How to Use Digital Badges for Internal Marketing

Recent studies have shown that only 8% of consumers trust the words of marketers.1 That leaves 92% who don’t. As the trust in traditional marketing takes a nosedive, how can your organisation convince your customers? The answer is internal marketing. So why internal marketing? Your regular employee is the most trusted voice in your organisation.2 With social media as popular as it is today, your employees are louder than ever, and they are heard by your customers. However, convincing your employees to promote your business is more challenging than paying marketers. For employees to promote your business, they must believe that your organisation is worth the vocal support. The best way to do this is to recognise their contributions and achievements. Digital badges are one way to do this. They can build employee engagement and convince them to promote your brand online, making them ideal tools for internal marketing purposes. Internal marketing is a necessity in the present. This article will explore internal marketing, why you should do it, and how to use digital badges for internal marketing.

What Is Internal Marketing?

Internal marketing is promoting your organisation’s vision, values, and objectives to your employees to gain their support. At present, this means convincing them to share positive opinions about your organisation on their personal social media profiles. That’s because around 50% of employees talk about their workplace on social media.3 They are a valuable resource for promoting your business online. Internal marketing is not limited to social media, however. There are as many ways to pursue it as there are traditional ones. Despite that, the core components of internal marketing remain the same.

1. Employee Engagement

The cornerstone of internal marketing is employee engagement. The more engaged your employees are with your organisation, the higher the chance they will post about your business. That is why internal marketing emphasises investing in initiatives that promote employee satisfaction, motivation, and loyalty. These initiatives can include recognition programs, team-building activities, and opportunities for professional growth. This is where digital badges can shine. There are many ways digital badges can enhance employee engagement. It can aid employee training and development, provide recognition, and be shared on social media. Through all these, digital badges can vastly increase employee engagement.

2. Communication Channels

Any form of marketing success relies heavily on the communication channels being used. The same is true for internal marketing. Communication channels are chosen based on the messaging and objectives of the organisation. Internal marketing is unique because of the messaging your organisation needs to promote. If the objective is to promote engagement and enhance loyalty, the communication channels used should reflect that. Transparency is key here. Internal marketing requires an organisational-level communication channel for feedback, suggestions, and information sharing. Regular team meetings, newsletters, and social media groups can also be useful channels for internal marketing.

3. Professional Development

When your employees discuss your organisation on social media, they are more likely to discuss their personal experiences rather than your offerings. One way to ensure that these opinions stay positive is to promote your employees’ professional development. Recognising their achievements, providing rewards, and giving them opportunities to upskill themselves are topics your employees will gladly share online. Again, digital badges can complement this. They are easily shareable on social media, can be used to recognise achievements, and can be rewarded to employees. They are also a great tool to aid the professional development of your employees. It is an understatement to say that internal marketing benefits are limited to your employees promoting your business on social media. When done right, internal marketing can offer even more benefits.

1. Increased Employee Engagement

Through regular communication and involvement in the organisation, employees can feel a higher sense of engagement with your organisation. And, a higher engagement can lead to an increase in profitability up to 23%.4

2. Enhanced Brand Visibility

Your employees talking about your organisation on social media is free marketing. You can increase your brand visibility without paying for it on your employees’ social media networks.

3. Improved Trust

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, your employees are the most trusted voice in your organisation. Your customers will trust their opinions when they speak positively about your organisation.

4. Higher Customer Engagement

Posting on social media is not a monologue. Most platforms offer the ability to reply and post comments, which means that your customers can interact with your employees and engage with your brand.

5. Boost Brand Perception

Customers will see an organisation that takes good care of its employees more positively. After all, if an organisation does not take good care of its employees, how can it expect to take care of its customers? Looking at these benefits, it is easy to see how digital badges can complement internal marketing. From increasing employee engagement to enhancing brand visibility, digital badges are the perfect tool to assist your internal marketing efforts. To help you enhance your internal marketing efforts, let’s now look at how you can use digital badges for internal marketing.

1. Include Brand Elements

Your digital badges should contain your brand elements, such as your brand name, logo, brand colours, etc. They are to remind your employees and the audience that your organisation is responsible for taking steps to empower your employees.

2. Communicate With Your Stakeholders

Communication is a core component of internal marketing. That is why it is necessary to seek suggestions and feedback from your employees about implementing digital badges. This way, they will feel more involved in the process and increase overall engagement.

3. Create A Culture Of Sharing On Social Media

A culture of promoting social media activity can go a long way in convincing your employees to share their achievements online. Provide a “share on social media” button with your digital badges so your employees can easily share them online.

4. Implement Gamification

Gamification can enhance employee engagement by providing an avenue for friendly competition and instant gratification. Implement digital badges to introduce gamification concepts into your professional development programs.

5. Highlight Achievements

Digital badges are a great way to track employee achievements and skills. Your organisation can go further and highlight employees who earn digital badges by sharing their achievements on social media or rewarding them for the number of badges earned. This will promote a culture of active participation in seeking achievements and upskilling opportunities. Employee engagement and overall professional development can be increased this way. The advantages of digital badges go beyond their role in internal marketing and promoting employee advocacy. They are a great tool to enhance employee training and development.

CredSure: Redefining The Future Of Digital Badges

CredSure recognises the impact digital badges can have on your organisation. As one of the leading digital badge providers in the world, CredSure’s platform is designed to help organisations use them in unique ways. To promote social sharing, the digital badges created with CredSure’s platform come with a button for easy sharing on social media. CredSure’s platform allows your organisation to customise digital badges by including brand elements. And that’s not all. CredSure’s platform is designed to integrate fully with learning management systems using API. This will let your organisation seamlessly include digital badges in your professional development programs. In conclusion, internal marketing is essential in today’s market. With more customers losing trust in traditional marketing campaigns, internal marketing can be the answer. It can boost employee engagement and encourage them to share positive opinions about your organisation, ultimately improving brand perception. Internal marketing, when coupled with digital badges, can provide many incredible benefits to your organisation. If your organisation wants to enhance its internal marketing efforts with digital badges, book a demo with CredSure today!

Sources:

American Association of Advertising Agencies Edelman Trust Barometer Weber Shandwick Gallup