It’s great when your company uses social media to broadcast its employment brand. But what’s really great for employee engagement is when a company’s employees use these technologies for the same aim — particularly when those employees are what author Malcolm Gladwell calls “connectors”.
According to Gladwell, connectors are people “with an extraordinary knack of making friends and acquaintances.” If the whole “six degrees of separation” thing is true — that is, the notion that everyone on the planet is connected to everyone else by six degrees — it’s in part because of connectors.
These people often have very large social and professional circles. And when they tweet or post good things about your company, a lot of people will see it. In effect, an engaged connector becomes a brand ambassador of sorts.
Think about it: Including extended family members, there might be about 30 members in your family. Counting them, your neighbors, and your friends, your inner circle probably reaches approximately 100 people.
Back in 1995, if you liked (or didn’t like) your employer, your boss, the restaurant where you just ate, the movie you just saw, or the store you just visited, your reach to communicate those feelings was limited to this 100-person circle.
Today, your reach, and the reach of your employees (as well as your customers and key stakeholders) can be in the thousands or tens of thousands. And if someone is a connector, that person’s reach might be in the hundreds of thousands or even in the millions!
Of course, in order for your firm to leverage your connector employees’ networks, those employees must know your employer brand, or EVP, inside and out. That’s another reason your internal branding efforts are important: They enable you to clearly communicate this information. The internal piece is necessary to ensure consistency and accuracy when tackling external branding.