If I had to guess, I’d say you probably have a friend that works for a tech company, or at least know someone at a modern ad agency. I also bet that they are constantly posting photos of their free lunch on Instagram, and your Facebook feed gets flooded with photos of their company-sponsored trips, or of their way too cute dog spending Friday afternoon in the office.
Does it make you want to apply there? Good. This means they’re doing a great job of being a brand advocate for their company. If you really enjoy where you work and want to recruit the best of the best talent, there are things you can be doing, too.
Share company news. Whether it’s launching a new company website, moving offices, or hiring some rockstar interns, make a post about it. You have an audience that is interested in this information. If you’re not supporting the happenings in your own company, why would anyone else?
Think pride, passion and a posse. Proud of the work you do? Post about it. If you’re a graphic designer for a firm, then there are ways on social media to display your work—make it your cover photo!
Have a client you enjoy working with? Share their news. We at SMC work with startups that actively fundraise on sites like Kickstarter, GoFundMe, and others. Our social engagement specialists do what they can to get the word out by posting about these funding efforts on their personal pages… Because we’re proud of our clients!
Utilize your posse of followers on Twitter, friends on Facebook and connections on LinkedIn. They’ve connected with you because they care about you and the activities you’ve involved in—share away!
Build personal connections. Take pictures of company meetings or volunteer events. Every so often, share a post about a company project or a coworker’s presentation. Celebrate employee birthdays on Instagram. Whatever it is, giving your audience “behind the scenes” access increases their intimacy with your company. It reminds them that behind the brand, there are real people.
One final note: No one will love your brand unless you do.
Not only will you be taking steps to recruiting great talent to apply to work with your company because you’ve peaked their interest, but the company will benefit as well. Being a successful brand advocate can increase awareness of your company and improve your SEO results. It also makes you seem like an “expert”, someone who others can easily turn to for the answers to their questions online (so many places to look that are easy to find).
These tips touch on just the surface level of how you can increase your brand advocacy efforts for your company. Do you have any tips to add to this list? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter!
Image Credit: CC by The Open University
