We’ve rounded up 5 of the best employee advocacy examples and given them a video facelift. Employee generated videos are engaging, emotional, emphatic and educational. All of which you need to ace your next employee advocacy program. Read on and get inspired!
What is employee advocacy and why it matters
Before we kick off with our employee advocacy examples and turn them on their head with video, it’s worth going back to the basics. What is employee advocacy and why should businesses even care?
In a nutshell, as the title itself suggests, employee advocacy is the promotion of a business through employees who work there. There’s no better way to market how awesome your business is than by letting your employees speak for you.
These days trust is a precious commodity in business. The 2022 Edelman trust barometer shows a rise of trust in experts, but many disbelieve traditional media and CEOs beyond their immediate network. Co-workers on the other hand are trusted at a very high rate.
Employee advocacy is no longer nice to have. It’s essential for building trust in a business. Whether your goal is to raise brand awareness, hire talent or educate your existing workforce (or maybe all three!), to differentiate yourself and succeed in today’s marketplace you will need to roll up your sleeves and start investing in employee advocacy programs.
And, yet even though the benefits of employee advocacy are evident, 80% of employers simply don’t have an advocacy program developed. Employers are faced with the usual challenges involved when embarking on something new as well as some very distinct pitfalls of advocacy. To name a few:
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- Difficult to get their heads around what should go into a program or how to manage one
- Unable to empower and motivate employees to get involved
- No buy-in from leadership and subsequently no budget
- Finding the right technology to do the job
5 best employee advocacy examples reimagined in video
1. Penske employees become thought leaders on social media
A global leader in supply chain and logistics, Penske wanted to engage a younger audience. They took to social media platforms to appeal to this new generation and build their reputation as thought leaders. Employee advocacy provided easily shared content to make their customers’ comfortable and confident they were speaking to the experts.
Why we love it
Penske didn’t just attract a new audience with their social media testimonials. They created a platform where their employees shared content and expertise with colleagues across the organization.
Starting out with approved material, several employees began suggesting content. They saw the number of relevant posts for the entire team increase as everyone embraced knowledge sharing.
How video could have helped
Thought leadership requires trust in your expertise. But building trust isn’t easy – particularly when you’re trying to do it digitally rather than face-to-face.
Videos create greater human connection than other forms of content. But often employees aren’t confident recording and sharing videos. Giving them guidance and making it easier for people to press record will help. StoryTagger’s easy to use interface allows people to focus on producing impactful testimonials, rather than mastering video tech and inbuilt questions and prompts gives the support they need to share their opinions.
Free guide
Create impact with stories
What’s included:
- Why people struggle to share stories on digital channels
- Where employee stories are creating impact
- Measuring ROI of employee storytelling
Example of StoryTagger video template
With StoryTagger you can invite people to share subject matter expertise with ease by using one of our customisable templates.
2. Randstad create over 2,000 brand ambassadors
Human resources consultancy firm Randstad has employees working across 10 lines of business in 38 countries around the world. Such a complex organisation needed an easy way to manage their employee training. A simplified employee advocacy programme delivered via social media made everyone’s lives easier – from programme admins to content creators and users.
Why we love it
Expertise exists across organisations in different departments and locations. Rather than working in silos, Randstad empowered their employees to share their knowledge and make connections across the globe.
With lots of employees producing and using content, the organisation understood the importance of keeping things simple. By identifying core employee groups and topics, they ensured their employees could quickly and easily find the content they needed.
How video could have helped
Large global organisations often find it difficult to share knowledge effectively. With lots of demands on employee’s attention, content needs to be easily accessed and digested. Video is the answer.
With its question prompts and section time limits to keep creators concise and on topic, StoryTagger enables employees to create the short, sharp videos their peers want to see.
Example of StoryTagger video template
Enable your employees to share what they learned with this easy to use ready-made StoryTagger template.
3. Merck attract talent with authentic employee stories
Faced with a limited talent pool to draw from, pharma giant Merck took a different approach to attracting new hires. They realised that each Merck employee had a story to tell. By providing an employee advocacy platform to share these stories, they presented a genuine employer brand and an enticing picture of their company culture.
Why we love it
Attracting and retaining talent is a key challenge that most organisations face today. And no one can give potential applicants a better idea of a company’s culture than their existing employees.
Merck offered training to help employees build capability on social media. From networking events to spotlight series, employees felt comfortable sharing the everyday ways they brought their company’s values to life.
How video could have helped
Whether they’re discussing their typical day or summarising career opportunities, videos made by employees offer an authentic insight into the real working life of a company.
The key here is showcasing a range of voices. Using the StoryTagger mobile app with its simple interface makes it easy to record stories from anywhere, at any time and gives everyone the ability to confidently tell their story.
Example of StoryTagger video template
Empower your employees to tell the story of their work experience with this awesome ready-made ‘A day in the life’ template.
4. MuleSoft increase brand awareness through employees sharing content
Software company, MuleSoft wanted to raise brand awareness and convert leads through new product launches. Employee advocacy was the perfect way to get their message out in the tech world. From articles to blogs, employees shared content across their networks. This built credibility and thought leadership in the eyes of a much wider audience.
Why we love it
No one understands what a product offers better than the people who created it. Authentic enthusiasm and expert knowledge of employees can be far more impactful than the most expensive marketing campaign.
MuleSoft’s employee advocacy platform took a gamified approach. The chance to win rewards and badges encouraged employees to increase their expertise and show off their new knowledge on the platform.
How video could have helped
There’s no better way to show employee’s enthusiasm than with video. When someone is passionate about a product and the benefits it brings, it shows on camera and people emotionally connect.
StoryTagger can take this to the next level. Breaking down a product story into different parts helps provide a narrative arc. It translates someone’s passion into an engaging video.
Example of StoryTagger video template
Inspire your employees to believe in your product and embed product knowledge with this ready-made template.
Free guide: Why you need an intentional strategy for curating employee-generated content.
5. Shopify encourages entrepreneurs to become brand advocates
A wide range of companies sell their unique products and services through Shopify. Instead of getting people to like or retweet brand content, Shopify spreads brand awareness through employee advocacy. They do this by encouraging employees to demonstrate their own expertise and skills with how-to guides, interviews and case studies – to name just a few.
Why we love it
Shopify understand the power of advocacy. Their shout-out to the people who really know their business resulted in a huge variety of engaging content.
With marketing courses and training available, every employee was on the same page. They simply published new content on the Shopify blog and it’s shared across their social channels.
How video could have helped
In fact, Shopify employees do use video (which just shows how popular the format is). But what was missing from their approach was helping people produce consistently engaging, high quality videos.
What they needed was structure. By using a selection of prompts, StoryTagger breaks things down into manageable, bite-sized parts. This makes sure everyone stays on point, whether they’re talking about product showcases or business stories.
Example of StoryTagger video template
Share customer stories easily and always on point with this ready-made customer success stories video template.
Final thoughts
Employee advocacy makes your business stand out with credible and authentic stories. Whether you want to create brand awareness or employee engagement, launching an employee advocacy program is a great idea. These employee advocacy program examples show how you can encourage employees to:
- Shine a light on their expertise with customer testimonials
- Share their skills, knowledge and experience
- Showcase your company culture through real-life stories
- Convey passion for your products and services
This isn’t just about getting employees to produce lots of material. You need to give them the tools and the confidence to produce effective and engaging content. As you’ve seen with our employee advocacy examples, you can take this to the next level by using video to tell authentic, on-point and powerful employee stories.
Ready to put this into practice with a tool that actively supports employee advocacy success? See what StoryTagger can do for you with a free demo.
Free guide
Storytelling at work
Why you need an intentional strategy for curating employee-generated content. Download it today.