Employee Advocacy | Meaning & Definition

Employee advocacy refers to the promotion and support of a company’s brand, products, or services by its employees. It involves employees voluntarily sharing positive content about their employer on their personal social media channels, in conversations with friends and family, or in professional settings.
Employee advocacy is often seen as an effective way to enhance brand credibility, expand reach, and attract potential customers, as messages shared by employees are perceived as more authentic and trustworthy than those coming directly from the company.
Additionally, it can boost employee engagement and morale by empowering them to be brand ambassadors.

Benefits of Employee Advocacy

Some of the following benefits are:

Increased brand visibility: Employees sharing positive messages about their company increases its visibility on social media and other platforms. This can help attract potential customers, partners, and even their potential employees.

Enhanced credibility: People tend to trust the recommendations from employees they know over traditional advertising. When employees share content about their company, it tends to enhance the credibility of a brand.

Employee Engagement and Satisfaction: Encouraging employees to advocate for their company can increase their engagement and satisfaction. It can make them feel more connected to the organization and proud of their work, leading to higher levels of motivation and productivity.

Recruitment Benefits: When employees advocate for their company, they not only promote its products or services but also its culture and values. This can attract potential job candidates who align with the company culture, reducing recruitment costs and improving retention rates.

How does the company measure the impact of employee advocacy?

Measuring the impact of employee advocacy requires a combination of qualitative and quantitative metrics to assess its effectiveness. Here are some common methods companies use to measure the impact of employee advocacy:

Engagement Metrics: Companies can track engagement metrics such as likes, shares, comments, and retweets on social media posts shared by employees. Higher levels of engagement indicate that the content resonates with the audience and has a broader reach.

Reach and Impressions: Monitoring the reach and impressions of employee-shared content provides insights into how many people have seen or interacted with the posts. Analyzing these metrics helps gauge the overall impact of employee advocacy efforts on brand visibility.

Website Traffic: Companies can track website traffic originating from employee-shared content to measure its impact on driving traffic to their website. This can be done using web analytics tools to identify referral sources and track user behavior on the website.

Lead Generation and Conversion: Tracking leads and conversions resulting from employee-shared content helps measure its impact on the sales pipeline. Companies can attribute leads and conversions to specific employee advocacy activities to assess their contribution to revenue generation.