As businesses look at different ways they can engage their audiences, we look at the rising trend of Employee Generated content and whether this could be right for your business.
With social media becoming the main marketing channel, thanks to platforms like TikTok, businesses need to be as quick as ever with relevant content.
Over the last year or so, Employee Generated Content (ECG) has become more of a feature on platforms. Also referred to as Employee influencers.
But what is ECG and how do you know if it is right for your business? In this blog we look at some examples, the pros and cons of jumping on this trend and how you know if it is right for you.
What is employee generated content (EGC)?
Don’t worry if you aren’t sure what EGC is, believe it or not you may have come across it without realising. It has subtly entered the stream of content, meaning if you come across it you may not think too much of it. However, it does seem to be becoming popular for brands and retailers.
Employee generated content is anything that has been created and shared by, as you have probably guessed, employees.
As we have known for a few years, consumers tend to connect more with the human element rather than pushing the products. Christmas ads over the years have proven this (I’m sure we are all counting down to the John Lewis ad). So, this same concept could be applied to employee generated content – it is someone relatable, human and could be your colleague.
The Pro’s and Con’s
With any new approach to marketing, there will be pros and cons to this. As listed in this article it is worth considering these before you adopt this new approach:
- Not every employee is a great writer, understands social media posting
- It takes time and resources to train employees
It is also worth considering
- Is this something that suits your brand approach
- Would there be enough staff comfortable to support with this over the length of time you are considering – remember, they are going public
Now if we look at the benefits, you may see that there are more here to inspire you into rounding up your employees to begin:
- It attracts new talent – voices of employees showcase company values
- Builds a sense of community
- Boosts employee engagement
- Saves on marketing costs
- Creates credibility – employees are see as trusted insiders
There are some concerns with EGC, but there are also many positives with this approach. But how do you know if it’s right for you?
A social media success or a flop?
One of the most important things to consider with marketing tactics is to ask yourself ‘is it right for us?’. You may find that it may not be, which is absolutely fine. Jumping into something that you aren’t sure is right could end up being more work than it’s worth.
However, it is worth considering quite carefully before ruling either way. It is a great way to connect with consumers, and it may be beneficial to try with a test to then see. Most social media scheduling platforms provide templates to plan, but it is worth leaving this with the marketers in the team.
Don’t feel it’s right for you? There are other tactics/trends you could look at that may work better for you, for example:
- User Generated Content (from the customer): This has been used by some brands and could be an alternative or it could be a starting point before exploring EGC
- The Platform Trend: according to a survey on Hootsuite, the average social media users log into around 7 platforms each month. Which can be a lot of content to schedule and manage. Work out where you ROI is and focus your strategy there – it could save a lot of time and possibly money! There is also the ROI trend which could help to understand what consumers want from you on socials.
- The AI Trend: Some are embracing AI and some are not, most of this being based on generations. This trend would be down to your audience and how they may respond to the use of AI.
Is it right for you?
Employee generated content is something worth considering if you do have the right tools in place to deliver. The benefits do certainly weigh out the negatives, it also creates an inside look at the brand – taking the mystery away from what is really behind the doors.
If your business doesn’t quite yet have the skill set to deliver these types of campaigns, it would be worth investing in providing upskilling for current workforce and reviewing recruitment to see if there is scope to recruit to this skill set.
