I've never had so many reactions from a podcast episode...
I was on Tony Hammarlund ’s podcast and wow, did that episode travel...
My inbox this week has been a chaos of DMs, meeting requests and “FINALLY someone said it!” comments. I’m floored, but not really surprised: I’ve been chewing my clients’ ears off about Employee Branding for many years. Seeing the idea get a boost like this warms my little branding-heart.
If even a handful of CMOs, CEOs and board rooms plug an Employee Branding strategy into next year’s marketing plan… my job here is done. (Well, not completely, but you get the point).
- If even a handful of CMOs, CEOs and board rooms plug an Employee Branding strategy into next year’s marketing plan… my job here is done. (Well, not completely, but you get the point).
Here are some of the biggest take-aways from the episode, and why I think they might have hit home 👇
1. The Personal Brand is a force to be reckoned with, even for companies. In a “Google you first” world, the person shows up in search before the logo. If your experts aren’t visible, your company is quite invisible. (And let's not even talk about memorable...)
2. The math is brutal and brilliant. Edelman says 76 % of people trust information from an employee more than from a leader figure. And by the way, CEOs, you’re not off the hook: 44% of a company’s market value can be tied to the CEOs reputation. (Weber Shandwick.) Translation: let your people talk, and polish your own Executive Brand or get left behind.
Translation: let your people talk, and polish your own Executive Brand or get left behind.
3. The Employee Branding Blueprint: (full version here)
Mandate: the board and CEO have to bless it and budget it. Leaders need to buy in.
Resources: block calendar time; don’t dump things like “post on LinkedIn” on top of a full work week.
Dream team: Marketing + HR + Sales owning enablement. One way to do it is to have an Employee Engagement Manager spearheading the program.
Pilot: a volunteer squad, 6-12 months, with KPIs agreed up front.
Measurement: track reach, engagement, click-throughs, meeting bookings and sales amongst other things. There are platforms that tag every post… so the “you can’t measure it” excuse is dead.
4. Employee Branding over corporate scripts. It’s a 50-50 deal: the person builds their reputation; the company gains reach and credibility. Human posts travel 24× further and drive 7× more engagement than the same message from the corporate account.
Brands that are brave enough to experiment, especially in this economy, will steal attention while cautious competitors cut spend. (Who do you want to be?)
So why did all this resonate so loudly?
Because marketers have felt this for ages but struggled to get leadership to fund it. They’re told, “Sure, do personal branding – with zero time and zero budget.” The amount of messages I’ve received proves the frustration is universal. Employee Branding gives companies a fresh growth lever at a time when playbooks are stale and budgets are tight. Ignore it, and prepare to play catch up.
- Marketers have felt this for ages but struggled to get leadership to fund it. They’re told, “Sure, do personal branding – with zero time and zero budget.”
Last but not least, this is not straight up EmployER branding.
My definition of Employee Branding is when a company actively helps its people build their personal brands, not force them to parrot corporate slogans. Both sides win, or it’s not worth doing.
If you want my blueprint you can download the guide here for free.
And if you need an advisor, you know where to find me. <3
Again, a BIG thanks to Tony Hammarlund who invited me onto his podcast. We had a great talk. You can listed to the episode (in Swedish) here.
— M.