Searching for Brand Advocates? 5 Ways to Convert Employees into Brand Advocates

Companies are always looking for brand advocates to help get the word out about their company. Often times, companies are overlooking the fact that their best brand advocates could be their employees. That’s right, when looking for brand advocates, in many cases you don’t have to look past your company doors. Today we will cover 5 ways to turn your employees into brand advocates.

1. Make sure that all employees fit into and embrace your company culture. Employees that embrace the corporate culture should behave consistently whether they are working or not. Part of the employee handbook should include verbiage about representing the company well whether they are “clocked in” or not.
2. Empower employees with the permission and skills to help customers. Satisfied customers can mean satisfied employees too. Don’t frustrate employees by making them deal with unhappy customers that complain and are rude. When employees are empowered to solve problems, it not only makes the customers happy, but can make the employees happier when they do not have to deal with the stress of rude customers.
3. Encourage employees to connect with the company and other employees on social media channels. When employees share company information on social media, it helps with word of mouth advertising and also creates a sense of community and camaraderie that is prominent in the public eye. When the workforce operates more like a team, it reflects positively on the company as a whole.
4. Happy employees are your best brand advocates. They will tell their friends and family to purchase your products or services and that word of mouth advertising is the best type of advertising and marketing that there is. Ensure that your employees are happy by asking for feedback and making sure that they are rewarded for good work in a way that properly motivates them. In addition to asking for feedback, asking for input and ideas facilitates innovation and fosters good will among employees who feel important.
5. Make sure that employees have access to all of the knowledge, training and technology they need to do their job. Make instructions easy for each employee to understand. Discover how each employee learns best and apply different training techniques to cater to each employee’s training and learning needs. Listing specifics in employee handbooks results in less questions about rules and less ambiguity.