Right, so the other day, I was grabbing a coffee with Jamie, a marketing whizz at a local tech firm. We were chewing the fat about the ever-elusive secret sauce to Facebook advertising when the conversation veered into something truly exciting: leveraging employees as brand advocates. It was an absolute game-changer of a discussion, and I just had to share it with you.
“Jamie,” I started, stirring my latte, “we’re spending a fortune on Facebook ads, trying to pinpoint the perfect audience. Feels like shooting in the dark sometimes. There has to be a better way.”
He grinned, leaning back. “There is, actually. Think about it: your employees, especially those interacting directly with customers, are a goldmine of information. They understand the target audience’s needs, pain points, and interests better than any marketing algorithm ever could.”
That’s when the penny dropped. It wasn’t just about running targeted ads; it was about understanding the target audience inside and out before even crafting the ad. So how could we capture this information in a useable format?
Mining Employee Insights for Ad Targeting Success
Jamie started by outlining a simple process for extracting those golden nuggets of audience insight. The first step being running a survey:
- Internal Surveys: Distribute short, targeted surveys to employees across different departments – sales, customer support, product development. Ask questions like: What are the most common customer questions? What keeps them up at night? What platforms are they using? What language/tone appeals best? How are customer’s using out product/service in a ways we might not have imagined?
Next, he spoke about holding Focus Groups and Team meetings with the staff members.
- Structured Discussions: Organise focus groups or team meetings designed to discuss target audience demographics, behaviours, and emerging trends. Provide prompts to encourage open and honest feedback. Have team leaders ensure every voice is heard. Make sure to properly record all findings for reference in ad development.
Finally, he also outlined the idea of using a Feedback channel for continuous improvement in understanding.
- Create a dedicated feedback channel: Establish a Slack channel, email address, or online form where employees can easily share audience insights they gather on an ongoing basis. This is especially helpful for noticing trends. If more than one member of staff comments on a trend then that information can be prioritised. Make sure that this channel is monitored regularly and all team members know that their contributions are valued.
Turning Employees into Brand Ambassadors
“Okay, so we’ve got all this fantastic data,” I said. “But how do we actually use our employees to amplify our reach on Facebook?”
Jamie explained that it’s all about creating a robust employee advocacy program. This isn’t about forcing people to parrot marketing messages; it’s about empowering them to share their authentic experiences and insights.
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Training & Guidelines: Provide employees with training on social media best practices, brand guidelines, and the dos and don’ts of sharing company-related content. Make sure they understand the importance of transparency and authenticity.
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Content & Resources: Create a library of shareable content – blog posts, infographics, videos, company news – that employees can easily access and distribute. Tailor the content to resonate with different employee roles and interests, so that what they are sharing is authentic to them.
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Incentives & Recognition: Recognise and reward employees who actively participate in the advocacy program. This could be through public shout-outs, small bonuses, or even gamified leaderboards. Incentives can be varied. Some may prefer being given a day off, others may prefer the public recognition of high performance.
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Make it Easy: Provide pre-written posts and links so it is as easy as possible for your team members to participate. Remember that they are already busy in their role so it is important to minimise the time spent sharing.
Engagement is Key and authenticity is King
Jamie emphasised that simply blasting out company news wasn’t enough. The key to successful employee advocacy lies in genuine engagement.
“Encourage employees to share their own perspectives, stories, and experiences related to the company,” he said. “A personal anecdote about how they helped a customer is far more impactful than a generic marketing message. The engagement of each post will be dramatically higher if the poster includes their own story on how the brand impacted them rather than simply posting a promotional offer.”
Also consider understanding the target audience and ensuring content is appropriate for them. An inappropriate joke can damage the credibility of the brand.
We spent the next hour dissecting how to build this program, how to measure its success, and how to adapt it over time. I left feeling energized and armed with a practical strategy for transforming our Facebook advertising approach.
Bringing it all Together
The whole experience really highlighted the importance of employee buy-in and the positive impact that a business can get from that process. Getting feedback, understanding your target, incentivising and training your team members can all result in a more powerful Facebook presence for the company as a whole.
Ultimately, it’s about tapping into the immense potential that already exists within your company – the knowledge, the passion, and the authentic voices of your employees. By empowering them to become brand ambassadors, you can not only amplify your reach on Facebook but also build trust, foster stronger relationships with your audience, and drive better results.
