What's in store for this edition:

• Employee Advocacy

  • Why Employee Advocacy Matters

  • Steps to Turn Employees into Brand Advocates

• NEWSWORTHY: Red Note - 小红书📕

• COOL or CRINGE: ‘Severance’ goes IRL at NYC Grand Central Station.

• Attention Seeker of the Week 🐶

Employee Advocacy

Employees advocating for your brand and spreading your message is perhaps one of the most cost-effective and powerful ways to build trust in your brand and attract attention.

By equipping employees with the right tools, you empower them to cheer for your brand. Lets cartwheel our way into this subject… yes, the cheer metaphors are only just beginning.

Why Employee Advocacy Matters

✅ Sorry CEOs, but your employees are trusted more than you or your official brand channels.

✅ When your employees advocate for your brand it makes for authentic content, and provides more reach.

✅ It helps with attracting new hires and keeping your employees.

✅ Employees feel more engaged, satisfied, and connected to the company.

Steps to Turn Employees into Brand Advocates

1. Building a positive workplace culture, arguably the most crucial step. Negativity in the work place is like a bad cold, very contagious and nobody likes how they feel. So put time and effort in making sure your employees feel valued, respected and engaged. Through good communication, showing respect, and providing growth opportunities at work you can have happy, loyal employees.

💫 Pro Tip: Perks never hurt. Flexible schedules, floating holidays, to name just a few, go a long way in building loyalty.

2. Educate your employees about your brand. Do they know your mission, values, and messaging? If they don’t, share your brand guideline with them now! Help them understand their role in the companies goals.

💫 Pro Tip: Make sure employees have clear guidelines on what they can and can’t post externally on social media. Protect your brand reputation!

3. Look for your brand champions in all departments. Be it HR, IT, sales, marketing, customer service — they are all part of the team and they have a unique perspective on the story to be told.

💫 Pro Tip: Provide social media best practices training to give the confidence they need for sharing.

4. Make it easy and fun for employees to be brand advocates! When you provide shareable content, branded visuals, hashtags, or post ideas, you make it easier for them to cheer. Give them the bullhorns.

💫 Pro Tip: Reward and recognize participation through internal shout outs, awards or small bonuses.

5. Leaders, you must lead by example. If you don’t show enthusiasm for the brand, why should your employees? Participate authentically in advocacy efforts and actively support your team as they cheer for your brand.

Do this now: Survey your team for potential champions and where training is needed.

Ask your employees:

1. How do you describe our company and it’s mission to your friends/family?

2. What parts of our brand/product/services are you most proud of?

3. What do you think makes our brand unique compared to competitors?

Get PR techniques from recent news.

Newsworthy

The TikTok ban sparked interest in another Chinese app: Red Note - 小红书 (Xiaohongshu)

In protest to the TikTok ban, many social media users have downloaded the app called Red Note - 小红书. It is like China’s version of Pinterest and Instagram. It was one of the first platforms to connect China with the rest of the world.

Here’s a fun fact the news hasn’t reported on: The RedNote app’s name is an ode to a famous book widely distributed during the Cultural Revolution, “Quotations From Chairman Mao” and it’s abbreviated name is Little Red Book - 小红书 (Xiaohongshu).

For those of you who don’t know me, I have extensive experience with Chinese apps and social media and I speak Mandarin. Let me tell you, learning the intricacies of appealing to Chinese audiences while respecting culture and language nuances is no small feat but worth all the effort.

Personally I wouldn’t flock here to promote your brand. This will be a flash in the pan, since most Americans can not speak or read Chinese, and the app isn’t set up for English users. That being said, if you have many Chinese clients or want to reach this demographic, then you may want to consider using this app in your social media goals.

✍️ Key PR Takeaway: Don’t jump on trends without evaluating their relevance to your audience or goals. If you target Chinese-speaking clients or demographics, this app could be worth exploring—but consider cultural nuances first.

Learn from others.

100% Cool : 0% Cringe

‘Severance’ goes In Real Life at NYC Grand Central Station.

The cast of Severance brought their fictional world to life at Grand Central Station by recreating props from the show alongside actors portraying characters in an immersive experience. Fans received tote bags filled with Lumon Industries memorabilia—a creative way to engage audiences both in-person and online

✍️ Key PR Takeaway: Immersive physical experiences create unforgettable moments that strengthen audience connections with your brand while generating buzz on social media.

Attention Seeker of the Week

Samson, a 4 year old Havazu, will stare you down, with his tongue hanging out until he gets the attention that he demands, for that matter, deserves.

Samson is the unofficial furry mascot of ADHD Coach CJ, who help people with ADHD discover ways to make it work for them.

Can we feature your furry attention seeker? It’s free! And we love supporting small business.

Be your employees biggest fan, and they will be yours. Got any stories? I’d love to hear them!

Until next week, keep your shades on and stay cool.

Your fellow Seeker,
Keren

🕶️