12 Statistics That Prove Your Marketing Strategy Needs Employee Advocacy

Throughout the first half of 2018, we’ve seen more and more brands fully embrace the power of their employees’ social media networks and have started to believe in the possibility of improved social reach, better quality leads, and increased web traffic using their resources personal networks. 

You don’t have to take our word for it though, the numbers speak far louder. 

Given that we’ve had our heads stuck in the research clouds, we thought we’d share some insightful, some shocking, and some plain ol’ entertaining statistics about employee advocacy in 2018. 

The Need to Look at Advocacy Marketing as an Option 

 

1. Organic reach is declining. 

To start off, it’s no secret that the woes stemming from Facebook’s changes to their algorithm were far-reaching. So much so that it caused a noticeable dip in organic reach, that also extended to a near 30% dip in Instagram organic reach too. 

2. Most millennials are blind to digital ads. 

Millennials hate ads. Gen Z even more so. That’s why this year has shown us that nearly 30% of internet users have blocked digital ads. In fact, 91% of people say ads are more intrusive today than 2-3 years ago. Naturally, publishers need to start looking at new, far less intrusive avenues to make a solid mark on their audiences. 

3. Word of mouth is invaluable.

A whopping $6 trillion of customer spending is estimated to have resulted from word of mouth marketing annually, accounting for 13% of all sales. Given the growing lack of interest in digital advertising, these numbers are only set to grow. 

The Trust Factor 

 

4. Your employees hold more sway. 

According to the Edelman Trust Barometer 2014, employee advocates are trusted 2x more than the CEO of the organization. 

5. Earned advertising is everything!

Earned advertising, i.e. – recommendations from friends and family, still are the most influential, with as many as 84% of global respondents to a Nielsen survey across 58 countries said this source was the most trustworthy. 

6. More people trust information from “normal” people way more than advertisers. 

According to another Nielsen study, 90% of all consumers trust the recommendations from their friends and family more than any other form of advertising; be it through digital or traditional media. Moreover, 2x millennials trust UGC content compared to those who trust content from brands. 

Why Employee Advocacy Works

 

7. Most employees already talk about their company on social media. 

Weber Shandwick reports that 98% of employees use at least one social media site for personal use, of which 50% are already posting about their company. 

8. People proactively search for referrals online. 

A report showed that a staggering 82% of all US consumers seek out the opinions of their friends and families before even considering a purchase. 

9. Pay more attention to posts from friends. 

Research from McKinsey shows that high-impact recommendations, one from a trusted friend conveying a relevant message, for instance, is up to 50 times more likely to trigger a purchase than is a low-impact recommendation, say a billboard or digital ad. 

What’s in it for You? 

10. Web traffic and Leads, both skyrocket through employee advocacy 

In addition to simply improving brand awareness, both B2B and B2C brands see similar results in increased website traffic (up 5x) and quality leads (up 25%) when deploying an employee advocacy program

11. Social media helps the bottom line grow. 

If you got revenue on your mind then this Forbes article confirms that sales representatives that use social media in their sales process outsell 78% of their peers!

12. The numbers don’t lie

Based on every other statistic we’ve listed here, it really shouldn’t be any real surprise that in terms of ROI, a study proved that for every $1 spent you get 6.50x more!

Final thoughts? 

 

With the way organic social engagement is dipping, and paid digital advertising costs are increasing, several brands are looking towards new ways to get their brand name out there. 

If you’re ready to try something with a fresh new perspective, while simultaneously proven to be effective time and again, request your free demo and trial with SocioAdvocacy now!