When it comes to brand reputation there are some messages you can control and some you cannot.
You can control the messaging on your website, podcasts and social media account. We spend a lot of time carefully crafting these messages for our clients.
You can’t control the comments other people make on your social media or what your employees are saying about you.
But know this: what your employees are saying (or not saying) about you matters. A lot.
Potential customers and potential employees will trust the inside scoop your employees give them. If you’re reading this – you’re already good people so you have little to worry about.
But even so, you may be missing the opportunity to leverage your employees as brand ambassadors.
So – how do you turn your team into marketers? I’m glad you asked!
While you can’t force team members to say nice things about your company, you can influence what they say by equipping them with positive messages and simple ways to spread the word.
We unashamedly do this at Liger and are happy to let you in on five tips that work well for turning your team into marketers.
1. Keep your team informed. Did your company launch a new product, hire a new employee, sponsor an event or exceed its sales goals for the quarter? Tell your people! You can use a company newsletter, email, social media, face to face … whatever works in your setting. Just make sure everyone hears about it – even the people working remotely or who were out that day. 2. Encourage your team to share their working experience. We tell clients all the time how powerful social media is in the workplace. Taking photos and videos of what’s happening in your office shows off your personality and lets people put a face to the brand. We call our updates LTV – short for Liger TV – because we’re fun like that. Employees can share these clips on social using a company-wide hashtag so that a library of searchable content begins to build. 3. Unify your team through events. Team events are a great way to treat employees to activities they might not experience otherwise. We’ve treated our employees to the powerful team-building exercises at REEL Experiences and threw a Roaring 20s Party. In February, we are chartering a bus and taking our team to watch Napoleon Dynamite and meet two of its stars! Creating excellent moments to connect and make memories is a powerful tool in turning your team into marketers. 4. Let team members contribute. Does your company have a blog, newsletter or podcast? If so, enlist team members to participate! You get to hear from several different Ligers through this newsletter and through podcasts such as Canned Heat, The Jungle and Liger Media Minute. We share the workload and we contribute to the culture by being visible. You have smart people working for you who are experts in their field. Let their voices be heard! 5. Brand your employee gifts. Who doesn’t like swag? If you’re planning on purchasing company-wide gifts for employees at any point during the year, it might be a good opportunity to spread the brand. It’s no accident that I drink my (Kool-Aid … I mean) coffee from a Liger cup and write in a Liger notebook. The most compelling story about your brand will come from your employees. Make sure they are equipped to tell a great story! |