Looking to tap into your brand’s strongest advocates to help get your messages out? Look inside first. Employees can tell your sto- ries better than anyone, according to Sandra Brodnicki and Gigi Westerman, founders of On The Spot Presentation Media Training and Coaching, who offer five ways to activate inside advocates:
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Identify your issues. Be clear about hot-button topics dogging your organization or industry and prepare your advocates to respond with confidence.
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Create and test messages. Find out how messages are being received. Establish an open-door policy with your army to get critical feedback.
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Mine for stories. Create a plan to encourage internal audiences to feed up anecdotes and feel-good stories that illustrate your organization’s attributes.
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Show off their work. Give your supporters a chance to show off their storytelling skills on internal Web sites, social media outlets or employee newsletters.
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Reward and respond. Find out what motivates the people in your organization. Maybe it’s a public pat on the back, or even a $10 gift card. Reward accordingly.
PR News subscribers can read more about turning company reps into spokespeople in "Need a Powerful Army of advocates? Think 'Inside' the Box."