How To Get Buy In For Your Employee Advocate Marketing Program

Before you jump in and launch an employee Advocate Marketing program – you need to have a solid plan in place.

Start with Social Media Policy


Before launching your employee Advocate Marketing program, it’s important that you have a social media policy to ensure all employees understand the laws (FTC compliance) and company policy. A solid social media policy will outline the rules of engagement and help define what employees can and cannot share.

It’s important to consider the way that the policy is written. The policy should be written in everyday language that is easy for employees to understand. Be sure to omit any social media or marketing jargon that employees may not understand.

Identify goals


Anther critical step before diving in is to identify your goals for the Advocate Marketing program. Through an employee Advocate Marketing program, your company has the potential to reach new audiences, drive leads for sales, demonstrate thought leadership and make your brand’s identity more clear. Goals can be internal as well like increasing employee engagement or increasing employees’ social media intelligence.

Be realistic about the goals you can achieve and understand that different parts of your company will want different outcomes from the program.

Get executive buy-in


Getting buy-in is another critical part of the process. Use the goals you’ve identified to justify the program to internal stakeholders. When you have support from leadership, the Advocate Marketing program will unroll more smoothly and achieve greater success in the long run.

Employees already have a lot on their plates and without management buy-in; staff are less likely to participate in the program. When executives support employee Advocate Marketing from the beginning and are proponents of implementing a company-wide social media programs, there is greater potential for growth. Having this executive support amplifies the chances that employees will also buy into the program.

Finding a champion is essential. Your employee advocacy champion is going to help with company-wide adoption. Your champion should be an executive or have executive sponsorship to guarantee they have the authority. The champion will own and be responsible for the employee advocacy programs internally.

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