With 675 million monthly active users, 40% of whom are active daily, LinkedIn has become one of the main marketing channels for tech B2B companies. And, given that 75% of B2B buyers use social media to support purchase decisions, increasing the effectiveness of your LinkedIn campaigns is very important.
In a social media ambassador programme, employees can volunteer to represent your brand via their LinkedIn profiles. You provide them with plenty of rich content, and they post it to their network.
So, what are the results? Here are three reasons you need a LinkedIn ambassador programme.
1. Establish your brand as an authority
Through distributing curated thought leadership, ambassadors can help your company to establish itself as an authority in the industry. Ambassadors can promote the company’s products, services, and content to their own networks, which helps to increase reach and brand awareness. As well as picking the right ambassadors (e.g. those with a network that matches your target audience), remember to map the LinkedIn ambassador content, to your wider strategy – read our 6 content marketing best practices to ensure you make the most out of your campaigns.
2. Connect with customers and build trust
Brands don’t build relationships, humans do. Social media ambassador programmes provide an opportunity for companies to connect with customers on a more personal level. We are all more likely to listen to what a person has to say over a brand. So, ambassadors can act as a bridge between the company and its customers, providing feedback and insights that can help shape the company’s products and services, as well as generating new leads and customer loyalties through human-to-human interactions.
Reach is 561% greater when messages are shared by employees rather than by the brand’s official social media channels. So it makes sense for companies to support their employees on LinkedIn and help them build relationships with potential customers.
3. Foster employee loyalty and engagement
LinkedIn ambassador programmes are also a great way to foster loyalty among employees. By allowing them to represent the company, organisations can create a sense of belonging and community that contribute to employee engagement and productivity. And there are benefits for the ambassadors too! Those who participate in a social employee advocacy programme organically grow their social networks by 10% more per year.
When picking the right ambassadors, look for people who are already active users of your social media channels, are passionate about your brand, and have a large network of professional followers amongst your target audience. These people can serve as your brand’s advocates and help spread the word about your campaigns – and word of mouth is still one of the most powerful marketing tactics.
Long story short…
LinkedIn ambassador programmes work. Why? Because we tend to trust information more when it comes from individuals, rather than brands. In fact, 59% of B2B decision makers agree that an organisation’s thought leadership is the most trustworthy source for assessing a company’s capabilities.
Essentially, these programmes offer a great way for companies to increase their digital reach, engage with customers, and build human-to-human relationships – this is especially important through a network like LinkedIn, which was responsible for 80% of the total B2B leads. By extending their reach and influence, and strengthening their position as thought leaders, companies can find new prospects and engage with them on a more meaningful level.
If you would like help creating content and ambassador programmes that work, get in touch at hello@isolinecomms.com
