ICYMI, employee-generated content is transforming how marketers humanise their brands and connect with customers. There are many benefits to EGC, so if you’re looking to get started, we’ve wrapped up some tips and inspiring creative examples of employee creators in action.
3 examples of employee-generated content to inspire yours
EGC is now a very popular content pillar for brands across all industries. From airlines to retailers, QSRs, cafes, fashion and beauty, more and more brands are tapping into the creative, relatable, and expert voices of their staff. Makes sense right? No one knows your products or brand more than those intrinsically connected to it.
There are too many examples to list here, but we’ve handpicked 3 of our faves to get the creative wheels working. But, if you’re looking for more inspo, check out 48 EGC ideas to see the scope of creative angles your staff can bring to life.
1. NITRO BREW COFFEE
Nitro Brew is a little coffee shop from the humble town of Providence (and now Newport) Rhode Island. But, their social game is anything but humble. They’ve made a name for being unapologetically themselves with their founder leading the charge by featuring her employees in humorous content. Officially providing a language warning here, check out some of our fave TikToks below.
Why we love it: These are great examples of highlighting the personalities and diversity in your workforce. Whether it's content telling their origin story or asking your staff simple questions the content is human, personal and relatable - all while showing off their drool-worthy products.
Nitro are living proof their approach works given their TikTok audience size is almost double the combined population of Providence and Newport they’re engaging with an audience far beyond their local coffee drinkers.
2. SHEER LUXE
From a coffee house to a brand that doesn’t even sell a product, Sheer Luxe is a prime example of how EGC can power the social strategy of an online-only magazine. Their expert staff jump in front of the camera to speak to and about the latest trends and highlights in fashion, beauty, home and lifestyle.
The following examples show there’s no need to reinvent the wheel or over-complicate EGC because there’s so much power in letting your people speak as experts in a relatable and authentic way.
Why we love it: These simple videos are hyper-relevant to their audience who look to Sheer Luxe for inspiration and expertise. But, they go further and showcase the passion and knowledge their staff have of their industry and the vibrant culture of Sheer Luxe.
With a smartphone and a little on-camera confidence, this style of content is a great place to start and introduce your employees to your customers.
3. MARKS & SPENCER
This UK retail juggernaut are EGC OGs! Their Insiders Program is a masterclass in building a community within your ecosystem to inspire and educate customers while gaining additional reach and brand awareness. M&S Insiders like Visual Merchandiser Emma showcase their fave products and offer expert tips and an inside look at life at M&S.
The program has been running for years creating an always-on content engine via the Insider’s own Instagram accounts tailored to each Insider’s niche. For example, Irayne is a 34-year-old mother who talks all things fashion and beauty with her 110k followers, while Meanswear Visual Merchandiser Rob crafts inspo styling content featuring products from his department.
Why we love it: They bring the in-store experience to social media. For a massive retailer with various departments, it’s a genius move to build their Insider community around niches. Who better to follow for beauty tips or home styling inspo than those building their careers around their passion? Combined with a genuine love for the brand their highly relatable and authentic content gives their audiences the perfect inside look into M&S.
4 EGC trends to watch
1. EMPLOYEE CREATORS BECOMING INFLUENCERS
That’s right, the best influencers for your brand might already be on your payroll! EGC is appearing in more and more brands’ social feeds but expect to see a bigger shift of employee creators growing their own audiences, with content for their employer a key pillar. We’ve seen the impact of this firsthand with TRIBE Unlocked partners BWS - whose employee creators like Alex and Ash have grown their accounts from scratch and attracted thousands of loyal, engaged followers.
2. IN-HOUSE EMPLOYEE CREATOR PROGRAMS
Brands will always need content and keeping up with producing high-quality brand-generated content and diverse creator-led UGC can be time-consuming enough, why would you want to throw EGC into the mix too?
The simple answer is; that with a solid foundation, employee-generated content can be produced sustainably and efficiently for the long term. That foundation is a well-planned EGC Program. This is why we launched TRIBE Unlocked - our fully customised solution that makes scaling complex EGC programs… possible. Each program is different, but what they have in common is content volume ie. generating on average a piece of content per day - every day.
3. MULTI-CHANNEL APPROACH TO EGC
EGC is currently very prominent on social media, but its power isn’t limited to it. With the right strategy, the voices of your talented staff are ideal for guiding customers through the full marketing funnel. Expect to see EGC featured in paid advertising, eComm sites, in-store displays and more to provide a connected customer experience that generates more sales.
4. EGC WILL TRANSFORM EMPLOYER BRANDING
We like to say EGC is a marketing department’s secret weapon, but it’s HR’s best friend! Employer branding is vital for recruitment, engagement and retention of talent. A thriving EGC program is an ideal way to showcase how your company invests in people, recognises their talent and hard work, and offers creative freedom often outside their job description. Not to mention the incredible way it shares a company’s internal culture with the masses.
3 EGC tips to help get you started
1. PRIORITIZE SHORT-FORM VIDEO
Short-form video. While there’s a time and place for still content and carousels, it’s hard to look past short-form video in terms of storytelling, versatility and performance. Just about every marketing performance report will tell it’s the #1 format for improving every metric from awareness to traffic and sales.
Also, thanks to platforms like TikTok and Snapchat and in-phone editing apps there’s an abundance of tools that make crafting engaging and on-trend videos fairly intuitive and simple. Some basic training for any employee creators who aren’t already social-media-savvy will go a long way in getting them confident on-camera.
2. DO A CALL-TO-ARMS TO GAUGE INTEREST
It might feel like the easiest path to generating EGC is to send your Social Media Manager out to shoot content featuring other employees. This is a great way to start introducing your staff to your audience, but exceptional examples of EGC come from empowering your talented staff to make content themselves.
Do an announcement on your internal channels to gauge interest from budding content creators and give them a simple brief to follow.
3. INCENTIVISE AND REWARD
Look, we’re all busy. Asking your staff to ‘quickly shoot some content’ isn’t going to fly if they’re busy. Shout out to any Social Media Managers who know good content doesn’t grow on trees. Don’t expect your employees to do it for free in their spare time, so develop a relevant incentive and acknowledge their work. Depending on your brand, that might be free or discounted products, cash, or being paid to shoot a video while on the clock.
Now, if you love the idea of bringing EGC into your marketing strategy, but still aren’t quite sure where to start - we get it. It’s not simple, but our technology and team make it possible, results-focused and efficient.
Hit the button below to discover EGC's potential specifically for your brand and to get an inside look into the Employee Creator Programs we're building with leading brands and retailers.
