Tap into your employee’s power as brand ambassadors

There’s a tried-and-true method of marketing that’s stuck around through many changes in the way businesses communicate with their customers: recruiting public figures and respected authorities to get the public’s attention and endorse your product or service. In the ‘90s it was Michael Jordan hawking athletic shoes; these days it’s “influencers” promoting cosmetics on Instagram and an army of “brand ambassadors” - lacking the widespread fame but still influential among their peers - spreading the word about everything from teeth whiteners to wine glasses.

There’s big money in social influence, but if you run a business you might be ignoring a major untapped source of advocates: your own employees.

Your employees know your business better than anyone else. They show up daily with their time, efforts and skill sets, partly because they care about your mission and are interested in your brand. They interact with your customers and act as the face of your business to the world.

Then, in their free time, they go out into the world and interact with countless people: their families, their friends, their running clubs, their pottery classes, the people in their fantasy football leagues. These social networks are a vital source of potential clients who have yet to know or care about your brand - but, with a little nudge, could be brought on side.

With a little support, they could be spreading the world and advocating for your business throughout those interactions. They could be your most effective influencers and brand ambassadors.

When excited about the brand, employees have the capacity to gravely influence those around them. In fact, word-of-mouth referrals are the most influential psychological driver of brand engagement. 92% of consumers trust word of mouth referrals from friends, family and colleagues, compared to only 33% of customers who believe in online ads.

This is because personal referrals are considered “earned media” rather than a paid celebrity endorsement or advertisement that has been sold to the highest bidder. It’s genuine. 

The case for word-of-mouth marketing is solid. But in order for employees to be effective in that role, you need to create a team that’s excited about their brand and can communicate it effectively. There are two parts to this. The first is to give your employees some sense of ownership over the brand and the success of the business, so that they feel personally invested in it. The second is to empower them with the skills to express themselves clearly and effectively.

Employees need a set of tools to help best communicate the brand and mission in order to create new audiences and fan bases. Your team members should embody the brand’s message and be comfortable expressing it in a way that feels genuine and authentic to them. 

Employers must provide a framework with training that allows for their employees to speak in their own voices, talk about why the work matters to them, and build their own personal cases for support as brand ambassadors to their social network. 

Depending on the size of your organization and how much autonomy and control you have over the organization’s brand and messaging, one way to do this is to co-create the brand story with your employees so that they can see themselves in it. This helps create that sense of ownership that will help them feel more strongly about the message and more confident sharing it. It’s a tactic used by General Electric, the 18th most valuable brand in the US, which increased its job applications by 800% and grew organic brand engagement through a campaign in which employees shared on Linkedin why they work at GE. 

Above all, employees need to feel positively about their role. Brand advocacy will come naturally when employees care about the brand. If you’re finding your employees aren't choosing to promote your brand, it may mean that you need to evaluate your team’s motivation and job satisfaction.

Research suggests that Gen Xers and Millennials tend to gain job satisfaction from competitive pay, meaningful work and consistent professional development opportunities. In particular, Millennials - quickly becoming the largest cohort in the workforce - need frequent challenges and are more likely to stay with a company that shows an active interest in their professional development.

As an employer, you can satisfy both conditions for employee ambassadorship - a sense of satisfaction and ownership, as well as solid communication skills - by investing in training for your employees. 

In our experience at Stage Light Communications, plenty of employees want to advocate for their organization and do a better job of communicating their employer’s message. The problem is that they don’t know how, and the prospect feels overwhelming. Younger employees in particular may never have learned how to deliver an elevator pitch, or have never been supported to become strong public speakers, or simply don’t have a good grasp on how to communicate effectively. In school and in the work world, these skills are often taken for granted rather than nurtured in mart and intentional way. But when employees are given a toolkit of skills and a chance to explore their communication challenges, they often surprise and impress everyone - most of all themselves.

A well-designed training program will foster employees as brand ambassadors by helping them understand the brand story and why it matters; connect with others more effectively; and express themselves with clarity and confidence. Your team will then be more likely speak positively about the brand to their social network (and consequently, your new audience).

The bottom line: empowered, engaged employees with solid communication skills are an organization's greatest asset. As brand advocates, they are more valuable than any paid endorsement. 

Ready to tap into your team’s social influence? It starts with an investment in their development. At Stage Light Communications we offer workshops to help your team express themselves clearly and confidently, so that they can become authentic, enthusiastic advocates for your brand. Contact us to find out how.