Abstract

Employee Advocacy is an emerging and cost-effective concept of employee amplification to market products and services by enabling employees to build and share the company’s brand contents through social media platforms. The paper summarizes the available research-based contents as well as articles and blogs of experts in the field of digital and social media marketing. The study primarily intended to assess employees’ awareness and perception of various aspects of employee advocacy. It has identified forms and types of contents shared and social media platforms now used by the employees in the automotive sector for leveraging brand promotion and communicating with the target market. The study has been designed as a descriptive research paper based on the empirical data collected from a sample of 102 employees from automobile showrooms in the southern districts of Kerala using a snowball sampling technique. A questionnaire was drafted with the help of google forms and administered among the respondents via email and WhatsApp. Two-dimensional plot of correspondence analysis, Descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U test, and Kruskal-Wallis H test was applied to present and describe the empirical data and to draw inference about the significance of the difference in the awareness and perception of employees about the aspects of employee advocacy on brand promotion in terms of demographic factors. Awareness level and understanding of the elements of employee advocacy is found very low and significantly different among employees according to the designation. This paper also indicates that the social media policies and guidelines of the companies were not rightly imparted to the employees. That’s why the involvement and creative use of the potentials of social media platforms by the employees were not up to a remarkable level. Employees perceived that employee advocacy as a cost-effective brand promotion strategy for the future, and it demands the employer’s motivation, recognition, and rewards for inspiring employees to be brand ambassadors. This research addressed a relatively new concept in which there has been no extensive empirical researches and calls on the attention of the market as well as academic researchers for contributing the unexplored areas of the novel and powerful idea for utilizing human resources in a platform where they are interested and involved.  

Keywords: content marketing, digital marketing, employee amplification, employee engagement, social media marketing

JEL Classification: M31, M38, K39.

Cite as: Thomas, T. (2020). Employee advocacy as a marketing strategy to power brand promotion: an employee perspective. Marketing and Management of Innovations, 2, 167-181. https://doi.org/10.21272/mmi.2020.2-12

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

References

1. Adsyndicate. (2018). Digital Marketing for the Automotive Industry. Retrieved from https://www.adsyndicate.in/industries/digital-marketing-for-automotive-industry/
2. Arrowsmith, J., &. Parker, J. (2013). The meaning of «employee engagement» for the values and roles of the HRM function. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 24(14). [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
3. Bekolli, U. (2019). How to Transform Employees Into Powerful Brand Advocates. Retrieved from https://inside.6q.io/powerful-brand-advocates/
4. Benz, M. (2018). 7 Brainstorming Techniques That Will Keep Your Social Media Content Flow Steady. Retrieved from https://planable.io/blog/social-media-brainstorming/
5. Bloom, L. (2018). What Is Brand Promotion? Retrieved from https://bizfluent.com/info-8784018-brand-promotion.html
6. Boats, S. (2019). How Automobile Industry Benefits from Digital Marketing. Retrieved from https://www.7boats.com/automobile-industry-benefits-digital-marketing/
7. Boudaher, S. (2019). Four benefits your brand can unlock with better employee advocacy. Retrieved from https://www.marketingmag.com.au/hubs-c/opinion-boudaher-employee-advocacy/
8. Caulton, T. (2018). Marketing Strategies for Automotive Industry. Retrieved from https://dijitul.uk/marketing-strategies-for-automotive-industry/
9. Chen, J. (2020). 5 actionable strategies for social media branding. Retrieved from https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-branding/
10. Chronicles, H. (2018). Demystifying Employee Advocacy and How the HR Can Promote It. Retrieved from https://allthingstalent.org/2018/12/05/employee-advocacy/
11. Ciceron. (2015). The Business Case for Employee Advocacy. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/CiceronHQ/the-business-case-for-employee-advocacy-whitepaper
12. Coles, T. (2019). 30 Social Media Content Ideas and Examples for Brands. Retrieved from https://blog.hootsuite.com/content-idea-cheat-sheet/
13. Cooper, P., &. Tien, S. (2020). How to Create a Social Media Content Calendar: Tips and Templates. Retrieved from https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-create-a-social-media-content-calendar/#why
14. Dean, B. (2019). Creating a Content Calendar. Retrieved from https://backlinko.com/hub/content/calendar
15. Devi, S. (2015). Social Media as a Tool of Marketing: A study of Indian Automobile Industry. EPRA International Journal of Economic and Business Review, 3(1), 283-289. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
16. Djukanovic, N. (2020). How to Guide Your Employees to Post More on Social Media. Retrieved from https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-guide-employees-to-post-more-on-social-media/
17. Droom. (2020). Digital Marketing Trends in the Automobile Industry. Retrieved from https://blog.droom.in/digital-marketing-trends-in-the-automobile-industry
18. Durfy, L. (2018). The Secret Sauce: 5 Steps for Successful Employee Advocacy. Retrieved from https://www.postbeyond.com/blog/steps-for-successful-employee-advocacy/
19. Feldman, B. (2017). The Secret to Making Employee Advocacy Work. Retrieved from https://www.convinceandconvert.com/digital-marketing/making-employee-advocacy-work/
20. Fisher, A. (2019). How to Encourage Employee Advocacy on Social Media. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2019/08/23/how-to-encourage-employee-advocacy-on-social-media/#2e1e0ef7550b
21. Frank, J. (2015). From engagement to empowerment – employee advocacy in the social economy. Strategic HR Review, 14(4). [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
22. Frederiksen, L. (2016). Make your employees your advocates. Accounting Today, 30(8), 34.
23. Gonzales, S. ( 2019). What is the purpose of social media? Retrieved from https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-purpose-of-social-media-1
24. G-Rank. (2019). Importance of digital marketing in the automobile sector? Retrieved from https://www.grank.co.in/automobile-digital-marketing.php
25. Grover, P., & Mandan, R. K. (2017). Analysing the Role of Social Media in Consumer Decision Making for Purchase of Autobrands in India. International Journal of Management, 8(1), 73-83. [Google Scholar]
26. Hall, B. (2017). Employee Advocacy: 5 steps to get your employees promoting your brand. Retrieved from https://www.interact-intranet.com/blog/employee-advocacy-5-steps-to-get-your-employees-promoting-your-brand/
27. Heald, E. (2020). How to Write Social Media Guidelines That Help Employees and Protect Your Brand. Retrieved from https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2020/01/write-social-media-guidelines/
28. Holzman, S. (2019). The Ultimate Guide to Launching a Successful Employee Advocacy Program. Retrieved from https://www.nicereply.com/blog/employee-advocacy-program/
29. Kamra, K. (2015). Influence of Social Media on the Indian Automotive Consumers: Primary Study in National Capital Region. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 17(8), 1- 5. Retrieved from http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jbm/papers/Vol17-issue8/Version-4/A017840105.pdf
30. Katila, S. (2016). Personal Branding and Employee Advocacy in Finnish Companies. (Bachelor of Business Administration Thesis). Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ed88/24c4648988bfccc61149d6b8978658a627d6.pdf
31. Kruse, K. (2015). 3 Types of Employee Engagement for Successful Online Marketing. Retrieved from https://www.krusecontrolinc.com/3-types-employee-engagement-online-marketing/
32. Kuligowski, K. (2019). Your Best Social Media Marketing Tool? Your Employees. Retrieved from https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/6081-employee-social-media-profiles.html
33. Kuutsa, M. (2016). The interrelationship between employee advocacy in social media and employee engagement. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/e8ab/beb54996b1c6b0bc2bde1c7f5ecf714a7dca.pdf
34. Latvala, T. (2017). Employee Advocacy on Social Media: The role of management in enhancing employee advocacy. (Bachelor’s Thesis). JAMK University of Applied Sciences. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/26b8/9c8332afa95fb3ffd343f7a9953fd9983399.pdf
35. Levinson, K. (2018). What is Employee Advocacy and How Do Marketers Win with It? Retrieved from https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/blog/linkedin-elevate/2017/what-is-employee-advocacy–what-is-it-for–why-does-it-matter-
36. Malik, T., Joshi, S. A., & Kapoor, R. (2018). Techniques of Brand Promotion. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326669034_Techniques_of_Brand_Promotion_Techniques_of_Brand_Promotion
37. Mallick, C. B. (2020). Employee Advocacy on Social Media: An 8-Step Guide. Retrieved from https://www.hrtechnologist.com/articles/recruitment-marketing/employee-advocacy-program-guide/
38. McClure, J., &. Parkinson, A. (2016). Employees as Brand Ambassadors: The State of Employee Advocacy. Retrieved from https://www.conference-board.org/retrievefile.cfm?filename=SNCR-002-Employees-as-Brand-Ambassadors1.pdf&type=subsite
39. Morhart, F. M., Herzog, W., & Tomczak, T. (2009). Brand-Specific Leadership: Turning Employees into Brand Champions. Journal of marketing, 73(5), 122-142. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
40. Nguyen, U. (2014). 1O Steps to Successful Employee Advocacy. Retrieved from https://blog.sprinklr.com/10-steps-successful-employee-advocacy/
41. Nicole. (2020). How Do I Get My Employees to Share Branded Content on Social Media? Retrieved from https://www.socialtoaster.com/employee-social-media-content-sharing/
42. Odhiambo, C. A. (2012). Social Media as a Tool of Marketing and Creating Brand Awareness. VAMK University of Applied Science, Vaasa, Finland. Retrieved from https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/44591/Christine.A.Odhiambo.pdf?sequence=1
43. O’Donnell, R. (2017). Your brand, your employees and their social media. Retrieved from https://www.hrdive.com/news/your-brand-your-employees-and-their-social-media/445741/
44. Paliwal, S. (2019). Poor Sales: Is it time for automobile industry to take the digital advertising route? Retrieved from https://www.exchange4media.com/marketing-news/poor-sales-is-it-time-for-automobile-industry-to-take-the-digital-advertising-route-98184.html
45. Parker, J. M., Marasi, S., James, K. W., & Wall, A. (2019). Should employees be «dooced» for a social media post? The role of social media marketing governance. Journal of Business Research, 103, 1-9. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
46. Payne, K. (2018). Employee Advocacy: How to Turn Your Team into Brand Advocates. Retrieved from https://mention.com/en/blog/employee-advocacy/
47. Povaiah, R. (2017). How Indian Automotive Companies Can Embrace Digital Marketing. Retrieved from https://machine-to-machine.cioreviewindia.com/cxoinsight/how-indian-automotive-companies-can-embrace-digital-marketing-nid-3287-cid-126.html
48. Raman, V. (2017). The What, Why and How of Employee Advocacy. Retrieved from https://nealschaffer.com/what-why-how-employee-advocacy-defined/
49. Raza, A. (2017). Evolution of Digital Marketing in Indian Automotive Industry. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/evolution-digital-marketing-indian-automotive-industry-ahmad-raza/
50. Richardson, M., Danford, A., Stewart, P., & Pulignano, V. (2010). Employee participation and involvement: Experiences of aerospace and automobile workers in the UK and Italy. European Journal of Industrial Relations, 16(1), 21-37. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
51. Russell, A. (2018). 5 Reasons Why Your Employees Should be on Social Media. Retrieved from https://onalytica.com/blog/posts/5-reasons-why-your-employees-should-be-on-social-media/
52. Seel, A. (2018). The 7 potential benefits of employee advocacy. Retrieved from https://www.the-gma.com/result-the-7-potential-benefits-of-employee-advocacy
53. Sehl, K. (2020). How to Create Effective Social Media Guidelines for Your Business. Retrieved from https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-guidelines/
54. Shaw, A. A. (2019). Brand Promotion – Importance, Techniques & Examples. Retrieved from https://www.marketingtutor.net/brand-promotion/
55. Singh, M. R. (2013). Role of Digital Media in Brand Promotion. Voice of Research, 2(2), 31-33. [Google Scholar]
56. Sinha, K., Sahdeo, S. N.,, & Srivastava, A. (2016). Effect of Digital Advertising and Marketing on Consumers Attitude in Automobile Sector. International Journal of Marketing and Business Communication, 5(1). [Google Scholar]
57. Skrba, A. (2017). The Real Reason Employees Aren’t Sharing Your Content. Retrieved from https://blog.marketo.com/2017/05/the-real-reason-employees-arent-sharing-your-content.html
58. Smarp. (2016). How Employee Advocacy Boosts Content Marketing. Retrieved from https://resources.smarp.com/hubfs/Documents/How_Employee_Advocacy_Boosts_Content_Marketing.pdf
59. Terpening, E. (2016). Social Media Employee Advocacy: Tapping into the power of an engaged social workforce. Retrieved from https://www.socialdialog.eu/media/Social-Media-Employee-Advocacy-Altimeter.pdf
60. The Digital Gazette. (2018). Digital Marketing Trends in Automotive Industry. Retrieved from https://www.digitalrepublik.com/digital-marketing-newsletter/2018/02/20/benefits-of-digital-marketing-strategies-for-automotive-industry/
61. Trier, R. (2019). Inspiring Employee Support for Your Social Media Marketing Strategy. Retrieved from https://www.weidert.com/blog/employees-supporting-social-media-strategy
62. Wasyluk, A. (2015). What Is Employee Advocacy & How Does It Really Work? Retrieved from https://medium.com/@socialeyze/what-is-employee-advocacy-how-does-it-really-work-1bea7921571b
63. White, R. L. (2020). How to Use Employee Advocacy to Fuel Marketing Campaigns. Retrieved from https://trackmaven.com/blog/employee-advocacy-marketing/
64. Zoukelman, N. (2018). How to Launch an Employee Advocacy Program in 6 Easy Steps. Retrieved from https://www.oktopost.com/blog/launch-an-employee-advocacy-program-in-6-steps/