The primary goal of our Employee Advocacy Programme is to enhance the visibility of the bank's values and services by fostering collaborative engagement among our employees on LinkedIn. Through the implementation of educational content and a strategic approach, the program aims to equip employees with compelling and relevant materials, leveraging their personal networks to broaden the bank's outreach and amplify its key messages.
Ultimately, the objective is to cultivate a strong network of brand advocates and establish a valuable online community that aligns with the bank's objectives and values.
Numerically, this implies the targeted involvement of 13% of our worldwide workforce in the Employee Advocacy Programme. Furthermore, we aspire to achieve a 20% increase in key performance indicators (KPIs) by the ending of 2024. Although this program serves as an excellent driver for awareness, our primary objective is to boost the number of link clicks leading to our website.
The beginning of the Employee Advocacy Programme arose as a strategic move to tap into an additional marketing channel, coinciding with the growing prominence of thought leadership on social platforms. This initiative positions our employees as experts and fosters a heightened sense of trust among users. The strategy involves the appointment of advocates globally, particularly individuals already active on social media, spanning beyond Relationship Managers to include representatives from HR or any other area.
We have curated various topic categories such as "Wealth Insights," "Future Insights," and "Company Insights, reflecting our thematic content hub on our website. Additionally, we have expanded beyond English content, offering materials in seven more languages, ensuring a broad reach and engagement.
Our approach involves tailoring content to suit different working areas and providing advocates with a range of topics to share. This diverse content pool serves multiple purposes, from acquiring new clients to showcasing the positive aspects of working for Julius Baer and sharing daily market news. Advocates also get the opportunity to suggest content for everyone to share. This allows us to share news that might have been dismissed if we were solely relying on corporate channels.
Challenges were identified in engaging individuals who are less social media savvy and lack confidence. However, through regular training sessions, one-on-one support, and involvement from the head of local marketing, we have seen strong engagement numbers from actively posting users. To add a touch of playfulness, we've introduced a monthly newsletter featuring a leaderboard, opportunities for participants to have donations made in their name to the core areas of the Julius Baer Foundation, and regular tips and tricks on optimizing social media use.
To avoid the duplication of corporate content on individual profiles, we have collaborated with an external agency. This partnership ensures the efficient management and diversification of content, maintaining a fresh and engaging collection for our advocates.
In summary, the execution of this strategy has led to strong engagement numbers and successfully utilized employee advocacy as a dynamic marketing channel, contributing to a diverse and impactful online presence for Julius Baer.
Our team aimed to enlist and train 650 advocates globally for this program in 2023. Not only did we surpass this goal, but our advocates also played a crucial role in supporting awareness for our classic campaigns through their additional social media posts. The results consistently surpass those of the corporate channel, underscoring the significant trust users place in real individuals over company pages.
Numbers of 2023
Number of posts shared by employees - 6,300
Potential ad value - 112,000 USD
Link clicks to our website - 18,000
Reach - 9,300,000 people
Another objective was to encourage less tech-savvy users to embrace social media, alleviating any fears associated with its use. This was achieved by providing group training, one-on-one sessions, and on-the-fly support. Looking ahead to 2024, the program has become an integral part of continuous training for Relationship Managers and is included in the onboarding information shared on the first day. This not only provides advocates with the necessary tools and abilities for efficient social media use, but it also includes a self-compliance document that teaches them what can and cannot be stated, allowing them to be as independent as possible.
