The GaggleAMP Blog

In many ways, the field of social media has hit a bit of an awkward growth spurt. The evolution of social media marketing has been rapid and one of the constant battles is over ownership. Different departments seek ownership of the brand’s social media voice to achieve their goals. Most often these battles occur between the marketing department and the public relations department.

One of the most amazing things about social media marketing is how much it has evolved in such a quick timeframe. Something that barely existed a decade ago has become an inescapable necessity. One of the easiest ways to track this evolution is through the metrics used to measure marketing success over the years.

It is no surprise that the marketing profession is based on the ability to build customer engagement. But this industry has evolved from its early “Mad Men” days, and now makes active use of expertise; proven practices; and technologies to target crafted content in ways that earlier generations of marketers could only dream of. One of the greatest impacts you can generate from your marketing strategy however, is when you turn your attention and focus internally and target your marketing at your own workforce.

In the competitive world of digital marketing, agencies need to stay innovative to remain relevant and profitable. Those that do not stay on the cutting edge with new offerings can see their customers cutting them to go for the agencies that stay ahead of the curve—or so it may seem.

The more engaged your employees are, the more effective they are. This has been a truth in the business world for quite some time, and if you are conducting an employee advocacy program in your workplace, it is just as important—if not more so.

Your employees are becoming more active on social media. They are boosting your company’s digital marketing efforts through sharing corporate content with their friends and followers. This is the foundation to a great start in employee advocacy! Amplifying your messages in this way quickly shows everyone in your organization the value of employee advocacy through increased reach and boosted website traffic. 

The realm of public relations has traditionally involved one macro voice—a company’s—which delivered information to their audience. Social media however, has flipped this paradigm on its head. In social channels, your audience has a voice which can be as large as the voice of your company (or larger). This means that PR has had to evolve; considering conversations as a viable tool rather than only broadcasting messages.

Adopting any new initiative in an established corporate environment can pose various challenges, often due to the need to establish both ownership of the program, and responsibility for its resource allotment and eventual success. Things can become especially tricky when initiatives cross multiple departments. For employee advocacy efforts on social media, the process of establishing departmental ownership can make other challenges look easy by comparison.

In the world of marketing, there is a steady supply of new agencies fighting for a company’s business. The road from a brand-new marketing agency, to becoming (and remaining) a successful agency, requires that you both anticipate client needs and suggest new ideas. The failure to be innovative is actually a sign that your marketing agency is dying a slow death. What is one innovation you should discuss with your clients? Employee advocacy on social media; if it is not on your radar yet—it should be.

While competition for your marketing niche increases, the budget for your event marketing efforts stretches tighter… sound familiar?  Despite this common scenario, it is possible to benefit from leveraging some readily available resources, namely, social media, your employees, and some well-planned event marketing.