User-generated content (UGC) has worked wonders for boosting sales and building a brand community. But its counterpart, EGC or Employee-Generated Content, has been underutilized for quite some time now. Employee engagement is critical for modern brands trying to retain top talent – and what better way to do that than with authentic content created by the real employees of a company.

EGC is considered a vital HR strategy to strengthen internal communication and morale, but sadly most companies overlook it. As companies rely increasingly on digital channels to stay connected, sharing content from actual employees can be helpful in boosting engagement.

Here are some of the benefits of using UGC and EGC to engage employees:

Attracting Top Talent

Culture is a huge factor for top talent seeking a new role. And while any company can list perks and benefits on their careers page, showcasing authentic employee and customer content goes a long way in attracting individuals who want to participate in that culture. Brands like Sennheiser are building employee engagement alongside customer engagement to create a culture of sharing digitally.

Sennheiser originally built a page to showcase their employees and customers using their products to celebrate their 75th anniversary but adapted the page and message specifically to stay connected during social distancing. Sennheiser showcases a great mix of professional creative, branded content, and community connection – creating a cohesive brand experience that appeals to both customers and prospective talent.

Retaining Talent

Every person wants to feel proud of where they work, but a true sign of that pride is employee-generated content. ECG can be used to show appreciation for current employees and their contributions to the company. Building a culture around the company with authentic content can help motivate employees, generate healthy competition internally, and also generate a stronger sense of community. A strong culture of employee engagement can also inspire confidence in the company's performance. According to a survey from Deloitte, 82% of respondents believe that culture is a potential competitive advantage.

Better Brand Image with Customers and Clients

Customers have a lot of choices when it comes to the brands they interact with. And increasingly, customers want to know that the brands they support are supporting their employees. This directly translates to a tangible ROI from employee-generated content.

Showing off authentic content from employees helps create a meaningful connection between consumers and a brand. According to the 'meaningful brands' report from Havas Media, content is one of the most powerful ways of creating meaning with a brand. Those connections are increasingly important as 77% of consumers wouldn't care if most brands disappeared tomorrow.

How to Boost Employee Engagement and Solicit Employee Generated Content

There are a lot of ways to get employees excited to share their experiences on social media, but having a strategy and the right UGC tools in place prior to launching your employee-generated content strategy is key. Here are a few tactics that brands have used to get employees chatting.

Contests and Giveaways

Incentivizing engagement can go a long way in launching a new campaign. Running a contest that offers something as simple as employee recognition or a gift card in exchange for employee content is a great place to start. Interested in running a contest? Learn how the top organizations are running photo contests.

Listen to the Existing Conversations from Employees

Chances are your employees already have content they'd be willing to share. Whether that content comes from a company event or day-to-day operations, every person has their own professional-grade camera in their pocket. And if they're already sharing content internally, asking permission to share that externally on the website or through social channels can help make an authentic splash for your brand.

Building an authentic image of your company's culture will pay off long term with future hiring and customer acquisition. No matter how you choose to kick off your program, remember that the most effective message is the one your employees are choosing to share about your brand.

‍Bharti Jain was earlier involved in the finance field but the digital marketing world called out to her so she turned towards Content Writing and Digital marketing. Currently, she is working as a content writer at Clearout, a Saas product used for email verification and validation. Her fields for content are technical and entertainment.