What is Leader Advocacy?

Advocacy has emerged as a crucial and powerful strategy to support businesses in their endeavors, from marketing to HR to even sales. The concept of leader advocacy also finds itself among the different forms of advocacy and has established itself as an essential pillar in the dynamic world of modern marketing.

Leader advocacy: a definition

Leader advocacy consists of involving an organization’s leaders and management teams in typical advocacy endeavors, essentially promoting the brand through social media. 

In short, by developing their visibility and credibility on these platforms through a regular, relevant, and authentic presence, leaders embody the expertise, know-how, and values of their company and the diversity of personalities that make it up.

Why should your company invest in leader advocacy?

According to Gartner, 90% of B2B social media strategies will incorporate advocacy programs at scale in the near future (if they haven’t already done so).

In most companies, these programs often focus solely on employee advocacy, a strategy that relies on the same principle of having an unbiased voice advocate for the brand rather than the brand itself. Employee advocacy is one of the most powerful tools in a brand’s arsenal, but maintaining long-term consistency, interest, involvement, and engagement isn’t always easy.

That’s why leader advocacy and employee advocacy can work together and actually boost each other: employees who see their leaders and managers deeply involved in promoting the brand and the company with their means and through their own personal profiles will be more likely to want to be ambassadors themselves. 

A complete advocacy strategy, effective to its full potential, requires the exemplarity of the company's leaders, who act as role models for all employees. Leadership involvement boosts morale, stimulates engagement, and guarantees long-term success.

The main benefits of leader advocacy

Similarly to employee advocacy, leader advocacy offers many advantages, from raised visibility and awareness to generating new business opportunities and highlighting the company's employer brand. 

• Greater brand awareness and large-scale visibility. Leader advocacy will help you develop brand awareness and gain visibility to position the brand on strategic issues. 50% of a company's global image is directly linked to that of its CEO (source: Burson-Marsteller, 2020), and he is the most likely person to be perceived as a thought leader in the industry, which will inevitably magnetize new eyeballs and interest in their content.
  
  
• Stronger employer brand. Strong and involved leaders make it easier for a company to retain talent, recruit new talent, and increase the attractiveness of the company. 95% of candidates seek information on the Internet before applying (Source: Digital School of Paris, 2020), which is why having an engaged presence on social media acquires an all-new importance.
  
  
• Social selling. Leader advocacy will also allow leaders and management teams to build more meaningful relationships with the target audience through social selling. 

What's in it for decision-makers?

Leader advocacy isn’t only beneficial for the company. Granted, CEOs, leadership teams, and managers will usually want to go above and beyond for their company, especially if they want to stay relevant in the digital and social media space.

But there are two (main) extra advantages for decision-makers who decide to become part of a leader advocacy program, and those are thought leadership and personal branding.

Enhanced thought leadership

By actively embodying their company's values and vision, leaders can establish their authority and credibility in their sector, becoming thought leaders. 

Leader advocacy is crucial in strengthening a decision-maker's leadership position and showcasing their expertise and knowledge of the sector on social media. Of course, this positively affects social selling, lead nurturing, customer relations, talent attraction, etc. 

The implications of a strong presence enriched with know-how and meaningful attention to one’s audience are too many to count. Authentic communication and visible commitment can transform the perception of a market leader, and social media has the power to do that.

Develop personal branding and influence

By actively engaging in leader advocacy, leaders can significantly increase their media visibility and enhance their personal branding. Cultivating one’s image and branding on social media is pivotal to enhancing career paths and attracting new (business and non) opportunities. 

At such levels, authority and credibility on social media coupled with sparkling engagement often, in fact, translate into more opportunities, such as invitations to speak in the media or at events such as conferences. This increased visibility offers leaders valuable windows to share their expertise and impose a form of thought leadership in their field. 

Leader advocacy is an essential component of a comprehensive advocacy strategy, offering significant benefits not only for the company but also for the leaders themselves. 

By cultivating their personal brands, demonstrating thought leadership, and actively engaging on social media, leaders can set an example that inspires employees and strengthens the company’s overall presence. The combined power of leader and employee advocacy creates a mutually reinforcing cycle of trust, engagement, and visibility, positioning both the company and its leaders for long-term success in today’s competitive market.