Why this matters
- Customers pick up on authenticity. A brand promise means little if internal audiences don’t live it.
- The war for talent is alive and well. Research shows employee-led content is far more credible than corporate messaging. According to the Institute of Student Employers (ISE), companies with effective employee ambassador networks can see up to 58 % more high-quality hires and a 20 % boost in retention.
- Engagement and advocacy reinforce each other: engaged employees become advocates, and advocates drive engagement among colleagues too.
Case Study: Camelot UK
A strong UK example comes from Camelot UK, the lottery operator. They increased employee engagement by 10 % in a single year, through a concerted focus on transparent leadership communication and engaging employees in purpose-driven work.
What does that look like in practice?
- Leadership openly shared how the business performance tied into the company’s social purpose.
- Employees were given forums to speak up, share ideas and see their contribution in the bigger picture.
- That alignment translated into stronger employee advocacy: when people understand why the work matters, they’re far more likely to talk about it externally.
The lesson: when you create the conditions for people to live your brand, they’ll become your best storytellers.
Four strategic moves to turn employees into ambassadors
- Define and communicate the story
Make sure your people know what your brand stands for: not just in marketing terms, but in everyday behaviour. If your tagline says “customer first”, ensure every employee understands how that looks in their team, day-in, day-out.
- Empower the voices
Provide simple tools (e.g., social-media toolkits, recognition platforms) and training (what can I share? how should I share?) so that being an ambassador doesn’t feel like extra work. The ISE article emphasises giving people options that feel natural to them.
- Embed advocacy in core practices
Recruit via referral. Feature employee stories in external communications. Recognise people who speak about your brand externally. This reinforces the behaviour internally and externally.
- Measure what matters (and feed back)
Look at metrics such as: percentage of employees posting about the company, referrals generated via employee posts, engagement of those posts, and how those map to recruitment quality or customer satisfaction. Bring results back to the team so they see the effect of advocacy.
What to watch out for
- Beware of forced advocacy. If employees feel the narrative is manufactured or their voice is hijacked, trust erodes quickly. Authenticity wins.
- Don’t ignore the “how”: providing platforms without guidance and tools can leave people paralyzed.
- Advocacy isn’t a one-time campaign. It’s part of your culture. If it’s treated as a “project”, it will fade.
- Make sure your internal culture matches your external brand. Nothing destroys advocacy quicker than dissonance between what’s promised and what’s experienced.
Bottom line
When your people become your brand’s biggest supporters, magic happens. Recruitment becomes easier, external perception strengthens, and an internal ripple effect drives engagement and performance. The truth: you don’t need 100 % of your workforce posting on LinkedIn — you need the right people, empowered and authentic. Build that, and the engagement effect will deliver far more than a few likes.