Hey friend,

I talk a lot about Employee Generated Content (EGC) because I genuinely believe it's one of the most underutilized tools in employer branding. People trust people, not logos. Your employees' voices carry more weight than any polished campaign your marketing team could ever create.

But most companies get it completely wrong. And it's usually for the same two reasons…

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Companies see the potential of EGC. They've heard the stats about employee posts outperforming brand pages. They want in. So they do what feels safe: they hand employees a script.

And that's exactly where it falls apart.

The whole point of EGC is that it's human. Real people sharing real experiences in their own voice. The moment you strip that away with corporate-approved talking points, you've defeated the purpose. A polished, scripted "I love working here!" post reads exactly like what it is: marketing copy with a human face attached. People can smell it from a mile away.

There's a difference between guardrails and a straitjacket. Guidelines make sense—don't share proprietary information, don't bash competitors, be clear on what's confidential. Scripts kill the very thing that makes EGC work. Give your people the boundaries, then get out of the way. Let them tell their own stories in their own voice.

Here's where it gets uncomfortable.

You can't expect employees to advocate for a culture that doesn't actually exist. The employees who naturally share about their work are the ones who feel supported, happy, fulfilled, and seen. You can't manufacture that. You can't expect people to lie for you.

If your people aren't posting about work, that's data. It might be telling you something about the employee experience itself, not just your content strategy. Before you launch an EGC initiative, you might need to take a hard look at whether your culture is actually worth talking about.

If you're ready to do this the right way, here's where to start:

Who's already posting about their work, their projects, their wins? These are your people. Start there. Don't try to convert the skeptics first, find the ones who are already inclined to share and make it easier for them.

Invite people to participate. Make it optional. Forced advocacy isn't advocacy, it's performance. And candidates will feel the difference.

Give them content prompts, not scripts. Share what's happening in the company that they might want to talk about. Remove friction wherever you can. Most employees don't post because they don't know what to say or they're worried about saying the wrong thing. Solve for that.

When employees do post, share it. Comment on it. Celebrate it. Don't ask them to change their wording to sound more "on brand." The whole point is that it sounds like them, not like your marketing department.

If you're struggling to find employees willing to share, ask yourself why. The answer might not be a content problem at all.

If you're in HR, TA, or employer branding, I want you to identify three employees who are already sharing content about their work; on LinkedIn, internally, wherever. Reach out to them. Ask them what would make it easier for them to share more. Listen to what they say.

That's your starting point.

Your employer brand isn't what you say about your company. It's what your employees say when you're not in the room. Give them a reason to say something good.

I've had some great conversations on the podcast about EGC, employee advocacy, and what it actually takes to get employees creating content. Here's a playlist of episodes if you want to keep learning:

Until next time. 💖