When thinking of influencer marketing, the first thing that comes to mind is often young people attending events, showcasing the latest must-haves or raving about cosmetics and fashion in videos. However, in addition to these advertising faces on Instagram and YouTube, there is another type of influencer that may already be on your payroll and often comes across as much more authentic and credible. A company’s own employee base may be the best possible brand ambassadors on social media channels.
No matter what resources you use or how much money you spend to build your brand externally, a disgruntled employee or one customer’s interaction with an employee who can’t articulate what your company stands for, can lay all that time and money to waste.
There has been a series of instances in recent years were brands have got it totally wrong when they undervalued the power of the employee.
To ensure that brand promises, and identities are clearly communicated through every customer touch point, savvy companies MUST invest in internal communications. Smart hiring, comprehensive training and regular monitoring can help empower and motivate employees to become brand champions, whether they’re on the front lines, in middle management or behind the scenes.
Once employees are onboard, the employee handbook is an ideal place to establish the brand identity and how employees are expected to convey it. If you can distil that brand message down to a couple of sentences that employees can become interested in, grab onto and use in their own words, they will be able to communicate it effectively.
Here are three easy-to-follow tips to ensure you achieve and maintain employee brand loyalty:
- Make sure your workplace conveys the same brand messages to staff as it does to customers;
- Involve your staff in major brand campaigns as it’s a great way of boosting morale and spreading the word;
- How do you know if your staff are living the brand? Basic signs to look out for: do staff recommend your company to others? Do they enjoy wearing company uniforms? Do employees look happy, and go the extra mile?
Take your employees on the journey! If they feel like a valued member of the team and see their ideas listened too or even implemented, then they will want to see the business thrive. The stronger the foundation, the bigger the success.
If you are unsure of how to harness the power of your employees or encourage them to embrace the brand values of the organisation, contact Rumour Mill Creative Communications for advice on 028 90682185 or email samantha@rumourmillcomms.com