Employee Advocacy on LinkedIn

Your employees are your biggest asset, not just in the workplace but also in the digital space. With LinkedIn at the heart of professional networking, employee advocacy has become a powerful way to expand brand reach, build trust, and engage with new audiences authentically.

 

But what exactly is employee advocacy, and how can you encourage your team to champion your brand online? Read our guide below to find out.

What Is Employee Advocacy?

Employee advocacy is when your employees actively promote your company on their personal LinkedIn profiles. This can include sharing company updates, posting thought leadership content, engaging with company posts, or even creating content that aligns with your brand’s values.

 

When done right, it transforms your workforce into an extension of your marketing team, amplifying your brand’s visibility and credibility. Instead of relying solely on corporate messaging, advocacy leverages the personal connections and authenticity of your team, making your brand more relatable and trustworthy.

 

Why Is Employee Advocacy Important?

People trust people more than brands. Studies show that content shared by employees gets significantly more engagement than content posted from a company page. Here’s why you should embrace employee advocacy:

 

Increased Reach: Your employees collectively have a larger, more diverse network than your company page alone. According to LinkedIn data, employees typically have 10 times more connections than a company has followers.

 

Boosted Credibility: Employee-shared content is seen as more authentic and trustworthy. When employees advocate for their workplace, it appears more genuine than polished marketing messages.

 

Stronger Employer Brand: Showcasing your company culture through your employees helps attract top talent. Prospective hires often check LinkedIn to get a feel for a company’s work environment.

 

Higher Engagement: Posts from individuals tend to get better interaction than corporate posts, which can sometimes feel too promotional.

 

Lead Generation and Sales: Employees who actively share content position themselves as
industry experts, helping to build trust with potential clients.

How to Encourage Employee Advocacy on LinkedIn

 

Make It Easy to Share

One of the biggest barriers to employee advocacy is a lack of time or uncertainty about what to post. Providing employees with engaging, shareable content can help. This could be blog posts, case studies, or company news. Better yet, create a centralised content hub where they can easily access pre-approved posts with suggested captions.

 

Consider using internal newsletters, Slack channels, or an employee advocacy platform to distribute content effectively. The easier you make it, the more likely employees will participate.

 

Empower Employees to Create Their Own Content

While resharing company posts is helpful, the most effective advocacy comes from original content. Encourage your team to share their personal experiences, industry insights, or success stories related to your company.

 

For example, if an employee has completed a major project, encourage them to write about the experience. If someone attends an industry event, they could share key takeaways. Personalised posts tend to perform better than generic reshared content because they feel more authentic and provide unique value.

 

Lead by Example

Senior leadership should set the tone by actively engaging on LinkedIn. When employees see leaders advocating for the company, they’re more likely to follow suit. Leaders can:

 

Share their insights on industry trends

 

Celebrate company achievements and employee milestones

 

Engage with employee posts by liking, commenting, or resharing

 

A strong LinkedIn presence from leadership fosters a culture where sharing and engagement are the norm, not the exception

 

Provide Training and Support

Not everyone is comfortable posting on LinkedIn, and some may not know where to start. Offering training sessions on how to craft effective LinkedIn posts, engage with others, and build a professional personal brand can go a long way.

 

Consider creating a LinkedIn best practices guide that covers:

 

–  How to write an engaging post.

 

–  The best times to post for maximum visibility.

 

–  How to use LinkedIn’s features (e.g., hashtags, mentions, and LinkedIn articles).

 

–  How to engage with comments and start meaningful conversations. By removing barriers and building confidence, you empower employees to become active participants in your advocacy programme.

 

Recognise and Reward Participation

Acknowledging and incentivising employees who consistently advocate for the brand can significantly boost participation. Here are a few ideas:

 

Public Recognition: Give a shoutout to top advocates in internal meetings or company newsletters.

 

Leaderboards: Gamify the process by tracking engagement metrics and highlighting top contributors.

 

Incentives: Offer small rewards such as gift cards, extra time off, or LinkedIn endorsements. Making advocacy fun and rewarding helps create a culture where employees feel motivated to share.

 

Encourage Thought Leadership

 

Encourage employees to go beyond sharing company content and start positioning themselves as thought leaders in their industry. Thought leadership posts such as opinions on industry trends, lessons learned from experience, or solutions to common problems, perform
exceptionally well on LinkedIn.

 

Thought leadership benefits both the employee and the company. Employees gain credibility and career growth opportunities, while the company gains increased brand visibility and trust.

 

 

Common Pitfalls of Employee Advocacy And How to Avoid Them

 

While employee advocacy offers immense benefits, it can go wrong without proper planning. Here’s how to navigate potential challenges:

 

Inconsistent Participation: Lack of motivation can result in low engagement. Address this by
making sharing easy, recognising efforts, and creating a culture of advocacy.

 

Unaligned Messaging: Employees might share content that conflicts with your brand values. Provide clear brand guidelines and approved content options.

 

Overly Promotional Posts: Posts that feel like sales pitches can reduce authenticity. Encourage employees to share personal stories and insights rather than promotional content.

 

Lack of Training: Employees may not know what or how to post. Offer ongoing training and a best practices guide.

 

Burnout or Fatigue: Overloading employees can lead to disengagement. Space out advocacy initiatives and avoid overwhelming requests.
Find out more in Linkedin’s very own employee advocacy guide.

 

Monitor and Measure Success

To understand the impact of your employee advocacy programme, track key metrics such as:

 

Engagement rates: How many likes, comments, and shares employee posts receive.

 

Reach: How many people are exposed to employee-shared content.

 

Traffic referrals: How much website traffic is driven from LinkedIn.

 

New connections or leads: If employee advocacy is contributing to business growth. Use LinkedIn’s analytics tools and advocacy platforms like Hootsuite or Sprout Social to monitor results and refine your strategy.

 

Conclusion

Employee advocacy on LinkedIn is all about increasing brand awareness whilst utilising the trust and authenticity of your team to create meaningful connections. When your employees become brand ambassadors, you not only grow your reach, but you strengthen your brand’s reputation and engagement.

 

Employees who actively participate enhance their personal brands, grow their professional networks, and position themselves as industry experts, all while benefiting your company’s visibility. The key to a successful advocacy program is making it easy, rewarding, and aligned with both the company’s and employees’ goals.

 

 

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