Marketing has to be THE leading industry for buzzwords, jargon and acronyms. Okay, that isn’t a fact, but IYKYK, we love our BOFU and TOFU and everything in between.
An acronym that’s quickly flown up the marketing buzzword ladder (MBL) is EGC - Employee-Generated Content. If you haven’t heard it then we’re not sure how you’ve missed the buzz around one of the biggest trends marketing has seen in years.
Keep reading to get the lowdown on what EGC is, how it’s VERY different to Employee Advocacy and why it’s a game-changing strategy for brands and retailers.
What is EGC and why is everyone talking about it?
At its core, EGC is as simple as it sounds; content generated by employees. That might be photos, videos, posts or reviews crafted by employees about a brand, its products or culture.
It’s very different to content featuring your employees. You know the kind. Your Social Media manager whips around the office filming vox pops of their colleagues answering a question for a fun, relatable post. Although, we love that content too!
Employee-generated content unleashes the perspectives, opinions, creativity and stories of employees. It comes to life as short-form video content about anything from Social Media trends to engaging, product-focused storytelling.
EGC has gained a lot of attention from major brands worldwide because it’s authentic, humanising, unique, creative, and done well - can be low effort and low cost.
With the rise of short-form video and ‘TikTok-style’ content, Employee Creator Programs are fast becoming the perfect way for brands to connect with their customers on Social Media… and beyond.
Employee-generated content vs. employee advocacy. What's the difference?
In marketing, employee advocacy is a powerful strategy. It's essentially the practice of employees promoting their employers. EGC takes that concept a step further and into an exciting new realm.
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Let’s look at it like this.
Employee advocacy is broad, but it's generally about an employee sharing content on behalf of their employer.
That might include:
✅ Your staff sharing blogs or social media posts to their networks while building their personal brand.
✅ Voluntary advocacy: think Glassdoor reviews or testimonials that paint a picture of life working at XYZ company.
✅ HR departments use advocacy to attract prospective employees by empowering the voices of their current staff.
EGC on the other hand, is giving employees creative freedom to tell their story about your brand - not unlike everyday content creators and influencers. (After all, creators are modern-day marketing’s storytellers).
EGC takes a lot from the UGC and Creator Marketing playbook, but it’s power lies in the creators being even more connected to your brand - because they’re a part of it.
EGC is all about:
✅ Unlocking a workforce of creators to craft relatable, authentic and high-performing content (not just share it).
✅ Empowering your employees to share why they love their job, your brand, products and culture.
✅ Fuelling your marketing strategy with your employees’ stories about your products, offers or calendar moments.
While employee advocacy and employee-generated content have a lot in common, it's helpful to remember that EGC is a form of employee advocacy, but employee advocacy isn't always EGC.
Is EGC a solution for enterprise brands and retailers?
Absolutely!
An endless struggle for marketers is generating the volume of content needed to stay on top of trends on Social Media alone. For smaller brands and retailers, getting your talented staff on camera is a great way to save time and content production costs.
For enterprise brands or larger retailers, a well-rounded, strategic EGC program is a content machine waiting to be turned on.
Done well, you can achieve more than fuelling your social accounts with EGC (a great start though). A dedicated program can guide your customers through the full marketing funnel, via multiple channels.
You could have your best marketing tool sitting right under your nose, just like these 5 global brands going all in on their Employee Creator Programs.
The best part? Whether you’re a retailer, airline, university, or a beauty, food or fashion brand, if you have likeable characters in your workforce your customers want to meet them.
How to get started with an Employee Creator Program
The secret lies in building a sustainable strategy, refining your processes, recruiting the right employee creators, inspiring and educating them to shoot great content and distributing it to reach your goals. Which isn't easy.
That's where TRIBE Unlocked comes in.
Our industry-leading solution takes this powerful trend driving brand love and performance (EGC) and combines it with strategic planning, purpose-built tech and processes to execute, measure and scale.
Our tech. Our team. YOUR TALENT.
We're partnering with some of the world's largest brands and retailers to build their EGC programs. Now is the time to invest in your talent staff.
Want to learn more? Hit the button below.
