Most businesses understand the power of branding. Your brand is what helps you stand out in an overcrowded marketplace. It is the connection between your business and its audience. We are all familiar with the notion of using famous celebrities to build brand awareness, but have you considered the benefits of turning your employees into brand advocates?
Today’s generation of employees spend a huge amount of time on social media. We are all guilty of posting way too many details of our everyday lives on social media and somewhat inevitably, our workplace experiences seep into the real-life information feed.
Make Employees Feel Valued
When an employee feels valued, they tell their friends. Conversely, if they feel the company they work for is not treating them well, they are quite likely to share their views online. There is no end of information about brands online. The key is to make sure any information posted by your employees is positive.
Create a Happy and Healthy Workplace
By creating the right workplace culture, you can ensure your employees truly believe in your brand. Happy employees will showcase your brand on social media, which helps to build positive brand awareness with potential clients. It also makes recruitment a lot easier. After all, the first thing any prospective employee is going to do is search for reviews on websites like Glassdoor.
So how can you make sure your employees are positive brand advocates?
- Create a happy, healthy workplace where employees feel safe and cared for. Employees who feel valued will stick around and reward you with their loyalty.
- Be very clear about what the brand stands for. You need to get your employees on board 100%. Let them know their contribution to the business is important. This creates a sense of shared purpose whereby everyone is working together.
- Implement strong two-way communication policies. Employees need to feel listened to. There is no point in just paying lip service to feedback. If someone makes a valid point, take their views on board and make changes.
- Lead from the front. All businesses need to have competent people in leadership roles. Be careful whom you have in these roles and make sure their leadership style accurately reflects the values of the company.
- Provide opportunities for employees to progress within the workplace. Most people do not want to do the same role for twenty years with zero chance of promotion. If you provide the means for employees to better themselves, those with aspiration will feel more valued.
- Do not forget to support the local community. Encourage your employees to take part in charity events – offer them financial incentives and let them take sabbaticals so they can support worthy causes.
Respect Your Employees
The more you respect your employees the better brand advocates they will be. Your employees will post information online about you whatever you do, but if you treat them well, they will voluntarily share their feelings across social media and the wider internet. In today’s jaded world, this type of authenticity is hard to beat.
