Community Building & Employee Advocacy

Traditionally, many employee advocacy programs focus on social sharing, where employees distribute pre-approved content on their social media channels. However, a more sustainable and impactful approach is gaining traction—community building.

While both social sharing and community building play essential roles in employee advocacy programs, companies need to align their strategy with their long-term objectives. If the goal is quick visibility and immediate brand awareness, social sharing is an effective tactic (albeit one that could cause internal enthusiasm to fall through sooner rather than later).

However, if a company is looking to scale and sustain its employee advocacy program over time, then building a strong employee advocacy community is the key to long-term success.

Social Sharing in Employee Advocacy

What Is Social Sharing?

In the context of employee advocacy, social sharing refers to employees distributing company content—such as blog articles, press releases, and product updates—on their personal social media accounts. 

This approach amplifies the company’s message, reaching new audiences through trusted employee networks. It also reinforces the company’s mission and culture and makes it more authentic and accessible in the eyes of potential customers and candidates.

Why Do Companies Focus on Social Sharing?

Social sharing remains popular in employee advocacy because it provides quick and measurable results. It helps companies:

• Boost brand visibility as employee advocates help extend the company’s reach beyond corporate channels and engagement.
• Increase credibility because people trust people (especially people they know) and, even more so, tend to trust content shared by individuals more than corporate accounts.
• Ensure easy participation since employees only need a few clicks to share pre-approved content—in the best of cases, even complemented with a pre-written caption for their post—making advocacy simple and efficient.
• Create an immediate impact because content spreads quickly—especially on social media—generating fast engagement and higher interactions.

The Limitations of a Social Sharing-Only Approach

While social sharing is effective for brand awareness, it has some key limitations when used in isolation. Without deeper engagement, employee advocacy efforts may feel transactional rather than authentic. This means that employees may well share content (albeit only when prompted), but, in reality, lack true investment in the company’s mission to make their efforts genuine and spark a real commitment to the strategy altogether.

Over time, lack of connection with the company values and goals can lead to decreased participation. Which, in turn, can waterfall into minimal long-term impact, as programs will struggle with engagement and all remaining efforts are mechanical and appear forced even to a social media audience.

That’s why, to build a truly sustainable employee advocacy program, companies must go beyond social sharing and focus on community building.

Community Building in Employee Advocacy

What Is Community Building?

Community building in employee advocacy goes beyond content sharing. It fosters an environment where employees feel engaged, valued, and actively involved in the company’s success. 

Instead of merely amplifying corporate messages, employees become co-creators, contributors, and thought leaders within their industry.

On a practical level, a thriving employee advocacy community encourages employees to:

• Engage in discussions and idea sharing to share the ‘burden’ of content creation and make employees an active part of the creative process that represents the company online.
• Feel a sense of belonging and purpose by stimulating engagement and interaction between ambassadors and renewing their sense of commitment to the company goals.
• Provide valuable feedback on company initiatives and listen to their opinions and voices to make definite decisions on different matters.
• Take ownership of their role in brand advocacy and solidify their presence online to shape their personal brand.

Why Companies Should Invest in Community Building

Unlike social sharing, which focuses on immediate results, community building delivers long-term benefits. A strong employee advocacy community leads to:

• Higher employee engagement as employees feel a stronger connection to the company’s mission. This, in turn, will reinforce their interest and involvement in the program.
• More authentic employee advocacy stems from a genuine desire to naturally promote the brand because employees believe in it, not just because they are asked to share content.
• Increased creativity and collaboration that will lead employees to contribute fresh ideas, perspectives, and industry insights.
• Stronger company culture originating from a sense of community that fosters loyalty, motivation, and pride in the organization.

Choosing the Right Approach for Your Employee Advocacy Strategy

While both social sharing and community building are valuable, companies must align their employee advocacy strategy with their long-term goals.

On the one hand, if a company wants quick visibility, social sharing is an effective short-term tactic, although it lacks the premise for sustained, long-term commitment and impact. On the other hand, if the goal is sustained engagement and scalable advocacy, community building is essential.

Unlike companies that solely rely on social sharing, those that build a strong employee advocacy community will cultivate engaged, motivated employees who advocate naturally and consistently.

Employee advocacy is most impactful when employees are genuinely engaged: while social sharing helps with brand visibility, community building creates deeper connections and long-term sustainability.