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On the planet of employer branding, “authenticity” is the holy grail. Everyone knows {that a} slick company video with employed actors and scripted traces doesn’t idiot anybody anymore. Candidates wish to see the actual folks behind the model—their desks, their coffees, their challenges, and their triumphs.
However right here lies the paradox: How do you get workers to share genuine content material on scale with out it feeling… properly, pressured?
When you push too exhausting, you get “automaton” posts that appear like copy-paste PR blasts. When you don’t push in any respect, you would possibly get silence.
In a latest episode of the Employer Branding Podcast, host Jörgen Sundberg sat down with Laura Masters, the Director of International Employer & Expertise Model at Expedia Group, to debate how they solved this puzzle. Her reply? Making a virtuous cycle for model ambassadors.
Right here is how Expedia Group leverages this cycle to generate wonderful, genuine content material that pulls prime expertise—and the way you are able to do the identical.
The Drawback: The “Pressured Enjoyable” Entice
Most firms launch ambassador applications with good intentions. They establish key workers, hand them a packet of “steered social posts,” and ask them to share.
The result’s typically underwhelming. The content material feels stiff. The workers really feel like they’re doing unpaid advertising work. And the viewers—your potential candidates—scrolls proper previous it.
Laura Masters highlights that the most important problem is navigating this house with out making the message really feel pressured. You can’t mandate ardour. You can’t script tradition.
The Resolution: The Virtuous Cycle
As a substitute of a top-down mandate, Expedia Group focuses on a “virtuous cycle” strategy. In enterprise concept, a virtuous cycle is a recurring cycle of occasions, the results of every one being to extend the useful impact of the following.
Within the context of Expedia’s model ambassadors, the cycle appears one thing like this:
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Discovery: The employer model group identifies workers who’re already sharing nice moments (typically travel-related, given the trade).
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Amplification: The corporate makes use of its platform (just like the @lifeatexpedia channels) to highlight these genuine tales.
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Validation: The worker feels acknowledged and valued for his or her contribution.
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Inspiration: Different workers see this recognition and are impressed to share their very own tales.
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Content material Quantity: The quantity of high-quality, genuine content material grows naturally, feeding again into step 1.
By specializing in curation fairly than creation, the model group modifications its function from “director” to “documentarian.”
Constructing the Cycle: 3 Key Pillars
Based mostly on the insights from the podcast and Expedia’s seen success, listed below are three pillars to constructing this cycle in your individual group.
1. Mine for Gold, Don’t Manufacture It
Expedia Group has a definite benefit: their product is journey. Their workers are naturally posting photographs of fantastic journeys, group offsites, and “work from wherever” setups.
However each firm has its “gold.” It may be the pet that interrupts the Zoom name, the group lunch, or the advanced downside solved on a whiteboard.
2. The “Highlight Impact” as a Reward
Probably the most highly effective motivators for workers isn’t a present card; it’s recognition. When a world model like Expedia re-shares an worker’s photograph or story, it provides that worker a large enhance of visibility {and professional} satisfaction.
That is the engine of the virtuous cycle. When Jane from Engineering sees that John from Gross sales received featured on the primary LinkedIn web page for his publish concerning the firm hackathon, she thinks, “I wish to share my story too.”
3. Present “Guardrails,” Not “Scripts”
To maintain the content material protected however genuine, you could stability freedom with steerage. Masters discusses the significance of guaranteeing the message comes throughout appropriately with out being stiff.
As a substitute of writing the copy for them, present themes or prompts. For instance, as an alternative of claiming “Submit this textual content about our advantages,” say, “Share a photograph of the way you used your wellness stipend this month.”
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Actionable Tip: Create a “Playbook” fairly than a “Rulebook.” Present examples of nice posts, supply recommendations on taking good photographs, and provides recommendation on hashtags—then step again and allow them to create.
The ROI of Authenticity
Why undergo the difficulty of constructing this cycle? As a result of the information proves it really works.
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Belief: Candidates belief common workers 3x greater than the CEO or PR division.
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Attain: Worker networks are sometimes 10x bigger than the company model’s follower base.
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Engagement: Content material shared by workers sees 8x extra engagement than content material shared by model channels.
Whenever you create a virtuous cycle, you cease having to beg for content material. The content material creates itself. Your workers grow to be your storytellers, and your employer model turns into a residing, respiration entity that pulls expertise who align along with your actual tradition, not simply the one in your “About Us” web page.
To hearken to the total dialog with Laura Masters and listen to extra about Expedia Group’s employer model journey, try the episode “How to Create a Virtuous Cycle for Brand Ambassadors” on the Employer Branding Podcast.
