How to Create a Content Strategy for Your Employee Advocacy Platform

@stephanhov @GregTirico @BambuBySprout #BambuWebinar

Employee Advocacy Content Strategy


Welcome!

Greg TiricoSenior Manager, Advocacy Solutions and Services

Sprout Social

Stephan HovnanianContent Solutions Architect

Sprout Social


Agenda1. Why content strategy is so

important

2. Content types and content channels

3. Content mix

4. Volume and segmentation

5. Sourcing content

6. Automation and workflow ideas

7. Performance tracking

8. Your questions


“Success in #employeeadvocacy starts with a relevant and valuable

experiencefor your employees.”


Content strategy:Why it’s so important


Why you need a content strategyAccording to the B2B Content Marketing 2016 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America survey, published by Content Marketing Institute and MarketingProfs:

• 53% of the most effective marketers have a documented strategy.

• 40% of the least effective marketers have no strategy at all.

• B2B marketers allocate 28% of their total marketing budget, on average, to content marketing. The most effective allocate 42%, and the most sophisticated/mature allocate 46%.

• More than 50% of B2B marketers plan to increase their content marketing budget.


4 Parts of Content Strategy:Types, Channels, Segments,

Sources


Content types and channelsContent Types

• Brand

• Recognition

• Job Posting

• Industry

• Thought Leadership

• Event

Content Channels

• Company sites

• Social media posts

• 3rd party websites

• Internal


Content Types - Examples• Blog post (Brand)

• Customer shout-out (Recognition)

• Promo video for upcoming webinar (Event)

• Monthly column by VP on industry website (Thought Leadership)

• Useful tip article related to your services (Industry)


Content Channels - Examples• Company sites (Bambu blog)

• Social profiles (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn)

• 3rd party websites (influencers, industry, advocates)

• Social publishing (LinkedIn, Medium)

• Internal (email, memo)


Mix and Match• Recognition + Social

• Recognition + 3rd party website

• Brand + Company website

• Brand + Social

• Industry + 3rd party website

• Industry + Social publishing

• Event + Social

• Event + Company website


Content mix


Why you need a content mix• Avoid “company mouthpiece”

perception

• Build employee authority

• Halo effect for brand

• Keep employees engaged


The right content for each networkTwitter: Job postings, Events, Brand Recognition/Thought Leadership

Facebook: Job postings, Events, Brand content

LinkedIn: Job postings, Events, Brand Recognition/Thought Leadership, Brand content



Sources


Why you need to segment content• Distributed administration

• Relevant content feeds for employees

• Limited time or limited scope initiatives


Segmentation ideas• Program administrators

• Executive team

• Business unit

• Localized (Language, Geography)

• Event related

• Verticals

• Subject matter expertise

• Program ambassadors


Volume targets• Starting point: 40 stories/month

• Increase for socially-active teams

• Increase when internal content needs rise

• Increase/Decrease based on feedback

• Decrease before a large publicity event

• Decrease when onboarding new cohorts


Managing volume – Starting off• No teams = Everyone sees same content = 10 stories/week

• As you add segments, your total story needs increase

• Manage the volume with distributed administration


Managing volume – Expand to 4 teams30 stories/week

• 5 “team” stories x 4 teams = 20 stories

• Plus 10 “everyone” stories

• 10+5 = 15 stories per person

25 stories/week

• 5 “team” stories x 4 teams = 20 stories

• Plus 5 “everyone” stories

• 5+5 = 10 stories per person



Sources


Typical Content Sources• Industry and Influencer sites

• Social - brand profiles, curator profiles & industry hashtags

• UGC – social love, workplace culture, trade shows

• Company sites - website and blogs

• Your PR team

• LinkedIn Publisher / Medium

• Google Alerts, Listening services


Automation and workflow


Bambu Automation


Workflow Automation• Blog posts

• Brand twitter

• Filtered event hashtags

TIP: Triage outside Bambu


Performance tracking


Website AnalyticsUse campaign tracking tags to give attribution to employee-shared content


Content AnalysisCombine tags to check volume levels


Content AnalysisCheck view counts for internal stories


Content AnalysisCheck sharing breakdown to see where content resonates most with your employees.


User AnalysisAre the 3 KPI’s going up over time?

Which teams are most engaged?

Which teams might need training or a gentle reminder about expectations and participation?


General PerformanceIs sharing distributed or concentrated around time of email digest?


General PerformanceWhat networks are doing the best?


What to do next (before our Q&A)


What to do nextEveryone

• Make a list of your content sources

• Make a list of what you can automate

• COMPLIMENTARY GIFT! Use the Content Strategy template worksheet we’re sending you

Bambu customers

• Set up tags to mirror content strategy

• Set up teams consistent with your segmentation strategy


You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers


Thank you!

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How to Create a Content Strategy for Your Employee Advocacy Platform