“I want to increase sales by working with influencers.”
“We use influencers as the face of our brand.”
Today, when using social media has become part of everyday life, influencer marketing has become one of the many options available to businesses.
Of course, the greater an influencer's reach and influence, the higher the cost is likely to be.
Another common concern is that although influencers can generate significant traffic and sales, the impact is often short-lived. Once the campaign ends, results may quickly return to their previous levels.
So, what if you could develop your own employees into influencers who help attract customers and increase sales?
Let's look at how to make this happen.
1. What Are the Benefits?
Employees may not have the same reach or impact as professional influencers, but developing them as in-house influencers can be done at a relatively low cost and offers many other benefits.
1) Consistent, Ongoing Communication
Employees are regularly present at the store, so as long as they have interesting topics to share, they can continue posting on a regular basis. This consistency helps build brand awareness and keep your store in customers' minds.
2) A Better Understanding of Your Products and Services
Much of the content employees share will focus on your products and services. In the process of identifying what makes them appealing and different from competitors, employees can also gain a renewed appreciation of their store's and company's strengths.
3) More Opportunities to Connect with Customers
When the people sharing content are also working at the store, it becomes easier to engage with customers. Even if the person posting on social media is not directly serving a customer, simply being visible in the store can create a natural conversation starter.
4) Personal Growth for Employees
As employees continue creating and sharing content, their skills improve and their confidence naturally grows. As they become more capable, they are also likely to enjoy the process more and come up with creative ideas on their own.
5) Opportunities for Head Office Employees to Participate
People at head office who develop products, services, and promotional campaigns can also take turns sharing content.
This gives visibility to the work and effort behind the scenes and helps foster a stronger sense of unity across the company.
2. How Should You Get Started?
1) Clarify Your Objectives
Be clear about what you want to achieve through social media communication. Your objectives might include attracting more customers, increasing brand awareness, or building stronger relationships with customers.
2) Revisit What Makes Your Brand Unique
Put into words what makes your brand distinctive—its personality, values, and character. Then make sure these qualities come through in the content your employees share.
3) Select the Right Employees
Choose employees who are enthusiastic about sharing information or who have a natural aptitude for it. Not everyone is suited to becoming an influencer, so it is important to select people who are genuinely interested and willing to take on the role.
4) Establish Guidelines for Posting
Set basic guidelines, such as posting frequency (once or twice a week, for example), days and times for posting, and content templates.
Having these guidelines in place allows employees who create content to focus on developing engaging posts without having to decide every detail from scratch.
5) Make Results Visible
Whenever possible, collect measurable data, such as likes, engagement, and sales following posts, as well as customer feedback. Use this information to review performance and identify ways to improve.
3. A Few Things to Keep in Mind
1) Respect Each Employee's Individuality
Of course, products and services should remain the main focus of your content. However, it is equally important to respect each employee's personality and individuality.
After all, employees are hired in part because their personalities and values fit the brand. Make the most of these individual qualities rather than forcing everyone to communicate in exactly the same way.
2) Provide Support for Your Employee Influencers
Do not leave everything to the employees who create and share content. Build a system in which the entire store team supports them.
For example, everyone can help come up with content ideas, or other team members can assist with the actual posting once the content has been prepared. Teamwork is essential to making the initiative sustainable.
Do you have employees at your store who could become effective influencers?
