How do you foster a culture of trust and transparency among your employee advocates and your target audience?

Employee advocacy programs are a powerful way to boost your brand awareness, reach, and engagement on social media. But they also require a culture of trust and transparency among your employee advocates and your target audience. How do you foster such a culture and avoid the pitfalls of fake or forced advocacy? Here are some tips to help you.

1 Define your goals and values

Before you launch your employee advocacy program, you need to have a clear vision of what you want to achieve and how you want to communicate. What are your brand values, mission, and tone of voice? What are your social media objectives, metrics, and strategies? How do you align your employee advocates with your brand identity and goals? These are some questions you need to answer and share with your employees, so they can understand and support your vision.

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Arjay Ruggles

2x Founder, Product Manager, & Generative Developer
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One aspect to consider during this process is being mindful of your own biases. For example, as a non-binary person who is perceived as male, I cannot and do not truly understand the perspective of what it's like to be a woman in the workplace. So if the goal is to create an advocacy program for women, I need to take a step back and be mindful that my own bias may color my perspective of what values, metrics, and strategies to use. This doesn't mean you can't add value or your own perspective. It just means that you should be mindful of this possible issue, and lean on the advice and expertise of others who may be more knowledge about the particular subject and goal of the advocacy group.

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John Carter III

International Speaker | AI Certified Consultant | 20 Year Graphic Design and Web Design Expert | Passionate Trainer and Mentor | Experienced Non-Profit Servant Leader | DBE Certified Government Contractor
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My Thoughts: Appoint an individual over this position that can work on the objectives of this post as unilaterally from your authority as what is feasible in the company to ensure an unbiased assessment of the feedback and a confidential reporting of concerns with the freedom of for advocacy without reprisal from leadership

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2 Provide guidelines and training

Your employee advocates are not robots or salespeople. They are human beings with their own personalities, opinions, and styles. You don't want to stifle their creativity or authenticity, but you also don't want to risk damaging your reputation or violating any rules or regulations. That's why you need to provide them with clear and consistent guidelines and training on how to use social media effectively and ethically as advocates. You should also encourage them to ask questions, give feedback, and seek help if they encounter any issues.

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Jamil Zakaria
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From experience it’s firstly educating that they have their own brand to manage and care for. After they’ve established and buy into personal branding, getting people to commit to being an advocate for the company is made much easier. It’s then about the tools and having content that can resonate.

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3 Empower and incentivize

Your employee advocates are your most valuable asset on social media. They have the potential to reach and influence more people than your official channels, and they can add a human touch and credibility to your messages. But they also need to feel valued, respected, and motivated to participate in your program. You can empower and incentivize them by giving them autonomy, recognition, and rewards. You can also involve them in the planning, execution, and evaluation of your program, and solicit their ideas and suggestions.

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Rachel Burdus-Cook

Global Social Advocacy Manager @Ericsson | Building Relationships & Global Advocacy Through Activating Employee Voices Online | Employee Advocacy | Social Selling | Strategy | Digital | Social Media | LinkedIn | B2B
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Activating leaders on social is a key part of the success of an employee advocacy programme. Leaders leading by example on social can really set the tone for employees to follow. Leaders engaging on social builds trust & transparency not only with their teams but with customers, prospects, experts & future talent alike.

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Damian Corbet

Freelance copywriter | Extensive experience working with CEOs/C-Suite as a ghostwriter & social media coach
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As the leader of an organization, the power is in your hands to ensure employee advocacy is a success or not. That means leading by example. Yes, give your employees autonomy, recognition and rewards, but more importantly, walk the walk! Show them how it's done. If they see you actively engaging on LinkedIn and other social channels, championing your business, that will go a long way towards encouraging them to start. And how about this little tip? Why not tag a few of your employees in your posts? That will bring them into the conversation and give them absolute certainly that their voices count.

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4 Monitor and measure

Trust and transparency are not only about what you say, but also about what you do. You need to monitor and measure the performance and impact of your employee advocacy program, and share the results and insights with your employee advocates and your target audience. You should also acknowledge your successes and failures, celebrate your achievements and learnings, and show your appreciation and gratitude. By doing so, you can demonstrate your accountability, honesty, and commitment to your program.

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5 Engage and interact

One of the main benefits of employee advocacy is that it can foster more engagement and interaction on social media. Your employee advocates can start and join conversations, answer questions, share stories, and provide value to your audience. But they can't do it alone. You need to support them by engaging and interacting with them and their followers. You should also encourage your audience to engage and interact with your employee advocates, and create a sense of community and belonging among them.

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Damian Corbet

Freelance copywriter | Extensive experience working with CEOs/C-Suite as a ghostwriter & social media coach
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As a leader, it's absolutely essential that you interact with you employees online. This validates what they are going. Getting the 'boss's seal of approval' is EVERYTHING. It will encourage them to keep going. And even better, as the boss, make sure YOU are active on social media too!

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6 Adapt and improve

Trust and transparency are not static or fixed. They are dynamic and evolving. You need to constantly adapt and improve your employee advocacy program, based on the feedback, data, and trends you collect and analyze. You should also communicate your changes and improvements to your employee advocates and your target audience, and explain the reasons and benefits behind them. By doing so, you can show your responsiveness, openness, and willingness to grow.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How do you foster a culture of trust and transparency among your employee advocates and your target audience?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Define your goals and values

2 Provide guidelines and training

3 Empower and incentivize

4 Monitor and measure

5 Engage and interact

6 Adapt and improve

7 Here’s what else to consider

Social Media

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How do you foster a culture of trust and transparency among your employee advocates and your target audience?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Define your goals and values

2 Provide guidelines and training

3 Empower and incentivize

4 Monitor and measure

5 Engage and interact

6 Adapt and improve

7 Here’s what else to consider

Social Media

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