Employee advocacy: the recruitment marketing strategy you need now

Marketers understand the impact of word of mouth on sales, but do recruiters understand its significance in talent attraction? Word of mouth marketing, the original social media platform, is one of the most powerful ways to save you time and resources, and authentically promote your reputation as an employer.

In today’s tight talent market, recruiters must think like marketers. Employee advocacy is a form of word of mouth marketing that can net you more, higher-quality candidates by promoting your employer brand and reputation to potential candidates.

Kimberly Whitler reporting for Forbes explains how technology has immensely increased the power of word of mouth referrals. So think of this in terms of recruitment marketing!

“Technology has increased social connectivity making it easier than ever for consumers [or employees] to do your marketing for you. A post that takes just a few minutes for a fan to write will be seen by hundreds of friends who trust them, and it can rapidly travel out to thousands more. Very well-planned messages have been shared by millions within the span of days.”

The strategy Whitler suggests, while aimed at marketers targetting sales, is relevant and important for recruiters. In applying the principles of engaging, equipping, and empowering your people, you can become the most beloved and talked about employer in your field, which will ultimately improve the volume and quality of your talent pipeline. Good word of mouth referrals will generate conversations and recommendations for your organisation.

Rajiv Bhalla writing for Forbes explains that “your workforce [is] a largely untapped brand building resource that can help in creating a more positive perception about your brand without making substantial marketing spends.”

“The process of empowering employees to publicise and promote the organisation’s brand is termed as ‘employee advocacy’. Employee advocacy benefits an organisation across multiple levels. Primarily, it develops brand recognition and increases the brand recall among your employees’ social circle. Secondly, it helps in creating a positive brand perception. Thirdly, and most importantly, it opens access to talented professionals among your employees’ social circles via employer branding and drives social recruiting, thus bringing down recruitment costs.”

The best employee advocacy strategy: engage, equip, empower

Whilter recommends engaging with your people by listening, understanding, and responding to their needs. A present and engaged leadership will be part of and lead conversations around their brand as an employer. Understand what your people love and value in their work and working environment, and provide more of what they need.

Equip your people by giving them things to talk about! It could be through events and activities, insider knowledge, or stories. You may find that great workplaces culture naturally generate conversation.

Empower your people by giving them ways to share and talk about what is happening in your organisation.

“Let them know that they are important to you and that sharing their opinions is important to you. Help them find ways to share within their circles and find ways to help move their conversations.”

What are the benefits for your organisation?

Employee advocacy promotes your employer brand and enhances your brand value in the talent market.

It is a cost-effective and time-saving recruitment marketing solution, as it is a way to outsource your content creation. This takes trust! But by trusting your people, you will also build trust with your target candidates – as candidates are more likely to value the experiences of current employees and gain insights from the types of people they could potentially be working with.

It can also increase the reach of your current job opportunities. For example, Alex Fraser offers an attractive employee referral scheme. Consider implementing one if you haven’t already!

What are the benefits for your people?

By becoming brand advocates, your employees can establish their personal brands and increase their visibility within social circles. They can also learn more about engagement and self-promotion for the projects they are working on.

“The biggest underlying benefit, however, is in career progression. Social media is increasingly being used as a profiling and recruitment tool to evaluate whether prospective job applicants will be a fit for the company’s culture. Candidates who demonstrate a positive attitude towards their previous employers are bound to be preferred during the recruitment process. Brand advocacy, therefore, is becoming a vital tool in the employee handbook for unlocking better employment opportunities.”

Examples of employee advocacy

Be creative when it comes to engaging, equipping and empowering your people to become employee advocates:

• create engaging, relevant posts on social media, and encourage your people to share them and add their own commentary
• write articles relevant to your industry and promote them internally to encourage sharing
• give your people permission to create videos about their roles and feature them in relevant job advertisements and on your careers page!
• host events and encourage your people to take and share pictures.

Opportunities for employee advocacy are only limited by your imagination.

Driving brand advocacy doesn’t need to be complex or difficult. Encourage participation, offer training and opportunities, and be creative in generating shareable content. Let your people share their ideas, and allow them to design and implement brand advocacy programs.

How do you empower brand advocates? Let us know in the comments.

Sources

Empowering your employees to become brand advocates

Rajiv Bhalla

Fortune

Why word of mouth marketing is the most important social media

Kimberly Whitler

Forbes