates and external influencers.

Ultimately, your Employee Advocacy Plan needs to reflect your company. What works for one company won’t work for another. It’s up to you to know your employees, product or service, and customer base well enough to marry the three into a successful plan. If you’re unsure where to start or how to create a plan that works for you, we’re here to help. Take action with our marketing team, and let’s get your Employee Advocacy Plan off the ground.

The Value of a Professional Headshot

HOW A PROFESSIONAL HEADSHOT CAN IMPROVE YOUR PERSONAL BRAND RECOGNITION

If you’re going to be part of a professional business, having a professional headshot is crucial in putting your best face forward. Although it may seem unimportant in the grand scheme of running or working for a business, it’s very beneficial for communicating your brand. Your brand is what sells your business and putting effort toward formulating a certain brand will guarantee good sales. Make sure to choose someone who specializes in professional business photography.

The definition of a headshot is simple: A headshot is a portrait of yourself you can use for your website, social media, brochures, or any other method you use in order to promote your business. It helps clients or other collaborators remember who you are and remember what sort of business you are promoting. A professional headshot is one among many small details that can make a big difference for you and your business, whether you are a manufacturer, distributor architect, interior designer, you name it. Of course, your professional “headshot” should not be limited to just that. Get creative. Have fun. But, stay true to who you are,  the business you represent and make sure your images speak to your primary target audience.

FIVE KEY CONSIDERATIONS TO USING A PROFESSIONAL HEADSHOT TO CULTIVATE YOUR BRAND:

1. Personalization of your business. Of course, every business is made up of people. However, being able to show off the specific team of people that make up your business helps to personalize the company. Personalization of your business is important as it helps collaborators to trust your business as an organization made up of trustworthy, competent people. A trustworthy and competent brand is beneficial for any business, and in turn will make your company an easier sell. 

2. Professional Headshot → Professional Perception. Whether we want it to or not, first impressions can be everything. A headshot serves as your first impression to people who may be collaborating with your business. Since you get to decide what you want your headshot to convey, you can formulate the first impression you want to make. Having a professionally taken headshot puts forth a professional appearance. An initial impression of professionalism will make you and your business stand out. Click here to read more tips on how to create a professional-looking headshot.

3. Communicate with style. Just as the professionalism of the headshot quality communicates a certain message, so will your outfit and style. The clothing you choose for your headshot will contribute immensely to your brand statement. Certain outfits can communicate a very specific message about your company. Whether you want to appear professional, or more laid-back and casual, the clothing employees choose for their headshots will be a tremendous aid in showcasing what the general feel of your company is. Learn more  about how to choose your headshot outfit. 

4. Makes you recognizable to business contacts. A headshot is very practical, as it provides a face to look for when meeting up with people outside of your business. This makes outsiders feel more comfortable visiting your business, as they have already been able to put a face to whomever they’ve been communicating with up to that point. If collaborators can quickly associate people with the business, this already surrounds your brand with a feeling of trust and familiarity for the client.

5. Confidence. Having a headshot that portrays you as a professional, trustworthy, and competent employee will help you feel just the same. A business comprised of confident employees is more functional, and thus makes the appearance of functionality authentic. No matter what your brand is, confidence will be crucial in selling it.

Although a headshot may seem relatively unimportant compared to everything else you need to run an effective business, a good headshot can do a surprising amount of work regarding the development of your personal brand. A professional headshot is an excellent investment for your business and in branding yourself as someone people can trust to get the job done. 

Are you curious about what it means to have a personal brand and how it can benefit your business? No matter what your line of work is, Division 08 Marketing wants to help you to get the answers you need. Schedule your free, 30-minute consultation today to discuss branding your business the way you want it to be.

How to Market to Architects

What type of marketing will catch an architect’s eye?

 As a building products manufacturer or supplier, marketing to architects can be more challenging than marketing to your direct buyers. The needs and interest within the architectural community are different. Oftentimes, companies have innovative and useful building products that many architects would be interested in learning more about. But how can you get that information in front of the architect, so they can see what you have to offer?

Three questions that will guide you to gaining a better understanding of what architects are looking for.

1.     What resources do architects need from your website?

• BIM Objects

• CAD Drawings

• Case studies

• Continuing Education

• Environmental Product Declarations [EPD’s]

• LEED [How your products contribute]

• Performance data

• Product information

• Project images

• Specifications

• Technical support

• Warranty information

• White papers

The main thing to remember when assessing your website through the eyes of an architect is that they are busy professionals who need to be able to use your website quickly and efficiently to get information on your products. Keep that framework in mind as you work to design your website and present your products. It’s important that when an architect is viewing a product on your website they can quickly and easily obtain more resources about that product while on that page. For some tips on designing your website to draw in customers, take a look at this blog from Division 08 Marketing.

2.      How do architects prefer to receive information?

The main thing to remember when sending information to architects is to keep it simple, visually appealing and easy to digest. You want an architect to be able to quickly receive your information and to be inspired to learn more about it through your website or a consultation.

• Printed literature. Even though digital marketing is a very important factor in marketing to architects, sometimes it is just better to be able to flip through real-life pages to see a company’s products. Remember that architects are problem-solvers. Demonstrate how your products can help solve the challenges they are facing. Use education and teaching to encourage architects to further explore your products.

• Email. Transitioning to the digital side of things, emails are an excellent way to disseminate information about your products and company to architects. Remember to keep your emails clean, simple and informative. Make sure that your emails are easy to read and not too lengthy. Also, try not to send too generic of an email to an architect: Take time to discover their area of focus and to show that you care enough to do some homework. Make sure that what you’re offering fits what they need and be specific about which of your products would be helpful to their work. Click here for an article with more information about email marketing techniques.

• Do not send unwanted samples, brochures and booklets, etc. The last thing an architect needs is more clutter. Send printed literature or emails that include information about how they CAN get samples, case studies, brochures and other materials as needed, but don’t send until you receive a request. Make your products accessible, but don’t bombard architects with items they didn’t request.

3.      How do architects’ value social media?

Architects, like most of us, are using social media. But, how can you engage with them on social media?

1. Visual inspiration. Architects are using social media to share and view visually inspiring things. Architects value aesthetics and innovation, so make sure to utilize social media to showcase your products in a visually-appealing manner. Get creative!

2. Passion projects. Architects are using social media to showcase the projects they really care about. You can use this knowledge to learn more about what an architect cares about and how your products can support those passions.

3. Engage with other industry professionals. Social media is an excellent place for professionals to connect and exchange ideas. Architects, and professionals from many industries, are using social media to connect with others in their field in order to share ideas, find new products and network. It’s important to make sure that your social media presence encourages architects to engage with your company and products.

Social media is a fantastic tool for networking with architects. Use your social media presence to provide visually-inspiring content that encourages architects to engage in further conversations with your company.

Are you ready to take the next step?

Division 08 Marketing is here to assist your company to be the best it can be at marketing to architects. Schedule your free, 30-minute consultation today to start reaching your marketing goals and learn more marketing tips.