Building consumer trust through employee-generated content
Consumer trust in brands is at an inflection point. Despite unprecedented investments in marketing strategies designed to build that trust, many brands find themselves falling short of making an impactful connection with their audiences. Brands hopping on social trends, once a foolproof way to engage and connect with younger consumers, can yield diminishing returns: content that is hard to attribute, trends that die before the content is even approved, and worse – your brand may be viewed as inauthentic or “cringe.”
The root of this disconnect lies in how brands attempt to build trust. Instead of focusing on authenticity, they often rely on fleeting trends or highly polished influencer ads that don’t hit the mark on establishing genuine connections with audiences. With 67% of consumers admitting they don’t trust brand messages it’s clear consumers are looking for something better.
Missing the mark on building authentic trust has major implications because nearly 9 out of 10 people say that they need to trust brands in order to purchase from them. So how can brands build the trust they so desperately need to move the needle with these audiences?
The solution to building back consumer trust is sitting in your office.
Leverage Gen Z employees’ desire to influence
It turns out that today’s workforce, especially younger team members, are natural content creators. Sixty-five percent of Gen Z consider themselves to be content creators and the vast majority aspire to be influencers in some capacity They regularly share their work and daily experiences online, often shaping public perception of their employers as a result. These are the same individuals who can help brands build trust and scale their audience. Instead of relying on mega influencers with paid partnerships, brands may want to tap into the potential of Gen Z employees who are eager to influence.
Tapping Gen Z’s desire to influence can help your brand create the authentic content that your audiences are seeking. Eighty-four percent of Gen Z consumers say they trust content and ads created with real people included. By encouraging and amplifying the content employees are eager to share—be it OOTDs, day-in-the-life, pranks, product reviews or office tours, brands can forge genuine connections with audiences in ways traditional ads often can’t.
Empowering employees as influencers
To unlock the full potential of employee-generated content (EGC), brands can leverage BN Influencer to build and scale an employee influencer program. BN Influencer is an AI-powered platform that engages employees to create authentic organic content on a brand’s behalf. By providing employees with this simple platform, brands can guide their workforce through producing content that speaks to their audience in a compelling and relatable way.
BN Influencer allows brands to manage employee influencer content programs with customizable templates that employees use to share or create content, with their personal touch. All of the content published within an employee influencer program is guaranteed brand safe by BN Guard, our AI-powered technology that ensures all content meets brand guidelines and specific regulatory requirements pre-publishing. This blend of structure and flexibility ensures that the content remains authentic while adhering to brand priorities and brand safety standards.
Content can be posted on employee, brand, or local store handles organically and monitored across platforms. And the content that performs well organically can be seamlessly boosted into paid media, combining the authenticity of EGC with the scale of traditional advertising.
The results speak for themselves
BN Influencer doesn’t just help by building trust—it also delivers powerful business results. A BN client has seen 2X more impressions and 3X more engagement within a campaign utilizing an A-list Influencer to post on their handles – delivering stronger results for a fraction of the cost. By empowering employees to create content, brands can more effectively and efficiently scale their messaging and influencer campaigns.
In a world where the consumer is increasingly skeptical of traditional advertising, brands that embrace EGC are positioning themselves ahead of the curve. ECG offers a unique blend of authenticity, relatability, and reach, all while reinforcing brand trust. Tap into your employees because their desire to influence is your growth.
Ready to tap into their influence?
