With Great Brand Culture Comes Great Employee Advocacy

With Great Brand Culture Comes Great Employee Advocacy


During a visit to the NASA space centre in 1962, U.S. President John F. Kennedy noticed a janitor carrying a broom. He interrupted his tour, walked over to the man and said, “Hi, I’m Jack Kennedy. What are you doing?” “Well, Mr. President,” the janitor responded, “I’m helping put a man on the moon.” 

To most people, this janitor was just cleaning the building. But in the more mythic, larger story unfolding around him, he was helping to make history.

That a janitor is so well-aligned with the mission and vision of NASA is the result of a great brand culture.

What is a brand culture?


The e-book Telling Your Brand Story from Zoho Academy states:

Your brand’s story is much more than your “company bio.” It’s everything from the colors on your website to your packaging materials to the way your employees answer the phone and banter with your customers on social media. It includes your origins, your goals, your inspiration, your challenges, your target audience and their experiences with your company. It’s even the stuff you don’t have control over, including how your prospects and customers perceive what you do and interpret what you say. In short, it’s the sum total of who you are, all you do, and everything people believe about you based on the signals you send.

When your brand story is consistent and has been owned by every stakeholder of your company, it creates a solid brand culture.

Zappos is a good example of a brand that is very proud of its culture. Even the interview and hiring process at Zappos are designed to learn about the candidate's compatibility to fit in Zappo's organizational culture (50% weightage).

If a candidate is hired by Zappos, they can expect to spend their first three to four weeks manning phones in their call center learning how to respond to customer needs. This, in a way, is an introduction to the soul of the business. Upon completion of their time in the call center, Zappos employees are offered $3,000 to leave the company. If you haven't become a Zappos insider, committed to the goals and the culture, the company really prefers that you leave. Take the money, though, and you can never come back.

What happens when your employees are aligned with your brand culture?


They tell your story to the world.








When your employees share your story widely, it gives your brand a word of mouth boost, which is better than any form of marketing. [A report from Pew Research Centre found that word of mouth was the top point of influence for buyers.]

Let's do some quick math. I'll try to calculate the organic reach of your social media post with some assumptions. Say your brand has 300K fans on facebook while you have 200 employees who are active on social media and can share positively about your brand from their profile.

When you post from your brand page, your organic reach is this:
300,000 X 6.4% (average organic reach of an FB post) = 19,200 impressions

When your employees post about you:
200 advocates X 338 friends each (avg. number of friends) X 33% of friends seeing the post = 22,308 impressions

Remember, the average organic reach of a Facebook post is declining every year, so the posts from your brand page are going to fetch you less and less views in coming years.

Employee advocacy will be your positive word-of-mouth marketing that helps create a favorable brand image with larger organic reach. It will also help you fetch the right talent when you have a job opening.

How to convert employees into brand advocates


Sending a memo asking employees to be your brand advocates is a bad idea. Asking someone to write positively about you in public will always prompt a "what's-in-it-for-me?" attitude from the employee. Instead, win over them and trust them to post naturally.

Some employees will already be posting more about your business than others or have a more engaged audience. Identify your top socially active employees and give them the opportunity to build their thought leadership further by including them in your social media strategy.

Here are few actionable tips:

  1. Brand culture: Like how the janitor at NASA, your employees—no matter their department—should own your brand's vision. Cultivate this by re-iterating the vision and goal in meetings, emails to employees, your own social media posts, posters around the office, and through your actions. For example, start office yoga classes if your vision is related to health or fitness. Don't let your folks forget what you're working to achieve.
  2. SWAG: Who doesn't like a cool swag? Give your employees a t-shirt, a coffee mug, or even a cool hat with your logo on it. If they love your swag, there are two advantages: one, they will advocate about it in their social media space, and two, when they wear the swag in public, it's free advertising for you. Plus, swag increases the bonding between companies and employees.
  3. Celebrations: Celebrate days like Employee Appreciation Day, which falls on the first Friday of every March. Make your team members feel important and appreciated.
  4. Indirect campaign: Start a social media campaign with a hashtag and send a mailer inviting employees to participate. For example, "Best Selfie with colleague wins a prize. Use hashtag #(YourBrandName)Fun." You could also have them host a Twitter chat around a topic in your industry or perhaps help them create a longer piece of content like a blog post or video that you can then promote on both the employee’s Twitter account and on your brand account.
  5. Surprises: Surprise and delight your employees by sending them gifts on their birthdays or anniversaries. They might spread the word. Worth a shot!
Once you organically convert your employees into brand advocates, they will begin posting positive things they experience in the workplace—whether morning yoga, team lunch, employee appreciation gifts, or an employee awards function. As they start sharing their experiences with the world, your brand will get the right kind of exposure—and hopefully increased traffic via genuine word-of-mouth marketing.



      Zoho Campaigns Resources


        • Desk Community Learning Series


        • Digest


        • Functions


        • Meetups


        • Kbase


        • Resources


        • Glossary


        • Desk Marketplace


        • MVP Corner


        • Word of the Day


        • Ask the Experts


          • Sticky Posts

          • 10 simple e-commerce marketing tips to boost sales

            Congratulations! You've finally set up that e-commerce store you've been thinking about for a long time. Hopefully it wasn't too difficult. Even if it was, the effort will be totally worth it when you start seeing some orders come through. Now that the store is live, let's take a look at some marketing tips you can apply for sales growth. 1. Avoid cart abandonment If you've ever shopped online, you might have added a product to the cart but then decided not to purchase it. This is known as cart abandonment.
          • Marketing in a post COVID-19 world!

            Consumers across countries are increasingly spending more time on a wide variety of digital activities, right from online grocery shopping, to video conferencing, to tele-medicine. There is a good chance that you performed one or more of the following activities during this lockdown, thanks to COVID 19: Cooked a meal Made a TikTok Video Signed up for a remote learning session Consulted a doctor online (or ordered medicines online) Shopped for groceries online A study by Hunter, a food and beverage
          • Inbound Marketing 101: The Foundational Blocks of Inbound Marketing Strategy

            According to a behaviour survey, 68% of the buyers use sources such as blogs to evaluate the product even before considering it. Before buying a product, we do a lot of research to learn more about the product through communities, blogs, social media,
          • How Zylker doubled their webinar registrations!

            Webinars are good educational resources to gather qualified leads for your product. But what if your visitors are dropping off from your webinar landing page without signing up? What more could you do to convert visitors into registrants? This is the
          • The ideology behind why features tell, but benefits sell

            Do you think there's any truth to this? Do features only tell, and benefits sell?  Well, let's see why we should focus on benefits rather than features as the great marketing wizards, David Ogilvy and Steve Jobs proved to be the best examples leveraging

          Zoho CRM Plus Resources

            Zoho Books Resources


              Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                Zoho Projects Resources


                  Zoho Sprints Resources


                    Zoho Orchestly Resources


                      Zoho Creator Resources


                        Zoho WorkDrive Resources



                          Zoho CRM Resources

                          • CRM Community Learning Series

                            CRM Community Learning Series


                          • Tips

                            Tips

                          • Functions

                            Functions

                          • Meetups

                            Meetups

                          • Kbase

                            Kbase

                          • Resources

                            Resources

                          • Digest

                            Digest

                          • CRM Marketplace

                            CRM Marketplace

                          • MVP Corner

                            MVP Corner




                            Zoho Writer Writer

                            Get Started. Write Away!

                            Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                              Zoho CRM コンテンツ






                                ご検討中の方

                                  • Recent Topics

                                  • Notes of Tasks in Zoho CRM

                                    Hello, Is there a way to filter the Notes that appear on a Task to only show the notes related to that specific Task and not display all the Notes of the objects related to that Task (Accounts, Contacts, Deal, etc). In essence, our team struggles to understand
                                  • Passing the CRM

                                    Hi, I am hoping someone can help. I have a zoho form that has a CRM lookup field. I was hoping to send this to my publicly to clients via a text message and the form then attaches the signed form back to the custom module. This work absolutely fine when
                                  • How to next stage blueprint in Zoho Creator

                                    Hello, I have question, its possible to next stage blueprint? in case, Start - (first stage) Leader 1 (with condition 1) - (second stage) Leader 2 (with condition 2) - (third stage) Leader 3 (with condition 3) - (fourth stage) After first stage, i want
                                  • Feature Request: Email Follow-Up Sequences Similar to Zoho CRM

                                    I’m wondering if Zoho Recruit is planning to introduce a feature similar to the Email Automation – Follow-Up Sequences that is available in Zoho CRM. In CRM, this allows users to send a series of timed follow-up emails triggered by specific actions (for
                                  • Duplicated Notebooks

                                    Out of the blue, almost all of my notebooks got duplicated and the different copies contain different information. Some seem like older copies than the others. I use the linux desktop app and sometimes the Android app. I assume that the sync failed at some point and was unable to merge the two versions together. But I'm afraid to add anything else to my notebook because if it can't properly sync 5 notebooks with only a handful of notes each, what will happen when I have hundreds of notes and I lose
                                  • Currency limitation when integrating Zoho CRM & Zoho Books

                                    Brief Video of Problem: https://www.loom.com/share/d61d1d07d0904e149d80c1901a22418e. Background ·       Our business is based in Australia and we have to have Zoho Books in AUD to comply with tax and reporting regulations in Australia. ·       We sell
                                  • Multi-select Lookup does not have Advanced filter options in CRM

                                    With much fanfare Zoho announced the advanced filter options for CRM lookup fields which was a nice addition. This feature is not available for Multi-Select lookup fields. Will it be rolled out in the next 3-6 months, considering the standard lookup filter
                                  • Experience effortless record management in CRM For Everyone with the all-new Grid View!

                                    Hello Everyone, Hope you are well! As part of our ongoing series of feature announcements for Zoho CRM For Everyone, we’re excited to bring you another type of module view : Grid View. In addition to Kanban view, List view, Canvas view, Chart view and
                                  • Unable to copy into a new document

                                    Whe I create a new Writer doc and attemp to copy and past I get this message. The only way to copy into a document is I duplicate an existing document, erase the text and save it under a different name and then paste the information. Not ideal. Can you
                                  • Kaizen #157: Flyouts in Client Script

                                    Hello everyone! Welcome back to another exciting edition of our Kaizen series, where we explore fresh insights and innovative ideas to help you discover more and expand your knowledge!In this post, we'll walk through how to display Flyouts in Client Script
                                  • Customize User Invites with Invitation Templates

                                    Invitation Templates help streamline the invitation process by allowing users to create customized email formats instead of sending a one-size-fits-all email. Different invitation templates can be created for portal users and client users to align with
                                  • Admin Control Over Profile Picture Visibility in Zoho One

                                    Hello Zoho Team, We hope you are doing well. Currently, as per Zoho’s design, each user can manage the visibility of their profile picture from their own Zoho Accounts page: accounts.zoho.com → Personal Information → Profile Picture → Profile Picture
                                  • Published Course Not Reflecting In Hub

                                    Hi! I am trying to create micro-learning courses for our team to be available for self-guided learning. I have published the courses with enrollment settings open to all users of the hub, but they don't appear to be available for enrollment. Am I missing
                                  • Unlock Locked Users via Zoho One Mobile App

                                    Hello Zoho One Team, We have noticed that in the Zoho One web admin panel, we can unlock a locked user when needed. However, when using the Zoho One mobile app, there is no indication that a user is locked, nor is there an unlock button similar to what
                                  • Tip #47- Stay Ahead with Automated Scheduled Reports in Zoho Assist- 'Insider Insights'

                                    We’ve made it easier for you to stay informed, even when you’re busy managing remote sessions! With Scheduled Reports in Zoho Assist, you can now automatically receive detailed insights about your remote support and unattended access activities directly
                                  • Colour Coded Flags in Tasks Module List View

                                    I really like the colour coded flags indicating the status of the tasks assigned to a Contact/Deal in the module list view. It would be a great addition to have this feature available in the list view of activities/tasks. I understand you have the Due
                                  • Uploading data to S3

                                    Has anyone successfully uploaded data from Creator to S3 using the InvokeURL command or any other method in Deluge? (keywords: S3, AWS, Amazon, bucket)
                                  • UPS Label size when generated via Zoho

                                    We've integrated UPS with Zoho inventory. When creating and downloading the shipping labels they are created in a larger paper size. I'd like them to be generated to print on a 4x6 printer. Zoho have told me I need to do this within our UPS portal. UPS
                                  • Credit Management: #4 Credits on Unused Period

                                    Recall a familiar situation. You sign up for a monthly gym membership. You pay the subscription fee upfront, get motivated, and show up consistently for the first week. Then, suddenly, you get caught up in work deadlines, travel plans, or a dip in motivation.
                                  • Zoho Analytics Automatically Deletes Queries and Reports When a Synced CRM Field Is Removed

                                    We’ve encountered a serious and recurring issue that poses a massive data integrity risk for any Zoho Analytics customer using Zoho CRM integration. When a field is deleted in Zoho CRM — even an unused one — Zoho Analytics automatically deletes every
                                  • Prevent new Record Association

                                    Hello all, We have a small sales organization therefore, it's helpful for everyone on the sales team to be able to view the full list of accounts to assist in preventing duplicate accounts from being created. However we want to prevent people from creating
                                  • Tip of the Week #73– Automate workflow with Make integration.

                                    Make is a no-code workflow automation platform designed to connect your favorite apps and automate repetitive tasks across services. By integrating Make with Zoho TeamInbox, you can streamline everyday inbox management and save valuable time. With this
                                  • Viewing attachments

                                    I'm using a Web Form integrated in my web site to collect Leads several info, including a image upload. In order to to approve each lead, we have to view the image uploaded. Unfortunately, in the Leads view, the Attachments can only be downloaded, not
                                  • Kaizen #89 - Color Coding using Client Script

                                    Hello everyone! Welcome back to another exciting Kaizen post. Today let us see how you can apply color codes to the List and Detail Pages of Zoho CRM using Client Script. Need for color code in Zoho CRM When you mark things with different colors as a
                                  • Instant Sync of Zoho CRM Data?

                                    With how valuable Zoho Analytics is to actually creating data driven dashboards/reports, we are surprised that there is no instant or near instant sync between Zoho CRM and Zoho Analytics. Waiting 3 hours is okay for most of our reports, but there are
                                  • Is it possibly to directly set the tax amount on order instead of indirectly via tax rates?

                                    We own an eCommerce application and want to funnel submitted orders from that system into Zoho. We're already calculating tax in our application and just need a way to set it in Zoho. We tried to use Zoho's tax objects for tax by setting the rates to
                                  • Zoho account sign in with passkey

                                    Hello, I am trying to sign in using passkey, but the option doesn't show up in the web and is disabled in Oneauth on mobile, saying the admin has restricted the use. On the Admin page in Security MFA I can find no option for passkey. Help would be greatly
                                  • Rescheduled US meetups: Zoho Desk user meetups are coming to seven U.S. cities in October and November, 2025

                                    Hello to our Zoho Desk users in the United States, We're excited to share the revised dates for the upcoming Zoho User Groups happening across the US this summer. Our product experts are heading to seven cities throughout the country, and for the first
                                  • Checklists as templates

                                    Is it possible to save checklists as templates to reuse them in other tasks? Example: I have a web project. I maintain individual web URLs as tasks. Within the tasks the same checklist should be used again and again: - Page created in CMS - Properties
                                  • Send mass email using my secondary email

                                    Hello, When I send an email to just one person from Zoho CRM, a complete email editor appears, where I can choose which of my email addresses I want to use in the From field. When I send a mass email, there is not such option. I can only select the email
                                  • Add the same FROM email to multiple department

                                    Hi, We have several agents who work with multiple departments and we'd like to be able to select their names on the FROM field (sender), but apparently it's not possible to add a FROM address to multiple departments. Is there any way around this? Thanks.
                                  • ZOHO TEAM INBOX Calendar Integration

                                    The Problem: Clients send meeting invitations to our TeamInbox address. TeamInbox receives these invites, but we cannot accept them. We do not use individual inboxes for transparency purposes. Ideal Solution: A way to accept calendar invites sent to our
                                  • Unearned / Deferred Revenue Automatic Calculation for Subscriptions

                                    As a SaaS business, we have multiple active subscriptions with varying dates and amounts. Is there a way to have a monthly automatic calculation for all of them that debits or credits the unearned revenue and revenue accounts accordingly? Alternatively,
                                  • Zoho Desk Limit for Comma Separated Queries

                                    Hi, I have just discovered a limit that I believed is not mentioned in any of Zoho's documentations. My search query looks like so: "query: {"accountId":"786050000091629966,786050000163589273,786050000163589427,786050000162753705,786050000162112971,786050000161987643,786050000160752868,786050000167089504,786050000167089378,786050000167089024,786050000167070005,786050000166295256,786050000128153693,786050000110560021,786050000046594575,786050000039106461,786050000002225356,786050000076889093,786050000047895103,786050000043365354,786050000044765191,786050000041790249,786050000040359116,786050000037945198,786050000024605077,786050000000525015,786050000155333895,786050000157741437,786050000000718125,786050000011574353,","departmentId":"786050000042648070","status":"Finished","sortBy":"createdTime","customField2":"cf_completion_date:2025-01-28T03:00:00.000Z,2025-10-28T03:00:00.000Z","customField3":"cf_billed:false"}"
                                  • Module Name doesn't exist

                                    I am trying to create a module named Activity, with plural Activities, but I have an error that module name already exists. This module is doesn't exist, and I don't have a single field called Activity or Activities.
                                  • Zoho Desk iOS and Android app update: AI powered: Reply Assistance and Refine Messages on IM module.

                                    Hello everyone! We are excited to introduce new AI powered features on the IM module of the Zoho Desk app. Reply Assistance: Reply Assistance generates suggested responses for incoming chat messages, which you can directly insert into the conversation
                                  • Unify All Zoho Video Meeting Experiences into One Standardized Platform

                                    Hi Zoho Team, We would like to share an important user experience concern regarding the current state of video meeting functionality across the Zoho ecosystem. The Problem Within Zoho, there are multiple ways to initiate or schedule a video meeting: Zoho
                                  • Is it possible to embed Youtube shorts?

                                    Hi Zoho desk support, This is Ryan from Accuver America. While I'm trying to create a knowledge base article with embed video, I ran into this issue. "www.youtube.com refuse to connect" A little bit background is that because this video is recorded on
                                  • Zoho Inventory - Move Orders

                                    Quick question about Move Orders... Why is there no status to say something like "Draft", "In Progress" and "Completed", similar to Transfer Orders? I'm assuming that when something needs to be moved it should be planned in Inventory, executed and then
                                  • Split functionality - Admins need ability to do this

                                    Admins should be able to split an expense at any point of the process prior to approval. The split is very helpful for our account coding, but to have to go back to a user and ask them to split an invoice that they simply want paid is a bit of an in
                                  • Next Page