Brands use employees’ social networks as influencers. But what do employees get out of it?
I've noticed a trend where CEOs of well-known companies are investing more in their personal brands on LinkedIn and X.
However, the level is increasing, and they want something similar from employees.
I think building your own profile is great, but not completely at the expense of the brand. It seems a bit like an invasion of privacy to me, maybe the employee has slightly different values, interests and things that they would rather share. I also don't think they will be rewarded extra for promoting the brand.
And take people who, for example, started building their brand a long time ago at their own expense, and now the company only benefits from it for free, or only as part of the employee's salary.
What is your opinion on this whole thing?
Should they be compensated? If yes, how?
Replies
Companies shouldn't expect employees to donate their personal brand. If an employee wants to contribute they can but there should no pressure. On the flip side, it is up to the company if they want to leverage existing employees who have a significant online audience. If they would like to do so, there should be conversations about compensation or some type of reward.
minimalist phone: reduce your screentime
@calvin_lim_1 Many companies just expect to do it pro bono 🤷♀️
@busmark_w_nika We are not lawyers (with a few exceptions). Pro Bono should not be the norm. I once had a friend working for a company that leveraged their employees LinkedIn. The team would check if employees shared company content.
I get paid by an employee to do the work of the company I work for, that is it. Anything that goes outside of that is of my own personal interest and work. if they want a part of that, they can't have it. Can't stay loyal to companies that will get rid of you for any reason no matter how loyal you are.
minimalist phone: reduce your screentime
@david_sherer We can see that "loyalty" from the company side when it comes to AI layoffs.
@busmark_w_nika Bingo!!
I’d probably only use a company account.
I can’t use my personal privacy for the company though it might be different if I were a shareholder.
minimalist phone: reduce your screentime
@jordan_valuable yeah, but personal is more "trustworthy"
This hits close to home. When I ran a restaurant, the most effective hiring 'marketing' was when team members genuinely shared their day on social. No script, no guidelines, just real moments. On the recruiting side now, I can tell you candidates absolutely notice the difference between authentic employee voices and corporate copy-paste posts. The companies winning the talent game are the ones making the work worth sharing, not mandating the sharing.
minimalist phone: reduce your screentime
@ceciliatran so did you scroll their profiles and made sure that they were posting about their previous jobs on socials too?
I totally agree with you here, asking employees to use their social networks to push company products is not right. What happens to their social media when they change the company, starting new account is the only option they remain with!
minimalist phone: reduce your screentime
@nayan_surya98 How much should be the compensation? :D Let's talk about the money :D
I think it's overall positive. Employees sharing authentic content benefits both them and the company, strengthens the ecosystem, and helps attract the right talent to the right company. Recognition and support for their effort would make it even better.