When talking about brand advocates, some organizations overlook their most important resource: employees.
Your employees can be your best and most authentic ambassadors, helping to spread awareness and build excitement around your brand on platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. But finding the right influencers from within your ranks can be a challenge.
In the just-published PR News Influencer Marketing Guidebook, Lisa Apolinski, founder and CEO of 3 Dog Write Inc., provides seven useful questions to help identify the best person for the job and how to craft your strategy around that person’s strengths and your existing customer base.
Why are you seeking an influencer in the first place?
Determine exactly what your purpose is for investing in an influencer, and make sure to clearly communicate these goals to the chosen employee in simple, measurable and realistic ways.
What tasks are you expecting the staff member to do?
Create specific tasks for the influencer to take on, such as regular blogging and social media posts, and search for someone who is comfortable in those areas and has the time to dedicate to their new responsibilities.
Where will your influencer be active? Which digital channels?
Assess which social channels are your company’s best bet for engaging with potential customers, and make sure your influencer is most active in those channels.
How will you manage messaging?
Authenticity is key! Customers want to see posts with personality and are more likely to connect with content that “pushes conversation, piques thought and provides a base to have provocative engagement.”
What expertise should that influencer bring to the table?
Your influencer should have the drive to go above and beyond to learn about the issues facing customers, and the knowledge to provide helpful solutions.
When will you have the influencer start and how will you determine if and when the engagement should stop?
Set a launch date that gives the chosen influencer and the company enough time to get organized and prepare a back-up plan in case the influencer leaves the company or is otherwise unable to continue in their new position.
Will there be additional compensation for this staff member?
Recognize that compensating your influencer, monetarily or otherwise, for their new assignment is important and can impact their commitment to the role.
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