Hootsuite, the leader in social media management trusted by more than 18 million customers and employees at 80 percent of the Fortune 1000, today released its ‘Social Media Trends 2020‘ report. 

I won't spoil the read but one of the highlights that stood out for me is something I've been banging on about for the last few years which is a combination of brands being 'authentic' and being able to 'listen to learn', particularly across social media platforms.

"Brands are starting to act more like people on social, sometimes interacting one-on-one and sometimes in groups. The key is for organizations to make the experience seamless across both worlds.

Brands are also taking a stand on the most important issues facing our planet, becoming beacons of trust to their employees, who in turn are using social to amplify their company purpose".

We can now evidence that brands utilising the super power of 'employee advocacy' are seen as far more relatable and authentic than companies who just spew out the usual corporate diatribe, along with those digital intrusions called adverts.

Many companies rely solely on their marketing teams to create content, however the most successful content marketing campaigns require a team effort. From managers and quality analysts to technical support and sales teams, getting the entire organisation to contribute to content has many benefits.

Your team is full of individuals, all capable of sharing unique and exciting perspectives. It can be challenging, of course, to rally everyone around content creation - especially those outside of the marketing department - but in doing so, you can add an entirely new, relevant angle to what you produce. 

Who better to tell a company’s story than its employees? Team members are far more capable than any external marketing agency. When team members generate content, they themselves become the face of the company, and consumers often find it easier to relate to a real person than a company entity.