TL;DR: Most employee advocacy programs ask people to reshare company posts, and audiences scroll right past. The version that works helps your experts share their own stories and expertise, in their own words, all connected to one brand story. Start with a few willing people, give each a lane and make it easy with recorded conversations.
Let me say up front: I love the instinct behind employee advocacy.
Your people are your best marketing. They're more trusted than your logo, they're connected to networks your company page will never reach, and they actually know what they're talking about. Wanting them to be part of how your company shows up? Smart.
Where it tends to go sideways is the execution.
The reshare problem
In a lot of companies, employee advocacy looks like this: marketing posts something on the company page, then sends a message asking everyone to like it, comment "Great news!" and share it with their network.
And people do it, because they're good teammates. But think about what shows up in the feed. The same announcement, from twenty people, with the same caption or none at all. It doesn't sound like any of them. Their networks can tell, and they scroll right past.
None of this is the employees' fault. Most of them have been handed a share button and nothing else. Nobody's helped them figure out what they actually have to say.
A more human approach to employee advocacy
Here's what I'd do instead: help your experts share their own expertise. Their stories. Their opinions. The questions clients ask them. The things they'd do differently than everyone else in your industry.
When a person shares what they genuinely know, in their own words, something different happens. People stop and read. They comment with real questions. They remember the person, and the company that person works for.
That's what I love about starting from a real conversation:
"It really showcases the person behind the content in a very unique, authentic, and genuine way."
And it's the same reason executive and expert posts so often outperform company pages. With one of my B2B clients, a leadership development firm, the COO's posts have reached more than seven times as many people as the company page this year, from a much smaller following. (The full breakdown is in why your leaders should post, not just your company page.)
How to make it work
Start with the willing. Don't mandate it. Find one to three people who have expertise and some interest in being more visible. Early wins from a few enthusiastic people do more than a company-wide program nobody believes in.
Give each person a lane. Each expert gets their own area: the thing they know best, for the people who need to hear it. That way nobody is posting the same thing, and together they tell one bigger story. I wrote a whole post on mapping lanes of expertise.
Start with a conversation, not a blank page. Most people freeze when you ask them to write a LinkedIn post. Ask them a question, though, and they light up. I record a content interview with each person, then shape their own words into posts that sound like them. (Here's how that works.)
Teach them to notice content. Once people know what they're listening for, they start seeing content everywhere.
"I teach them to turn on something that I call their content radar."
A question a client asked. A meeting that changed their thinking. A pattern they've noticed in the industry. Those little moments become their best posts.
Keep the company page in the mix. Resharing company news still has a place, especially when someone adds their own take. The company page is the home base. Your people are the voices that carry the story further.
What employees get out of it
This part matters, because advocacy should never feel like free labor.
When your experts show up as themselves, they're building something that belongs to them: a reputation, a network and a body of work that shows how they think. That can lead to speaking invitations, new opportunities and, frankly, more confidence in their own expertise. (More on that in executive visibility.)
The company wins too. Buyers get to know your people before the first call. Recruits see who they'd be working with. And your brand finally sounds like the smart, human people behind it.
Frequently asked questions
What is employee advocacy?
Employee advocacy is when employees help promote their company by sharing on their own social networks, most often LinkedIn. The strongest programs focus on employees sharing their own expertise and stories, not just resharing company posts.
Why don't employee advocacy programs work?
Often because they rely on everyone resharing the same company content. Audiences tune out identical posts. Programs work better when people share in their own words about what they actually know.
How do I get employees to post on LinkedIn?
Start with a few willing experts, give each a clear lane of expertise and make it easy by starting from a recorded conversation instead of asking them to write from scratch.
Should employees still share company posts?
Sometimes, especially with their own perspective added. Think of company posts as one ingredient, with each person's own expertise as the main course.
What's in it for the employee?
A stronger personal reputation, a bigger network and more recognition for what they know. That can open doors to speaking, promotions and new opportunities.
Want your experts to show up as themselves? See how I work with B2B teams, or book a strategy call.
Building your own business instead? Here's how a content interview works.