Commonly described as a widely held but false belief or idea, a myth can be fairly damaging when left unattended. And the buzz around the nascent concept of employee advocacy has developed a few of its own.
Even though interest in employee advocacy is at an all-time high, certain myths keep business owners skeptical about embracing it as a marketing strategy.
Here, we’ll address 7 myths, and leave nothing in the gray area.
1. Employees don’t want to share brand content on their personal pages.
Actually, 50% of employees are already talking about their employers on social media.Organizational pride, industry leader ambitions or incentive motivation could be just a few of the reasons employees share brand content.
There might be roadblocks, but with the right training, you’ll still see success.
2. Employee advocacy is not relevant to my business.
You might think that employee advocacy works only for B2C companies and not B2B, right? Wrong.
Consider targeting the 60 million C-level decision makers on LinkedIn. Your brand means something to them. And it’s still considered social media.
3. It’s not possible to create so much content.
Don’t fret. Employees can be a great source of content. Encourage them to share content that they believe will be of value to their colleagues. Moderate the content and you’re all set.
To limit the impact this has on productivity, assign the task to a select few and you’d be amazed at the results.
4. Productivity will decrease
No one’s saying that social media does not take up time. But thanks to progression and innovation, employee advocacy doesn’t have to be.
Instead of scouring the internet for things to share, invest in an employee advocacy tool that gives your employees the benefit of one click sharing.
Your productivity problems will just fly away.
5. I don’t need an employee advocacy program
From experience, we can confirm that making sharing mandatory isn’t the answer to a successful employee advocacy program.
Nurture the personal connection employees have with their networks. Remember, content is everything. And a structured program will give you insights into what your readers and sharers want to share.
6. Employee advocacy can ruin my reputation
With proper moderation, this can never happen anyway. But if anything, it does stress on the need to adopt a formal program.
Plus, we doubt your employees dislike you that much! 🙂
7. There’s no way to measure success
An employee advocacy tool is the best way to address this. They come equipped with real-time reporting that will give you a bird’s eye view of all the important statistics you need to keep an eye on.
So, what do these myths teach us?
Simple.
- Little knowledge is a dangerous thing,
- There’s a ton of behind the scenes strategizing, and
- Somethings are best left to experts.
So contact our team for a free trial on SocioAdvocacy
The original version of this article appeared on Business2Community. You can read it here.
