Worker advocacy is likely one of the best methods to get your model in entrance of extra folks with out spending extra on adverts. When your group shares firm content material on their very own social channels, it reaches audiences you’d by no means hit out of your model account alone.
This information will stroll you thru:
- How worker advocacy works
- Why it issues in 2025
- The way to construct a program that really will get your staff excited to share
What’s worker advocacy?
Worker advocacy is when staff promote their firm on-line by means of their very own social media profiles.
That may imply sharing firm posts — like job listings, weblog articles, firm information, or product launches — or creating their very own content material that reveals what the enterprise is about.
Advocacy isn’t restricted to re-posting. It could possibly be an worker posting pictures from an organization occasion, commenting on trade information, or sharing a behind-the-scenes second from their workday. If it promotes the model and it’s coming from an worker, it counts.
The attraction is straightforward: folks belief folks greater than they belief manufacturers. And when these individuals are your personal staff, the influence might be large.
At Hootsuite, for instance, our revamped worker advocacy program — powered by Amplify — helped generate greater than 4.1 million employer model impressions in a single quarter.
We additionally noticed an 80% sign-up price, with practically two-thirds of staff actively sharing content material. That exercise translated right into a 250% year-over-year enhance in sourced income.
Why worker advocacy issues in 2025
In 2025, worker advocacy is likely one of the best methods to drive outcomes by letting actual folks share your story.
1. Natural model attain is declining — staff might help increase it
Even the most effective model content material usually struggles to achieve its full potential when posted from an organization web page alone. For years, natural attain on social media platforms has been shrinking as algorithms prioritize private connections over enterprise accounts.
Your staff’ mixed social networks are a strong workaround. LinkedIn analysis reveals that staff have 10× extra followers than their firm’s account on common. Meaning each time a group member shares your content material, it has an opportunity to achieve solely new, related audiences — with out paying for adverts.
And the numbers again it up. Content material shared by staff will get 8x extra engagement than the identical put up from a model account, and click-through charges might be 200% increased.
Whereas solely about 3% of staff share firm content material, these posts can drive 30% of the whole engagement a model sees on-line.
2. Individuals belief folks greater than manufacturers
In 2025, belief is a uncommon commodity. The 2025 Edelman Belief Barometer reveals belief in all main information and model sources (together with social media) is declining.
Not solely that, however in keeping with a latest Statista survey, U.S. shoppers mentioned they belief product suggestions from family and friends greater than another supply.
That is precisely why worker advocacy works so effectively. When an worker shares a put up, it appears like recommendation from somebody you already imagine in. Even when they’re simply resharing firm content material, it comes wrapped of their private model and fame.
3. It turns staff into thought leaders and trade voices
When staff share insights, sources, and commentary, they construct their skilled fame. Over time, they turn into acknowledged voices of their subject, which displays positively on the enterprise, too.
Contemplate these stats from LinkedIn’s Official Information to Worker Advocacy:
- Salespeople who’re energetic on social media are more likely to hit their targets. The truth is, they’re 45% extra prone to beat their quota.
- When a lead comes by means of an worker’s social put up, it’s extra prone to flip right into a buyer in comparison with different leads.
- Corporations with socially energetic staff are 57% extra prone to see a rise in gross sales leads.
And it’s not restricted to gross sales groups. Topic-matter specialists in HR, product, design, or buyer assist can all turn into go-to sources of their trade by sharing their experience on-line. When folks see constant, considerate content material coming out of your group, they affiliate that authority together with your firm as effectively.
Armanino LLP, for instance, used its advocacy program to equip extra staff throughout the enterprise with the talents and instruments to turn into social superstars — and construct the agency’s attain and fame alongside the best way.
The outcomes? Armanino reached 19.2 million (sure, million) folks with worker networks. That’s a greater than 600% enhance in attain and $232,375 in potential advert worth created. Not too shabby!
PS: Armanino additionally used Hootsuite Amplify, our advocacy instrument, to assist equip their 595 energetic customers with loads of content material to reshare and make their very own.
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What does worker advocacy appear to be in apply?
Worker advocacy is staff speaking about their work in ways in which really feel pure. It’s not a scripted marketing campaign or a once-a-year push. It’s these on a regular basis posts that make folks cease scrolling for a second.
For instance, worker advocacy could possibly be:
- Sharing a latest challenge you’re pleased with
- Reposting an organization announcement with your personal fast take
- Snapping a photograph from an occasion or behind the scenes on the workplace
- Celebrating a teammate’s win or an organization milestone
When it’s genuine, it really works.
Take Hootsuite’s CEO, Irina Novoselsky. When she began posting each day on LinkedIn, she thought it will be a great way to attach together with her community. A 12 months later, her posts had been displaying up in ChatGPT, Google AI, and different AI instruments — proper in entrance of the sorts of patrons Hootsuite was trying to attain.
In simply three months, Irina’s posts earned over 10 million impressions and influenced 37% of Hootsuite’s month-to-month leads.
These outcomes make two issues clear about worker advocacy:
- It helps your content material attain locations you don’t personal or management, and
- It brings in certified leads that may flip into actual income.
Able to construct your personal advocacy program? We’ll stroll you thru it.
1. Set targets and outline success
Earlier than you ask folks to begin posting, get clear on why you need them to do it. Are you attempting to get elevated model consciousness? Drive visitors to your website? Assist gross sales open extra doorways? Appeal to new hires?
Your reply will form your content material creation and the way you measure outcomes.
Instance targets could possibly be:
Some key KPIs to trace are:
- Prime contributors. Which people or groups are sharing probably the most? Which advocates are producing probably the most engagement?
- Natural attain. How many individuals see the content material shared by means of your worker advocates? (Psst: strive our worker advocacy calculator to calculate your potential attain.)
- Engagement. Are folks clicking hyperlinks, leaving feedback, and re-sharing content material out of your advocates? What’s the engagement per community?
- Site visitors. How a lot visitors did the content material shared by worker advocates drive to your web site?
- Model sentiment. How has your advocacy marketing campaign impacted your general model sentiment on social media?
When you create an organization hashtag, you’ll want to monitor mentions. Branded hashtags might help staff showcase your tradition, enhance recruitment and model sentiment, and really feel extra related to the corporate and one another.
2. Select the proper staff to contain
An advocacy program works greatest when it begins with individuals who genuinely need to be a part of it.
Search for staff who’re already energetic on social, have a knack for sharing trade insights, or naturally put up about your organization and the work they do.
You’ll get higher outcomes if worker participation is voluntary. Individuals can spot a pressured put up from a mile away, and authenticity is what makes advocacy efficient.
Whereas it could be tempting to select your government group as program leaders, the group members who’re already social media all-stars are literally your greatest guess.
What to search for in potential model ambassadors:
- Individuals constructing a robust private model on social media
- Workforce members who naturally share trade content material or firm updates
- Staff with excessive visibility in your trade (talking occasions, PR mentions, giant networks)
- Real enthusiasm for the corporate and the trade
Ideas for constructing your first group of advocates:
- Begin with a pilot group of motivated, socially savvy staff.
- Collect suggestions and use their early wins to encourage others to affix.
- Work with “advocacy leaders” to search out in-house beta testers earlier than launching company-wide.
- Use beta testers to form your social media technique, present trustworthy suggestions, and maintain participation regular after the launch.
- Keep sturdy inner management to forestall enthusiasm from fading and make advocacy an ongoing behavior, not only a one-time push.
The best folks can ship outsized outcomes. Simply ask Hootsuite’s personal Social and Influencer Advertising and marketing Strategist, Eileen Kwok.
One employee-generated LinkedIn put up she wrote — saying the launch of our DM automation information — drove 221 classes (136 from new customers), 52 content material downloads, and 1 product trial. That’s from a single put up!
3. Make it simple for workers to share
The actual key to getting your staff to share is offering them with content material that may both make their job simpler or assist place them as trade specialists.
Right here’s learn how to assist staff share content material with out slowing them down:
- Give them ready-to-go posts. Present pre-written copy, branded content material, and visuals they will put up proper to their social media accounts.
- Hold all the pieces in a single place. Use an worker advocacy platform like Hootsuite Amplify so staff can simply discover, personalize, and schedule firm content material.
- Provide selection. Share a mixture of codecs (brief movies, infographics, social media posts, and LinkedIn articles) so staff can select what suits their private model {and professional} networks.
- Encourage their voice. Pre-approved content material is nice for velocity, however a private contact can construct belief and authenticity.
- Make it related. Curate content material that helps them join with their audience, whether or not that’s future hires, prospects, or friends of their trade.
Athletico Bodily Remedy makes use of Hootsuite Amplify to increase its attain by coordinating content material round key occasions after they know engagement shall be excessive, like Affected person Expertise Appreciation Month.
After launching their advocacy program, the Athletico group noticed a 39% enhance in engagement throughout all social media channels. That’s the raise you get once you make it simple for workers to share on the proper second.
4. Present coaching and assist
Even probably the most assured social media customers profit from guardrails.
Begin with two necessities:
- Social media content material coverage. A “do’s and don’ts” of what staff ought to share, matters to keep away from (e.g., politics, and so forth.), solutions they will present to widespread questions (FAQ), and extra.
- Model type tips. That is the visible information, together with learn how to use the corporate brand, distinctive phrases or spelling your organization makes use of (e.g., it’s Hootsuite, not HootSuite!), hashtags to incorporate, and extra.
Clear tips assist shield your organization’s fame and keep away from safety dangers. Some tips are widespread sense — for example, avoiding vulgar or disrespectful language or sharing confidential info. Different tips might have enter from the authorized division.
As soon as the boundaries are clear, assist staff develop their abilities so advocacy feels pure. Help can embody:
- Private branding ideas: The way to mix their very own voice together with your model message.
- Community development methods: Methods to attach with friends, prospects, and influencers on social media.
- Thought management steering: The way to share concepts and experiences that construct authority whereas supporting firm content material.
Hold your sources by refreshing coaching all year long. Provide lunch-and-learns, brief webinars, and even Slack posts with examples of posts that labored effectively.
Most significantly, be certain that staff know the place to go for assist. Share the contact data of your advocacy program lead or inner communications group, so there’s all the time an actual individual to reply questions.
5. Acknowledge and reward participation
Because you’re asking your staff for one thing, it’s solely truthful to supply one thing in return (past rising their visibility and credibility as thought leaders and subject material specialists).
Tangible incentives like reward playing cards or prizes might help staff really feel like they’ve a stake in this system. Gamification can be an important technique. Many manufacturers make social media advocacy right into a recreation or contest.
For instance, you could possibly create a hashtag to advertise a particular advocacy marketing campaign. Then, create a leaderboard and reward a prize to whoever earns probably the most impressions or engagement for the hashtag.
Different ways you’ll be able to apply to sweeten the deal embody:
- VIP packages
- Growth alternatives
- Early entry
- Badges
- Challenges for groups or people
Study extra about learn how to roll out an worker advocacy program with our program information (under).
PSA: Obtain a free worker advocacy toolkit that reveals you learn how to plan, launch, and develop a profitable worker advocacy program on your group.
What’s the greatest instrument to assist your worker advocacy technique?
Hootsuite Amplify
The toughest a part of working an worker advocacy program is holding it organized.
Individuals have to know the place to search out authorised content material, learn how to share it, and what’s on-brand. In addition they want a easy method to keep up to date when there’s one thing new to put up.
Hootsuite Amplify solves all of that. This worker advocacy administration instrument provides your group one central place to browse ready-to-share posts, branded visuals, and hyperlinks. Every little thing is pre-approved, so staff can put up straight to their social media accounts in only a few clicks.
In case your group already makes use of Hootsuite for planning and publishing, Amplify suits proper in. Add the app to your dashboard to handle your whole advocacy program alongside your different social media exercise.
No further logins, no sophisticated setup.
A central hub like this pays off. At Hootsuite, Amplify has a 94% adoption price and a 64% share price. That provides as much as greater than 4.1 million natural impressions each quarter.
Amplify additionally tracks the influence of your advocacy efforts. You possibly can see which posts get probably the most traction, measure your program’s ROI, and maintain all of your social media metrics in a single place.
When staff have a instrument that’s this simple to make use of, they maintain displaying up. And that’s when advocacy turns into a part of your tradition, not simply one other advertising tactic.
4 examples of nice worker advocacy in motion
Want inspo on your subsequent worker advocacy marketing campaign? Begin right here.
1. Good firm tradition = good worker advocacy
One of many best methods to get staff to speak about your organization is to maintain them blissful and engaged.
Engaged staff need to put up about your model. They need folks to return be just right for you. And, they’ll promote you with out even being requested.
Right here’s an instance from Lululemon’s World Company Communications Chief Melanie Gaboriault, who simply can’t wait to let you know how superior her office is.
2. Adobe takes advocacy IRL
Not all advocacy occurs on-line. Adobe’s latest Interns vs. Legends basketball recreation passed off off social media, however provided a chance for connection in the actual world.
When Chief Income Officer Stephen Frieder shared it on LinkedIn, it gave staff a simple, feel-good story to repost.
3. Tombras’ Joe Meier makes use of comedy to increase his attain
Typically worker advocacy is buttoned up. And, typically, it seems to be like Tombra’s Artistic Director Joe Meier posting jokes and memes that get everybody serious about their model.
Meier’s content material is proof that worker advocacy packages work even tougher once you give area for particular person personalities to shine. Deal with them just like the influencers they already are, and also you’ll faucet into audiences you’d by no means attain on model accounts alone.
4. Hold the advocacy up, even after they depart
One of the best worker advocacy occurs when staff add their very own story to a model second. Even higher when it’s a former worker nonetheless repping your model!
This put up from former Coach worker Liz Alessi reveals that your worker advocacy attain can prolong past those that be just right for you at present, into previous staff, future staff, and their networks.
The way to measure the success of worker advocacy
You’ve constructed this system, your group is sharing. Now, how are you going to inform what’s working? Right here’s learn how to monitor influence throughout advertising, recruiting, and model consciousness.
Attain and engagement on shared posts
Begin by monitoring the uncooked visibility of worker posts (attain or impressions) and the degree of interplay (likes, feedback, shares, saves, or clicks). Most social platforms offer you these numbers natively. For instance, LinkedIn put up analytics or Hootsuite Analytics.
When you don’t know what sort of engagement try to be seeing, take a look at these engagement price benchmarks as a reference. Then, use our free engagement price calculator to see the place you stand.
One method to see in case your advocacy program is paying off is by figuring out which staff constantly generate probably the most influence. Monitor two predominant metrics for every participant:
- The full variety of shares their posts obtain.
- The engagement these posts earn, reminiscent of likes, feedback, and clicks.
Take a look at these numbers over a set interval, like a month or quarter, so you’ll be able to spot patterns relatively than one-time spikes. Constant excessive performers are a sign that your program is resonating and that the coaching, instruments, and content material you’re offering are working.
To estimate how a lot additional your greatest model advocates might take your attain, use Hootsuite’s free worker advocacy calculator.
Simply plug in your complete staff plus your Twitter, Fb, and LinkedIn follower counts, and it’ll present your present most attain and the potential attain you could possibly get with Amplify.
Model visibility and sentiment
To see if advocacy is bettering how folks see your model, monitor each the tone and the amount of conversations about you. Begin with Hootsuite’s free model sentiment analyzer to get a fast snapshot of whether or not mentions are optimistic, impartial, or destructive.
Then use Hootsuite Listening to go deeper.
With Hootsuite Listening you’ll be able to:
- Spot tendencies sparked by worker shares. Use Fast Search to see if hashtags, matters, or key phrases tied to your advocacy campaigns are selecting up traction.
- Monitor advocacy-related key phrases. Monitor as much as two key phrases over the past 7 days, reminiscent of your model identify plus the marketing campaign or occasion your staff are selling.
- Evaluate mentions earlier than and after campaigns. Test whether or not visibility grows within the weeks following a coordinated worker push.
- Perceive what’s driving optimistic or destructive sentiment. See if tone shifts when staff share sure sorts of content material, reminiscent of behind-the-scenes posts or thought management articles.
- Assessment actual posts influenced by advocacy. Filter outcomes by sentiment or channel to see precisely how employee-shared content material is shaping the dialog.
Site visitors or conversions from worker content material (through UTMs)
If you wish to know whether or not advocacy drives enterprise outcomes, monitor the clicks and actions from employee-shared hyperlinks. Including easy UTM parameters helps you to see precisely how a lot visitors got here from advocacy, and what these guests did subsequent.
With UTMs, you’ll be able to spot which posts (and which individuals) herald probably the most certified guests, and see what number of of them convert — whether or not that’s signing up, downloading, or shopping for.
When you’re utilizing Hootsuite Amplify, UTMs might be baked in robotically so that you get clear, constant knowledge with out the trouble.
Recruiting and expertise retention
If a part of your worker advocacy purpose is hiring, monitor whether or not these shared posts are literally serving to fill roles. Recruiting is dear and sluggish. In accordance with ADP, it prices a median of $4,129 and takes a median of 42 days to fill an open place.
Something that speeds that up or lowers these prices is price measuring.
Right here’s what to take a look at when measuring your expertise pipeline for worker advocacy:
- Site visitors to your careers web page from employee-shared posts (use UTMs so you already know the place it’s coming from).
- Functions that may be traced again to advocacy content material.
- High quality of candidates, measured by means of your applicant monitoring system.
- Time-to-hire earlier than and after your advocacy program launched.
Over time, you’ll see which advocates and which sorts of posts herald probably the most certified candidates. That perception can form each your recruiting technique and your content material plan.
4 worker advocacy greatest practices, from the specialists
Josh Rangel, Senior Director of Social at Ogilvy, has helped form worker advocacy packages for among the world’s greatest manufacturers. His recommendation? Hold it actual, and maintain staff on the heart.
1. Let staff be actual, not rehearsed
Audiences can spot a scripted put up a mile away. As an alternative of handing staff a inflexible set of captions, give them room to share what their work really appears like.
“When it comes throughout as pure, not pressured… really sharing what their lived expertise has been with the group,” Rangel says, “the extra actual you let your staff be — the humorous moments, the ache factors, the ‘ah ha’ moments — the extra relatable they’ll be to your viewers.”
2. Deal with content material that’s actual and sudden
Tendencies change, algorithms shift, however authenticity sticks. Rangel says the simplest worker content material often has one in every of two qualities: “(1) it’s actual and/or (2) it’s sudden.”
One instance: Atlassian’s Dispo Diaries. The corporate handed staff disposable cameras at an occasion and allow them to doc the expertise their manner. The outcomes had “humanity, humor, relatability, and a contact of nostalgia,” and carried out much better than customary occasion recaps.
3. Make it about them, not the model
Many advocacy packages fail as a result of they’re engineered round model targets, not worker views.
“Hearken to the workers. Make it about them, not in regards to the model,” Rangel says. Meaning asking them what they care about, what challenges they see, and what makes them proud to be just right for you. Then, let these solutions form the content material.
4. Encourage participation with out forcing it
Necessary advocacy appears like homework. As an alternative, Rangel recommends making it simple for workers to lift their hand.
“The employer ought to assist allow, not mandate the method, content material or course.”
Present ready-to-use content material belongings alongside the liberty to construct their very own. A mixture of steering and autonomy retains posts genuine whereas nonetheless supporting your targets.
FAQs about worker advocacy
What’s worker advocacy in easy phrases?
Worker advocacy is when the individuals who work at your organization actively share content material in regards to the enterprise on their private social media channels. This could possibly be something from reposting an organization announcement to sharing a behind-the-scenes second from their day.
What are the advantages of worker advocacy?
When staff speak about your model, it feels extra reliable than a paid advert. Their posts might help:
- Improve model consciousness by reaching networks your organization account would possibly by no means attain
- Drive extra internet visitors to your website or campaigns
- Construct credibility in your trade by means of thought management
- Appeal to new hires by displaying what it’s actually wish to work at your organization
- Strengthen worker engagement by making them really feel like a part of the model story
How do I get staff to take part in advocacy?
Begin by making participation non-compulsory. Persons are extra prone to put up if it feels voluntary, not like an obligation. Give them content material concepts or ready-to-share belongings, however depart room for them so as to add their very own perspective. Acknowledge and have fun staff who take part. Even one thing as small as a public thank-you in a gathering or a point out within the firm Slack can inspire others. Providing occasional perks, contests, or highlight options also can maintain momentum going.
What’s the most effective platform or instrument for worker advocacy?
The best platform makes it simple for workers to search out, personalize, and share authorised content material. Hootsuite Amplify, for instance, helps you to add content material for workers to share with one click on, monitor efficiency, and keep compliant with model tips. It additionally works on cell, so staff can put up on the go.
Can worker advocacy exchange model advertising?
No. Worker advocacy works greatest as a part of an even bigger advertising technique. It could possibly’t exchange your paid campaigns, PR efforts, or owned content material, however it could actually make all of them more practical by including an genuine, human layer.
How do I monitor ROI from worker advocacy?
You possibly can measure ROI by each attain and enterprise outcomes. For attain, monitor impressions, engagement, and prime advocates. For enterprise influence, add UTM codes to hyperlinks so you’ll be able to see precisely how a lot visitors and conversions got here from worker posts. Worker advocacy instruments like Hootsuite Analytics and Amplify offer you these numbers in a single place so you’ll be able to examine outcomes over time and refine your program.
Save time managing your social media presence with Hootsuite. Publish and schedule posts, discover related conversions, have interaction your viewers, measure outcomes, and extra — all from one dashboard. Strive it free as we speak.
