Think about the last time you saw a company post on LinkedIn. Now, think about when your friend shared their exciting work update from their company.
Which one caught your attention more? That’s the magic of personal connections on LinkedIn!
Every day, your employees could potentially turn your company’s story into meaningful conversations.
They’re not just faces in your team—they’re trusted voices who can share your message in a way that feels real and relatable.
In this article, we’ll show you exactly how to tap into this employee advocacy potential.
You’ll learn practical ways to help your team become confident LinkedIn champions and see why this matters for your business growth.
Need help getting your team’s LinkedIn presence right?
At Crackerjack Marketing, we work with corporate teams to build authentic, powerful LinkedIn profiles that drive real results. Let’s create your LinkedIn success story!
How Does Employee Advocacy Work on LinkedIn?
Employee advocacy on LinkedIn is more than just asking your team to share company updates.
It’s about empowering employees to become authentic brand ambassadors who share relevant content with their professional networks.
Here’s what makes it so powerful:
- Extended Reach: Employee networks are typically 10x larger than company follower bases on LinkedIn.
- Higher Engagement: Content shared by employees receives 2x higher engagement than when shared by company pages.
- Increased Trust: According to Edelman’s Trust Barometer, people are 3x more likely to trust company information when shared by employees versus CEOs.
The process typically works in three stages:
- Content Curation: Companies provide employees with relevant, shareable content.
- Employee Sharing: Team members share this content with their networks, adding their own perspectives.
- Engagement: Their connections interact with the content, expanding its reach organically.
Employee Advocacy Examples—How Top Brands Succeed?
Want to see how successful companies are running their employee advocacy programs? Below, we share some real-world examples that show you exactly what works and why.
These stories will give you practical ideas you can apply to your program:
Visa—Turning Local Stories into Global Success
When Visa decided to boost its social media presence, it took an interesting approach.
Instead of just pushing corporate content, they encouraged employees to share stories about innovations in their local markets.
Lucas Mast, Visa’s Vice President of Social Corporate Media, explains their strategy: “People consume information in many different ways. When you give employees engaging content that’s easy to share, they become natural brand ambassadors.“
The results speak for themselves:
- Their employees started sharing content 6 times more often than before
- Their LinkedIn company page gained 4 times more followers
- They saw a huge jump in engagement from local markets
DLA Piper—Making Lawyers into Social Stars
DLA Piper, a global law firm, faced an interesting challenge: how do you make legal content engaging on social media?
Their solution was brilliant in its simplicity.
They focused on turning their lawyers and professionals into thought leaders by helping them share their expertise online.
Barbara Taylor, DLA Piper’s CMO, says it best: “We’ve always had a strong content-driven culture. We recognized early that people engage more with content shared by individuals than by companies.“
Here’s what happened when they empowered their team:
- Their lawyers started sharing professional insights 6 times more frequently
- Their company page views multiplied by 4
- Their professional network grew 3 times larger
CH2M—Engineering Success Through Employee Voices
CH2M (now part of Jacobs) took a unique approach to employee advocacy. They realized their engineers—typically more reserved on social media—could be powerful voices for their brand.
But they needed to make it easy and comfortable for them to share.
Their strategy worked particularly well because they:
- Made the sharing process simple and straightforward
- Showed employees exactly how their sharing impacted the company
- Provided ready-to-use content that matched their expertise
The impact was clear: employee sharing drove 4 times more job views and 3 times more job applications.
It’s a perfect example of how making advocacy easy and meaningful can ease your recruitment efforts.
If you’re interested in diving deeper into these and other success stories, you can check out the complete LinkedIn employee advocacy guide.
Why Do Businesses Need an Employee Advocacy Program?
As the above examples show, employee advocacy can benefit businesses in multiple ways.
Let’s break down the concrete benefits you can see across your business when you empower your team to share their voices on LinkedIn:
Marketing Impact: Spread Your Message
Think about this: when your employees share your content, it reaches more than five times the audience compared to your brand channels alone.
Why?
Because people trust recommendations from real people more than they trust corporate messages.
Here’s what this Forbes article says about employee-shared content:
- It generates 8 times more engagement than when your company shares the same content.
- Your brand messages travel 561% further through employee networks.
- Your content gets seen by entirely new audiences who might never encounter your brand otherwise.
Talent Acquisition: Attract Better Candidates
When your employees talk positively on LinkedIn about their work experience, it’s like having a team of recruiters working around the clock.
This kind of employer branding on LinkedIn is incredibly powerful, as it shows potential candidates what your company culture is really like.
But unlike traditional recruitment, these messages come across as authentic and trustworthy because they’re based on real experiences.
The numbers tell an impressive story:
- You’re 58% more likely to attract top talent when your employees are actively engaged in sharing.
- Your employee referral programs can boost your hiring success by 30%.
- Your new hires are 20% more likely to stay with your company when they come through employee advocacy channels.
Sales Performance: Drive Real Results
Your sales team can particularly benefit from a well-structured advocacy program.
An IDC survey shows that three out of four B2B buyers use social media when making purchasing decisions.
Even more telling, 84% of C-level executives check social channels before finalizing their purchases.
This means your presence on LinkedIn isn’t just nice to have—it’s essential for reaching decision-makers.
When your sales representatives share valuable insights and engage with their networks on LinkedIn, they transform from traditional salespeople into trusted advisors.
Let’s look at the impact on your bottom line (as per LinkedIn’s “Official Guide to Employee Advocacy” that we mentioned earlier):
- Sales professionals who regularly share content are nearly 45% more likely to hit their targets.
- The leads you get through employee advocacy are more likely to convert into customers.
- Companies implementing advocacy programs see their revenue grow by 26% year over year.
This triple impact on marketing, recruitment, and sales makes employee advocacy a powerful tool for your business growth.
The best part? These benefits often reinforce each other.
When your marketing reach grows, you attract better talent. When you have great talent, your sales improve. It’s a virtuous cycle!
How to Build an Effective Employee Advocacy Program
So you’ve decided to start an employee advocacy program—that’s fantastic!
But where to begin?
LinkedIn Talent Solutions has published an insightful guide about turning employees into brand advocates.
The guide walks through proven strategies from companies with successful advocacy programs.
Let’s break these strategies into practical steps you can start implementing today:
1. Set Clear Objectives
Before asking employees to share content, you need to know exactly what you want to achieve.
Consider your business goals and how employee advocacy can help you reach them.
Start by answering these key questions:
- What are your primary goals? (Brand awareness, lead generation, talent attraction)
- How will you measure success?
- What results do you expect to see in 3, 6, and 12 months?
Then, create a simple content strategy that aligns with these goals.
For example, if you’re focusing on recruitment, you should share content about your company culture and employee experiences.
Develop a solid content strategy before asking employees to advocate for your brand.
You need curators who can create snackable content aligned with what your employees want to talk about.
2. Select and Train Your Advocates
Here’s a secret to getting your program off the ground successfully: don’t try to involve everyone at once.
Instead, start with a small group of enthusiastic, active employees on LinkedIn.
Start with your executives—giving them practical LinkedIn tips for executives can help them become great advocates—then expand to other team members.
These early adopters will become your program champions.
Your first advocacy team should include:
- Employees who regularly share professional content
- Team members who are excited about your company’s mission
- People from different departments and roles
3. Demonstrate the Value to Employees
Before asking your employees to participate, you need to show them what’s in it for them.
Successful advocacy programs aren’t just about what the company gains—they’re about helping your employees grow professionally, too.
Here’s what you should emphasize to your team:
- Professional Growth: Show them how sharing insights helps establish them as thought leaders in their field. When they regularly share valuable content, they build credibility within their professional network. This can lead to speaking opportunities, industry recognition, and career advancement.
- Career Development: Network growth brings a lot of opportunities. Regular sharing helps your employees connect with industry peers and potential mentors. In fact, 86% of employees say that formal advocacy programs have positively impacted their careers.
Focus the program around employees and their development, not around pushing your content.
When employees see the personal benefits, they become natural advocates.
4. Create Content that Works
The content you provide should be easy to share and worth sharing.
Follow this proven 4:1:1 content mix for the best results:
- 4 pieces of helpful industry content
- 1 piece of company news or updates
- 1 promotional piece
Pro Tip: Quality and consistency are key to creating engaging content for LinkedIn. Create a content calendar to consistently provide fresh, relevant content. Your employees shouldn’t have to hunt for things to share.
5. Measure and Optimize Your Program
You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Set up a simple system to track these key metrics:
| Metric Type | What to Track | Why It Matters |
| Engagement | Likes, comments, shares | Shows content relevance |
| Reach | Post views, profile visits | Measures program impact |
| Participation | Active users, sharing frequency | Indicates program health |
| Business Impact | Website visits, leads, applications | Proves ROI |
Review these metrics monthly and ask your advocates for feedback.
What content works best for them? What makes sharing easier?
Use these insights to improve your program continuously.
Remember: Your employee advocacy program is a marathon, not a sprint. Start small and build momentum over time. The most successful programs grow organically as employees see the benefits for themselves and their careers.
LinkedIn Employee Advocacy—Practical Tips for Success
While the above steps can guide your advocacy efforts, understanding certain nuances can further ensure its success.
Here are some actionable tips to help you create and maintain an effective employee advocacy program on LinkedIn:
- Make Mobile Your Priority: Around 73% of LinkedIn users browse the platform on their phones. Make sure your sharing process works smoothly on mobile devices. The graphics/videos you create should be mobile-friendly. The texts should have enough line breaks and whitespace between them.
- Personalize Your Approach: While providing pre-written post templates can be helpful, always encourage your employees to add their perspectives. Personal insights make posts feel more authentic and generate better engagement. For example, instead of just sharing a company achievement, ask employees to share what it means to them personally.
- Build a Content Calendar: Plan your content at least a month in advance. This helps you maintain consistency and ensures you’re not scrambling for content at the last minute. Include company milestones, industry events, and trending topics in your planning.
- Create Clear Guidelines: Help your employees feel confident about what they can and can’t share. Your corporate social media policy guidelines should be simple and easy to understand. For example: “Do share your professional achievements” and “Don’t share confidential client information.” Avoid creating a lengthy rulebook that might intimidate employees.
Common Mistakes to Avoid in Employee Advocacy
When setting up your employee advocacy program, you should be aware of some common pitfalls that can derail your efforts.
Here are the key mistakes to avoid, along with practical solutions for each:
- Over-automation of Sharing: While scheduling tools can be helpful, don’t let your program become a robot factory. When everyone shares the exact same message at the exact same time, it looks inauthentic and can actually harm your brand’s credibility. Instead, provide content suggestions with flexible sharing windows and encourage employees to add their own perspectives.
- Skipping Proper Training: Many companies make the mistake of assuming their employees know how to share effectively on LinkedIn. Without proper guidance, even your most enthusiastic advocates might struggle. Set up regular training sessions that cover not just the ‘how’ but also the ‘why’ of sharing. Show real examples of successful posts and explain what makes them work.
- Forgetting to Recognize Contributors: Employee advocacy shouldn’t feel like extra work. When you don’t acknowledge your active participants, they might lose motivation. Create a simple recognition program that celebrates both the quantity and quality of shares. For example, highlight employees whose posts generate meaningful discussions, not just those who share the most content.
- Making Participation Mandatory: Nothing kills authenticity faster than forced participation. Your program should be voluntary and driven by clear benefits for employees. Show them how active participation can help build their professional brand and expand their network, rather than making it another box to check.
- Inconsistent Content Flow: If you provide a flood of content one week and nothing the next, you’ll lose momentum. Create a content calendar that ensures a steady stream of shareable material. Aim for 2-3 quality pieces per week rather than overwhelming your advocates with too much content at once.
Creating and implementing effective advocacy strategies can be overwhelming, but you needn’t worry when you have the right experts.
At Crackerjack Marketing, we specialize in helping corporate teams create professional, impactful LinkedIn presences that align personal branding with corporate objectives.
Want to explore how we can help your executive team shine on LinkedIn? Start a conversation with our LinkedIn strategy experts today.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Let’s address some common questions about employee advocacy on LinkedIn:
How Do You Motivate Employees to Participate in Employee Advocacy on LinkedIn?
Success in employee advocacy comes from creating the right environment. Show your team clear personal benefits like professional growth and network expansion. Regular recognition goes a long way, too.
Make sure participation feels voluntary and enjoyable – nobody wants another chore. Share success stories that demonstrate real impact, and provide ongoing training so everyone feels confident.
How Does Employee Advocacy on LinkedIn Impact Lead Generation?
When your employees share content on LinkedIn, they help you naturally find new customers.
According to LinkedIn’s official employee advocacy guide, their posts reach 10 times more people than your company page because people trust content more from real people they know.
Your employees’ networks are filled with potential customers who might never see your company’s posts otherwise. If you want to use LinkedIn to get new clients, your employees can be your most powerful asset.
Plus, as LinkedIn Talent Solutions research shows, people are twice as likely to click and learn more when someone’s friend or colleague recommends something.
What Metrics Should Businesses Track for a Successful Employee Advocacy Program?
Keep it simple—watch how many employees are sharing content and how many people are engaging with their posts. This will tell you if your program is working and if people care about what’s being shared.
Look at your website traffic and new leads, too—this shows you if these social shares are actually bringing in business.
How Do You Work With an Employee Advocacy Expert?
First, prepare by identifying your internal champions and gathering your current LinkedIn metrics. The expert will need access to your existing social media policies and content examples to understand your starting point.
The collaboration process usually involves:
- Discovery Phase: The expert assesses your team’s LinkedIn presence and interviews key stakeholders to understand your specific goals and challenges
- Strategy Development: Creating a customized plan including content themes, sharing schedules, and training approaches tailored to your executives
- Implementation: Hands-on training sessions, content creation workshops, and setting up measurement systems
- Ongoing Collaboration: Regular check-ins, performance reviews, and strategy adjustments based on results
What makes for successful collaboration:
- Clear communication channels and expectations from the beginning
- Designated internal point person to coordinate with the expert
- Openness to feedback and willingness to adjust approaches
- Commitment to the process, especially from executive team members
Throughout this process, the right partner should simplify rather than complicate your advocacy efforts, while delivering measurable results for both your brand visibility and your employees’ professional growth.
Conclusion
Building a LinkedIn program for your executive team isn’t easy. It takes time and expertise.
Getting everyone on the same page, creating engaging content, and maintaining consistent branding across multiple profiles can feel overwhelming.
Plus, your executives are busy enough already—they need a system that works without adding hours to their day.
This is exactly what we help teams like yours with at Crackerjack Marketing.
We take care of everything—from crafting engaging profiles to creating content that positions your executives as thought leaders. Think of us as your LinkedIn team, working behind the scenes to make your executives shine.
Would you like to see how we can help your team stand out on LinkedIn? Let’s have a friendly chat about your goals!
Think about the last time you saw a company post on LinkedIn. Now, think about when your friend shared their exciting work update from their company.
Which one caught your attention more? That’s the magic of personal connections on LinkedIn!
Every day, your employees could potentially turn your company’s story into meaningful conversations.
They’re not just faces in your team—they’re trusted voices who can share your message in a way that feels real and relatable.
In this article, we’ll show you exactly how to tap into this employee advocacy potential.
You’ll learn practical ways to help your team become confident LinkedIn champions and see why this matters for your business growth.
Need help getting your team’s LinkedIn presence right?
At Crackerjack Marketing, we work with corporate teams to build authentic, powerful LinkedIn profiles that drive real results. Let’s create your LinkedIn success story!
How Does Employee Advocacy Work on LinkedIn?
Employee advocacy on LinkedIn is more than just asking your team to share company updates.
It’s about empowering employees to become authentic brand ambassadors who share relevant content with their professional networks.
Here’s what makes it so powerful:
- Extended Reach: Employee networks are typically 10x larger than company follower bases on LinkedIn.
- Higher Engagement: Content shared by employees receives 2x higher engagement than when shared by company pages.
- Increased Trust: According to Edelman’s Trust Barometer, people are 3x more likely to trust company information when shared by employees versus CEOs.
The process typically works in three stages:
- Content Curation: Companies provide employees with relevant, shareable content.
- Employee Sharing: Team members share this content with their networks, adding their own perspectives.
- Engagement: Their connections interact with the content, expanding its reach organically.
Employee Advocacy Examples—How Top Brands Succeed?
Want to see how successful companies are running their employee advocacy programs? Below, we share some real-world examples that show you exactly what works and why.
These stories will give you practical ideas you can apply to your program:
Visa—Turning Local Stories into Global Success
When Visa decided to boost its social media presence, it took an interesting approach.
Instead of just pushing corporate content, they encouraged employees to share stories about innovations in their local markets.
Lucas Mast, Visa’s Vice President of Social Corporate Media, explains their strategy: “People consume information in many different ways. When you give employees engaging content that’s easy to share, they become natural brand ambassadors.“
The results speak for themselves:
- Their employees started sharing content 6 times more often than before
- Their LinkedIn company page gained 4 times more followers
- They saw a huge jump in engagement from local markets
DLA Piper—Making Lawyers into Social Stars
DLA Piper, a global law firm, faced an interesting challenge: how do you make legal content engaging on social media?
Their solution was brilliant in its simplicity.
They focused on turning their lawyers and professionals into thought leaders by helping them share their expertise online.
Barbara Taylor, DLA Piper’s CMO, says it best: “We’ve always had a strong content-driven culture. We recognized early that people engage more with content shared by individuals than by companies.“
Here’s what happened when they empowered their team:
- Their lawyers started sharing professional insights 6 times more frequently
- Their company page views multiplied by 4
- Their professional network grew 3 times larger
CH2M—Engineering Success Through Employee Voices
CH2M (now part of Jacobs) took a unique approach to employee advocacy. They realized their engineers—typically more reserved on social media—could be powerful voices for their brand.
But they needed to make it easy and comfortable for them to share.
Their strategy worked particularly well because they:
- Made the sharing process simple and straightforward
- Showed employees exactly how their sharing impacted the company
- Provided ready-to-use content that matched their expertise
The impact was clear: employee sharing drove 4 times more job views and 3 times more job applications.
It’s a perfect example of how making advocacy easy and meaningful can ease your recruitment efforts.
If you’re interested in diving deeper into these and other success stories, you can check out the complete LinkedIn employee advocacy guide.
Why Do Businesses Need an Employee Advocacy Program?
As the above examples show, employee advocacy can benefit businesses in multiple ways.
Let’s break down the concrete benefits you can see across your business when you empower your team to share their voices on LinkedIn:
Marketing Impact: Spread Your Message
Think about this: when your employees share your content, it reaches more than five times the audience compared to your brand channels alone.
Why?
Because people trust recommendations from real people more than they trust corporate messages.
Here’s what this Forbes article says about employee-shared content:
- It generates 8 times more engagement than when your company shares the same content.
- Your brand messages travel 561% further through employee networks.
- Your content gets seen by entirely new audiences who might never encounter your brand otherwise.
Talent Acquisition: Attract Better Candidates
When your employees talk positively on LinkedIn about their work experience, it’s like having a team of recruiters working around the clock.
This kind of employer branding on LinkedIn is incredibly powerful, as it shows potential candidates what your company culture is really like.
But unlike traditional recruitment, these messages come across as authentic and trustworthy because they’re based on real experiences.
The numbers tell an impressive story:
- You’re 58% more likely to attract top talent when your employees are actively engaged in sharing.
- Your employee referral programs can boost your hiring success by 30%.
- Your new hires are 20% more likely to stay with your company when they come through employee advocacy channels.
Sales Performance: Drive Real Results
Your sales team can particularly benefit from a well-structured advocacy program.
An IDC survey shows that three out of four B2B buyers use social media when making purchasing decisions.
Even more telling, 84% of C-level executives check social channels before finalizing their purchases.
This means your presence on LinkedIn isn’t just nice to have—it’s essential for reaching decision-makers.
When your sales representatives share valuable insights and engage with their networks on LinkedIn, they transform from traditional salespeople into trusted advisors.
Let’s look at the impact on your bottom line (as per LinkedIn’s “Official Guide to Employee Advocacy” that we mentioned earlier):
- Sales professionals who regularly share content are nearly 45% more likely to hit their targets.
- The leads you get through employee advocacy are more likely to convert into customers.
- Companies implementing advocacy programs see their revenue grow by 26% year over year.
This triple impact on marketing, recruitment, and sales makes employee advocacy a powerful tool for your business growth.
The best part? These benefits often reinforce each other.
When your marketing reach grows, you attract better talent. When you have great talent, your sales improve. It’s a virtuous cycle!
How to Build an Effective Employee Advocacy Program
So you’ve decided to start an employee advocacy program—that’s fantastic!
But where to begin?
LinkedIn Talent Solutions has published an insightful guide about turning employees into brand advocates.
The guide walks through proven strategies from companies with successful advocacy programs.
Let’s break these strategies into practical steps you can start implementing today:
1. Set Clear Objectives
Before asking employees to share content, you need to know exactly what you want to achieve.
Consider your business goals and how employee advocacy can help you reach them.
Start by answering these key questions:
- What are your primary goals? (Brand awareness, lead generation, talent attraction)
- How will you measure success?
- What results do you expect to see in 3, 6, and 12 months?
Then, create a simple content strategy that aligns with these goals.
For example, if you’re focusing on recruitment, you should share content about your company culture and employee experiences.
Develop a solid content strategy before asking employees to advocate for your brand.
You need curators who can create snackable content aligned with what your employees want to talk about.
2. Select and Train Your Advocates
Here’s a secret to getting your program off the ground successfully: don’t try to involve everyone at once.
Instead, start with a small group of enthusiastic, active employees on LinkedIn.
Start with your executives—giving them practical LinkedIn tips for executives can help them become great advocates—then expand to other team members.
These early adopters will become your program champions.
Your first advocacy team should include:
- Employees who regularly share professional content
- Team members who are excited about your company’s mission
- People from different departments and roles
3. Demonstrate the Value to Employees
Before asking your employees to participate, you need to show them what’s in it for them.
Successful advocacy programs aren’t just about what the company gains—they’re about helping your employees grow professionally, too.
Here’s what you should emphasize to your team:
- Professional Growth: Show them how sharing insights helps establish them as thought leaders in their field. When they regularly share valuable content, they build credibility within their professional network. This can lead to speaking opportunities, industry recognition, and career advancement.
- Career Development: Network growth brings a lot of opportunities. Regular sharing helps your employees connect with industry peers and potential mentors. In fact, 86% of employees say that formal advocacy programs have positively impacted their careers.
Focus the program around employees and their development, not around pushing your content.
When employees see the personal benefits, they become natural advocates.
4. Create Content that Works
The content you provide should be easy to share and worth sharing.
Follow this proven 4:1:1 content mix for the best results:
- 4 pieces of helpful industry content
- 1 piece of company news or updates
- 1 promotional piece
Pro Tip: Quality and consistency are key to creating engaging content for LinkedIn. Create a content calendar to consistently provide fresh, relevant content. Your employees shouldn’t have to hunt for things to share.
5. Measure and Optimize Your Program
You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Set up a simple system to track these key metrics:
| Metric Type | What to Track | Why It Matters |
| Engagement | Likes, comments, shares | Shows content relevance |
| Reach | Post views, profile visits | Measures program impact |
| Participation | Active users, sharing frequency | Indicates program health |
| Business Impact | Website visits, leads, applications | Proves ROI |
Review these metrics monthly and ask your advocates for feedback.
What content works best for them? What makes sharing easier?
Use these insights to improve your program continuously.
Remember: Your employee advocacy program is a marathon, not a sprint. Start small and build momentum over time. The most successful programs grow organically as employees see the benefits for themselves and their careers.
LinkedIn Employee Advocacy—Practical Tips for Success
While the above steps can guide your advocacy efforts, understanding certain nuances can further ensure its success.
Here are some actionable tips to help you create and maintain an effective employee advocacy program on LinkedIn:
- Make Mobile Your Priority: Around 73% of LinkedIn users browse the platform on their phones. Make sure your sharing process works smoothly on mobile devices. The graphics/videos you create should be mobile-friendly. The texts should have enough line breaks and whitespace between them.
- Personalize Your Approach: While providing pre-written post templates can be helpful, always encourage your employees to add their perspectives. Personal insights make posts feel more authentic and generate better engagement. For example, instead of just sharing a company achievement, ask employees to share what it means to them personally.
- Build a Content Calendar: Plan your content at least a month in advance. This helps you maintain consistency and ensures you’re not scrambling for content at the last minute. Include company milestones, industry events, and trending topics in your planning.
- Create Clear Guidelines: Help your employees feel confident about what they can and can’t share. Your corporate social media policy guidelines should be simple and easy to understand. For example: “Do share your professional achievements” and “Don’t share confidential client information.” Avoid creating a lengthy rulebook that might intimidate employees.
Common Mistakes to Avoid in Employee Advocacy
When setting up your employee advocacy program, you should be aware of some common pitfalls that can derail your efforts.
Here are the key mistakes to avoid, along with practical solutions for each:
- Over-automation of Sharing: While scheduling tools can be helpful, don’t let your program become a robot factory. When everyone shares the exact same message at the exact same time, it looks inauthentic and can actually harm your brand’s credibility. Instead, provide content suggestions with flexible sharing windows and encourage employees to add their own perspectives.
- Skipping Proper Training: Many companies make the mistake of assuming their employees know how to share effectively on LinkedIn. Without proper guidance, even your most enthusiastic advocates might struggle. Set up regular training sessions that cover not just the ‘how’ but also the ‘why’ of sharing. Show real examples of successful posts and explain what makes them work.
- Forgetting to Recognize Contributors: Employee advocacy shouldn’t feel like extra work. When you don’t acknowledge your active participants, they might lose motivation. Create a simple recognition program that celebrates both the quantity and quality of shares. For example, highlight employees whose posts generate meaningful discussions, not just those who share the most content.
- Making Participation Mandatory: Nothing kills authenticity faster than forced participation. Your program should be voluntary and driven by clear benefits for employees. Show them how active participation can help build their professional brand and expand their network, rather than making it another box to check.
- Inconsistent Content Flow: If you provide a flood of content one week and nothing the next, you’ll lose momentum. Create a content calendar that ensures a steady stream of shareable material. Aim for 2-3 quality pieces per week rather than overwhelming your advocates with too much content at once.
Creating and implementing effective advocacy strategies can be overwhelming, but you needn’t worry when you have the right experts.
At Crackerjack Marketing, we specialize in helping corporate teams create professional, impactful LinkedIn presences that align personal branding with corporate objectives.
Want to explore how we can help your executive team shine on LinkedIn? Start a conversation with our LinkedIn strategy experts today.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Let’s address some common questions about employee advocacy on LinkedIn:
How Do You Motivate Employees to Participate in Employee Advocacy on LinkedIn?
Success in employee advocacy comes from creating the right environment. Show your team clear personal benefits like professional growth and network expansion. Regular recognition goes a long way, too.
Make sure participation feels voluntary and enjoyable – nobody wants another chore. Share success stories that demonstrate real impact, and provide ongoing training so everyone feels confident.
How Does Employee Advocacy on LinkedIn Impact Lead Generation?
When your employees share content on LinkedIn, they help you naturally find new customers.
According to LinkedIn’s official employee advocacy guide, their posts reach 10 times more people than your company page because people trust content more from real people they know.
Your employees’ networks are filled with potential customers who might never see your company’s posts otherwise. If you want to use LinkedIn to get new clients, your employees can be your most powerful asset.
Plus, as LinkedIn Talent Solutions research shows, people are twice as likely to click and learn more when someone’s friend or colleague recommends something.
What Metrics Should Businesses Track for a Successful Employee Advocacy Program?
Keep it simple—watch how many employees are sharing content and how many people are engaging with their posts. This will tell you if your program is working and if people care about what’s being shared.
Look at your website traffic and new leads, too—this shows you if these social shares are actually bringing in business.
How Do You Work With an Employee Advocacy Expert?
First, prepare by identifying your internal champions and gathering your current LinkedIn metrics. The expert will need access to your existing social media policies and content examples to understand your starting point.
The collaboration process usually involves:
- Discovery Phase: The expert assesses your team’s LinkedIn presence and interviews key stakeholders to understand your specific goals and challenges
- Strategy Development: Creating a customized plan including content themes, sharing schedules, and training approaches tailored to your executives
- Implementation: Hands-on training sessions, content creation workshops, and setting up measurement systems
- Ongoing Collaboration: Regular check-ins, performance reviews, and strategy adjustments based on results
What makes for successful collaboration:
- Clear communication channels and expectations from the beginning
- Designated internal point person to coordinate with the expert
- Openness to feedback and willingness to adjust approaches
- Commitment to the process, especially from executive team members
Throughout this process, the right partner should simplify rather than complicate your advocacy efforts, while delivering measurable results for both your brand visibility and your employees’ professional growth.
Conclusion
Building a LinkedIn program for your executive team isn’t easy. It takes time and expertise.
Getting everyone on the same page, creating engaging content, and maintaining consistent branding across multiple profiles can feel overwhelming.
Plus, your executives are busy enough already—they need a system that works without adding hours to their day.
This is exactly what we help teams like yours with at Crackerjack Marketing.
We take care of everything—from crafting engaging profiles to creating content that positions your executives as thought leaders. Think of us as your LinkedIn team, working behind the scenes to make your executives shine.
Would you like to see how we can help your team stand out on LinkedIn? Let’s have a friendly chat about your goals!
