What is employee advocacy and does it really work?

Some of the best advocates for your brand are your own employees. Oftentimes, when people think about brand advocates, they may think of external people, such as social media influencers. This is true: Your employees know your company inside out and lend a unique voice to your brand’s reputation.

Employee advocacy has a lot of benefits for both the company and the employee. Chances are that your employees are already on social media and talking about their work. Why not harness that into a thoughtful employee advocacy program that gives a win-win to everyone involved?

What is employee advocacy?

Employee advocacy is the transformation of your workforce into authentic brand ambassadors on social media platforms. When employees share company content, promote brand messages and engage in industry conversations through their personal networks, they create genuine connections that traditional marketing cannot replicate.

A good employee advocacy strategy will support your employees to:

• Amplify company messages and promotions, which increases brand awareness
• Positively share about their experiences and work life, offering an “inside look”
• Act as knowledgeable advocates who can confidently recommend the company’s products and services when it’s relevant to their networks

What are the benefits of employee advocacy

Both the company and employee win in the right employee advocacy scenario.

The benefits of a program cross multiple departments:

• Increased brand awareness for marketing
• Wider personal network for sales
• Positive workplace environment for recruiting and HR
• Subject-matter expertise for industry thought leadership

Benefits for the company and brand

Having an employee advocacy program in place offers many benefits for the company and can be used in conjunction with an employer branding program.

• Increases brand awareness and reach. One study found that company branded messages had over 5x (561%) reach when shared by employees compared to the brand’s own social media accounts. Think of it as another way to organically grow your brand. This showcases the power of this social media amplification tactic.
• Improves employee performance. The same study also found that companies that had high employee engagement outperformed those with no engagement by 202%.
• Protect core brand messaging. When you have a formal program in place, you provide content for your employees to redistribute. A formal program gives employees on-brand content and clear guidelines while still leaving room for their own voice and perspectives.
• Drives more qualified leads—both in your sales pipeline and talent pipeline—as audiences encounter authentic employee content before they ever talk to your brand. When employees post positively about their workplace and company culture, others passively absorb this information. It’ll be easier for recruiters to find more people who are already knowledgeable about the company and are interested in working there or doing business as customers.

Benefits for the employee

Because a large part of this program involves continuous execution from the employees, the benefits need to be substantial. Luckily, they are.

• Easy, ready content to use. When you provide links and copy for social media, employees either use it as-is to save time or add a personal touch. Neither takes that much time, making it easy for someone to post.
• Supportive for those who aren‘t social media power users. Some people aren’t on social media all the time but still want to be an advocate. They might feel hesitant at posting, which is why having available content is great for them. Also, the more they post, the more familiar and comfortable they feel with using social media.
• Establishes thought leadership. A 2023 study with B2B decision-makers on their perceptions of thought leadership found that 89% of them say it increased their perceptions of an organization. Branded content is not the only content that can be shared. Articles within your industry, when shared with commentary by employees, supports them in establishing themselves as a knowledgeable person in the field.
• Networking opportunities. Posting on social media naturally creates networking opportunities. The more you interact with others, the more connected they feel to you.

How to start an employee advocacy program

If you’re starting from scratch, it might seem overwhelming to set up your own employee advocacy program. That’s why we created a checklist to take you through setting up an employee advocacy program step by step.

Setting up an employee advocacy program follows five essential steps:

Step	Action Items	Key Stakeholders	Timeline
1. Executive Buy-in	Secure leadership support, define strategic priorities	C-suite, Marketing leadership	Week 1–2
2. Incentive Structure	Create recognition programs, gamification elements	HR, Marketing, Management	Week 2–3
3. Authenticity Guidelines	Develop personal voice standards, content flexibility	Marketing, Legal, Communications	Week 3–4
4. Training Program	Platform tutorials, social media best practices	Marketing, IT, HR	Week 4–6
5. Success Metrics	Define KPIs, establish tracking systems	Marketing, Analytics team	Week 5–6

1. Get executives involved

Securing executive buy-in early on is crucial for a successful employee advocacy program. When leaders actively support the initiative, it sends a clear message: This isn’t just another task; it’s a strategic priority for the entire organization.

At Sprout Social, we use Employee Advocacy by Sprout Social to empower our employees to share content that aligns with our key messages. And when that encouragement comes from a senior executive, the impact is amplified.

For example, after Sprout President Ryan Barretto shared his recent article on CMO perspectives on social media, Sprout employees shared it 87 times, reaching nearly 233,000 people. It became our second most successful Advocacy post in July 2024—even though it was shared with only six business days left in the month.

Remember, genuine engagement starts at the top. When leaders actively champion the cause, employees are inspired to follow, creating a ripple effect that elevates brand visibility, cultivates employee pride and ultimately drives tangible business results.

2. Incentivize participation

While benefits like networking opportunities and thought leadership are nice to have for employees, they aren’t always immediately rewarding. To encourage participation in the program, offer perks and incentives.

In a Social Media Today study on methods of recognition, the top two most successful were company recognition (39%) and monetary incentives (19%). In practice, that might look like:

• Shout-outs in company meetings, newsletters or on social media.
• Program gamification through points, badges or tiers.
• Gift cards or bonuses.
• Branded merchandise like apparel, accessories or tech gadgets.
• Tickets to events, exclusive company experiences or team outings.

These rewards integrate seamlessly with existing recognition programs like employee-of-the-month awards. For recruiting, an employee referral bonus is common. You can use employee recognition software tools to encourage team members to recognize their peers’ efforts, such as by highlighting shout-outs throughout the wider team or developing rewards and incentives.

3. Encourage authenticity

An employee advocacy benchmark report found that social media posts from employees that were personalized generated 64% more engagement than those that didn’t. Once employees are comfortable with sharing branded content, encourage them to edit the copy and put their own touch on the post.

Just like how brand voice matters to the company, your personal voice also matters. Adding a line or two to a post encourages authenticity and establishes your personal brand.

4. Provide training

If someone isn’t a Very Online person, they won’t be as comfortable posting on social media. Providing social media training goes a long way in establishing confidence in their skills.

Regardless of what type of program you choose, you’ll need to train employees on how to navigate it. Software like Sprout Social’s Employee Advocacy tool will need an introduction so people feel comfortable using it but the benefit is that all the components of a successful program are in one place.

Training doesn’t stop, either. You’ll want to constantly evaluate how the program is performing, make sure that you’re communicating well internally and do additional training as needed, especially as platform features evolve and change.

5. Set goals & KPIs

Like any other strategy, you need to establish the “why” and “how” of your program. Earlier, we discussed the benefits of having an employee advocacy program and provided resources on how to create one.

Now, it’s time to determine what you’ll use to measure its success. A benchmark study found that the average adoption rate across all industries was 53%. But keep in mind that this average varied across industries and you shouldn’t expect this when you first start.

The tactics every successful employee advocacy program should include

Developing your employee advocacy program is a great first step, but the real work begins after launch day. Remember, employee advocacy isn’t a one-and-done initiative. It requires ongoing nurturing and attention to remain effective, scalable and valuable in the long run.

As your program gains momentum, keep these key tactics in mind:

• AI-powered content curation: Leading programs increasingly use AI-powered content suggestions, real-time optimization and cross-platform workflows. Advanced platforms now use machine learning to recommend the most relevant content for each employee based on their network and engagement history.
• Maintain a consistent employee advocacy content strategy: Establish a consistent rhythm for sharing relevant and engaging content with employees through automated distribution channels.
• Real-time performance optimization: Monitor engagement patterns and adjust content distribution timing based on when each employee’s network is most active.
• Cross-platform integration: The strongest advocacy platforms support seamless sharing across LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and other channels from a single hub.

How to prove the success of your employee advocacy program

Employee advocacy platforms are designed to make your life easier. They centralize your entire program in one place, allowing you to easily curate content, distribute materials and track analytics. This centralization is the key to unlocking crucial insights into the metrics that truly demonstrate your program’s success and prove its return on investment (ROI).

When assessing your program, focus on these essential key performance indicators (KPIs). We’ve ordered them by their direct value in proving business impact, starting with the metrics that truly move the needle.

Actionable KPIs for employee advocacy success

When it comes to proving the business value of your advocacy program, not all metrics are created equal. You need to move beyond simple vanity metrics and focus on actionable KPIs—those that directly connect employee sharing activity to high-value business outcomes like sales, recruiting and reduced marketing spend. The KPIs below are prioritized to help you build the clearest case for your program’s return on investment.

Referrals (The straightest line to ROI)

Referrals are the most direct indicator of ROI, linking employee advocacy activity directly to business outcomes. This metric covers a few critical high-value activities:

• Sales referrals: Track whether leads originated from an employee’s shared social post. Pro-tip: be sure to add a specific referral source in your sales strategy (e.g., employee_social) to ensure clean reporting.
• Recruiting referrals: Document when an employee refers a potential hire. This immediately proves the program’s value in qualified candidate sourcing.
• Website traffic: Monitor increases in social media referrals directed to your website since the program began. This is your first signal of effective funnel activity.

Earned media value (EMV)

Earned Media Value (EMV) measures the estimated financial value of the organic exposure your brand gains from employees’ social media activities.

When you track and value employee-generated content—like shares, mentions and interactions—EMV offers a concrete way to assess your program’s impact and prove cost savings. It effectively calculates how much you would have otherwise spent on paid advertising to achieve the same organic reach and visibility through your employees’ networks.

The bottom line: A successful program should generate an EMV that exceeds the total program and platform costs. Aim for a 3x+ ROI—that’s a strong target.

Engagement rate

Measured by the likes, comments and shares on employee-generated posts, the engagement rate shows how well the content resonates and proves the authenticity of the messaging. When employees share content, it doesn’t just feel more genuine; it actively drives discussion and trust.

HubSpot’s PostBeyond employee advocacy benchmark found that personalized employee shares drove ~64% higher engagement vs. non-personalized posts.

Organic reach

Organic reach measures the total audience reached through employee posts, clearly demonstrating the program’s amplification effectiveness. Because employee networks are often more diverse and inherently trusted than corporate channels, this metric is a powerful way to significantly expand your message footprint.

MSLGroup found that brand messages shared by employees reached over 5x further than the same content shared only on brand channels and vendor benchmarks commonly report several-fold reach increases for mature advocacy programs.

Adoption rate

The adoption rate is foundational, representing the percentage of invited employees who are actively participating in the program. This indicates the program’s overall reach and acceptance within the company and is typically assessed by tracking invites sent, accounts created and accounts that have taken action.

HubSpot’s PostBeyond’s benchmark report suggests that early-stage programs should target 15–25% active adoption, while broader industry benchmarks put average adoption around 50%+, with mature programs and standout case studies reaching 70–80% of enrolled employees actively sharing.

Active participation and top contributors

Adoption is just the start—active participation measures the program’s true vitality. The question is: Are employees simply creating accounts, or are they consistently taking action? By tracking the frequency of shares and the quality of engagement, you can identify your rockstar top contributors—the teams or individuals providing interesting content and receiving high engagement. Remember, recognizing and rewarding these top performers is the key to sustaining momentum.

Employee Advocacy tools do the heavy lifting by automatically generating these metrics. That means you can spend less time manually tracking data and more time making meaningful refinements to your program.

Why you need an employee advocacy platform

Manually tracking employee advocacy can quickly become overwhelming, especially for larger companies. Imagine spending days checking if coworkers shared your content and how those posts performed. It’s not sustainable alongside your other responsibilities.

That’s where an employee advocacy tool becomes essential. These tools simplify tracking, freeing you to focus on improving your strategy. Plus, many tools offer built-in amplification features, empowering you to promote your program and content in new and creative ways.

Employee advocacy platforms vary significantly in their capabilities. Here’s what comprehensive solutions should include:

Feature Category	Essential Capabilities	Sprout Social Employee Advocacy
Content Management	Multi-format scheduling, asset library, message templates	✓ Full content lifecycle management
AI Enhancement	Smart content suggestions, optimal timing	✓ Message Ideas by AI Assist
Gamification	Points systems, leaderboards, recognition tools	✓ Customizable Leaderboard Points
Analytics & ROI	Measure program performance in reporting, including earned media value (EMV)	✓ Comprehensive Reports Tab
Executive Features	Executive workflow support via centralized content, pre-approved copy and distribution	✓ Teams can prepare leader content and streamline approvals
Integration	Social media management platform connectivity	✓ Native integration with Sprout Social platform

Employee Advocacy by Sprout Social

At Sprout Social, we’re obsessed with all things social—and that includes your advocacy program. Employee Advocacy by Sprout Social is an advocacy tool designed to expand your social media reach while reducing awareness spend. Plus, it integrates with our core platform, so you can create advocacy posts alongside your standard content creation workflows.

With Employee Advocacy by Sprout Social, teams can:

• Curate and schedule various content types, including links, original posts, media attachments and more, either for yourself or on behalf of senior leaders.
• Create a variety of message options with Message Ideas by AI Assist, a feature powered by Sprout Social’s integration with OpenAI.
• Tailor the Leaderboard Points tool to fit your unique incentive strategy and encourage employees to share and like content, which will increase customer advocacy campaigns and spread the word about your brand.

• Use the Reports Tab to get the data you need and connect the results of your advocacy program to valuable metrics like leads, web traffic, event registrations and earned media value.

With Employee Advocacy by Sprout Social, you can validate the impact of your team’s efforts through powerful storytelling data.

Interested in seeing more? Request a personalized demo to see Employee Advocacy in action.

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Practical employee advocacy examples

At Sprout Social, we’re fortunate to support industry leading clients with their employee advocacy programs. And it’s a badge of honor when we see our customers thrive as a result.

In this section, we present inside examples of successful employee advocacy programs from our clients’ internal campaigns.

Medallia doubles employees sharing content with weekly email newsletters

Medallia schedules a weekly email digest in order to notify employees about relevant content they can easily share on LinkedIn. As a result, their content marketing team has seen employee shares of content essentially double starting on day one of starting this initiative.

This is a great way to remind employees of the opportunities they have to further amplify your brand’s content on a consistent cadence.

Simpli.fi launched employee advocacy before its rebranding

In 2023, Simpli.fi was in preparation for rebranding and revamping its social media strategy at the same time. Simpli.fi decided to get its employee advocacy program live a few months before the launch of the rebranding. This set up their new social media marketing rhythms to be in place with employee advocacy baked in from the start.

Planning ahead, like Simpli.fi did, to make employee advocacy a priority internal process can pay dividends in the long run. Choosing the right tools to support you accelerates your brand’s success.

Simpli.fi used Sprout Social’s Employee Advocacy platform to enhance its online presence and employee engagement in April 2023 with its rebranding initiative. Simpli.fi piloted the employee advocacy program and achieved almost $90,000 in estimated Earned Media Value (EMV) within three months.

“Our employee advocacy has returned nearly $90,000 in Earned Media Value in just three months. That means we’re already 7x our ROI. So, communicating the value of our investment in the advocacy program internally has been straightforward.”

–Spencer Traver, Director of Content at Simpli.fi

Ivanti’s employee advocacy incentive program increased social shares by 16,000% within the first quarter

Ivanti uses contests like gift card giveaways and other special events to incentivize employee advocacy. As previously mentioned, this is a brilliant strategy to drive employee engagement within a brand ambassador program.

And the results speak for themselves. After launching Ivanti’s incentive program, the brand went from 1,000 to 3,000 shares in the first month, and then 17,000 shares within the first quarter. Yes, that’s a 16,000% increase within the first quarter!

Time to launch your employee advocacy program

Are you convinced yet that you need an employee advocacy program of your own? Don’t be one of those 70% of companies that don’t have a program in place. These programs offer benefits for both the brand and employee: brands enjoy increased awareness and controlled messaging, while employees earn rewards and establish themselves as thought leaders in their field.

Sign up for a demo of Employee Advocacy by Sprout Social today for an all-in-one solution to making the most of employee advocacy.

How much time does employee advocacy require from employees?

Sharing content takes just a few minutes each week with the right tools. The goal is consistent, low-effort participation that fits employees’ schedules.

What if employees don't want to participate in the program?

Focus on showing employees the value through professional brand building and networking opportunities. Participation grows organically when employees see clear personal benefits.

How is employee advocacy different from influencer marketing?

Employee advocacy leverages internal team members who know your brand intimately, while influencer marketing partners with external creators. Both build trust, but advocacy creates authentic inside-out connections.

What types of content work best for employee advocacy?

Company news, industry articles, job openings and blog posts perform well. The most effective content allows employees to add their personal expertise and perspective.

Do I need legal approval before starting an employee advocacy program?

Create clear social media guidelines with legal and HR teams to protect both brand and employees. Guidelines should define clear boundaries, especially for regulated industries.