MSPs And Resellers Can Amplify Their Social Media Reach With Employee Advocacy

By Lindsay Faria, Director of Partner Marketing, Barracuda MSP

Studies have shown that businesses are starting to increasingly rely on social media to help build brand awareness and drive the sale of their products and solutions. For example, according to a recent Forrester report, 98 percent of sales and marketing leaders see value in social selling in the short and long term, and 49 percent have already developed a formal social selling program. Many Channel companies would agree with the potential benefits of social media marketing, but they also acknowledge they’re a long way from realizing its full potential.

The first step is easy: create an account. It’s free and takes just a few minutes to get started. But, just having Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages doesn’t generate great results. You need to engage with your audience with a compelling message. Where MSPs and resellers commonly struggle at this stage is they place their social media responsibilities solely on one person, whether it’s the owner, sales manager, office admin, or someone else on the team, and hope for the best. Even if this person consistently follows all best practices (i.e. concise, well-written messages with clear calls to action), it can be a slow-moving process to build your followers and generate significant engagement.

Savvy organizations are taking a strength in numbers approach by enlisting the help of their employees to amplify their social media efforts. By asking them to follow, share, like, comment, retweet, and more, they can exponentially expand the company’s social influence. In fact, research from Hootsuite estimates that 92 percent of your employees’ followers will be new to your brand. This strategy, also known as employee advocacy, is a great way to promote tradeshows, internal events, and blog or website content, all while strengthening your company culture. Encouraging employee advocacy gives employees the opportunity to share their knowledge and passion for the industry and why they’re proud to work at your company.