Pivotous For Startups

It is important to build a personal brand as an employee because now more than ever organizations understand the marketing potential of the advocates within their companies. By leveraging the networks a potential employee has built out an employer can broaden its social reach and present its messaging more authentically to its audience. When building your brand and influence it is important to know what you want and who you want to target. ie, the company you want to work for and area of expertise you want to focus on. 

Benefits to a potential employer:

1. Increased ROI for social media engagement efforts: Employees with larger personal brands mean a bigger impact (and ROI). People build stronger connections with other people than they do with brands, which is why they are more receptive to employees than your brand’s account. People tend to view a brand account or even a C-level executive’s account the same as they view an ad, which is why employees are your most influential resource. 
2. Improved hiring process: Employees with strong personal brands raise your company’s profile as an employer. Social media engagement is not just limited to engaging with potential clients, your staff can also engage with potential employees. This can lower hiring and recruitment costs and increase the caliber of candidates applying for your open positions.
3. Increased employee retention: When an employee promotes their organization’s initiatives, they become a spokesperson – or advocate – for their brand and its mission. Anyone in any organization could be an advocate for their employer regardless of the department they work in. A successful employee advocacy program typically has many people who work for a brand in a multitude of different roles voluntarily promoting its initiatives and messaging. Company messages have 561% further reach when shared by employees than the same messages shared by a brand’s social channel, according to the Marketing Advisory Network. Additionally, brand messages are shared 24-times more frequently when employees post content.