Scared to start Employee Content? You Need a Creator Compass.
One of the biggest challenges for modern businesses is how to scale their employee generated content without losing their brand positioning.
And honestly, it's a fair challenge to have. It can be nerve wracking to hand over the camera when you're afraid of ruining the very foundation you've built.
One way to fix this early is with an Internal Brand Guide.
Think of it as a sister-document to the official company wide brand guide. It's similar, only it's for those chosen employees who are generating content specifically for the business.
Before you tell employees to start posting, give them a playbook. The best EGC brand guides answer questions before they're asked:
What should my videos look like?
What topics should I talk about?
How should I describe the company?
What's off limits?
What does great content actually look like?
The more clarity you provide upfront, the easier it becomes for employees to create content that feels authentic while still aligning with the brands narrative & positioning.
For now, here's a solid starting point. A good Internal Brand Guide will cover these questions and more:
Visual Standards
Logo placement (if any)
Brand colors
Approved fonts
Intro/outro formats
Thumbnail examples
Camera framing examples
Lighting recommendations
Video length guidelines
Background recommendations (office, dealership floor, home office, etc.)
Dress code expectations
Brand Personality
How the brand sounds (expert, confident, practical)
How the brand doesn't sound (corporate, overly salesy, jargon-heavy)
How the brand should feel
Key personality traits (helpful, knowledgeable, approachable, innovative, etc.)
Words we use often
Words we avoid
Messaging Pillars
Give employees 3-5 content pillars they can always pull from. Things like problem/paint-point, product education, customer stories, behind-the-scenes sneak peeks.
Positioning Statements
Provide clear answers to who you help, what problem you solve, why your business is different, your values. This will keep employees from accidentally describing the company in conflicting ways.
Video Structure Templates
Many employees aren't creators. Give them simple frameworks.
Include a 'Hook Library', a 'Call To Action Library' and step-by-step filming frameworks so employees are never lost.
Quick Tip Framework: Problem → Solution → Takeaway
Industry Opinion Framework: Trend → Perspective → Recommendation
Examples Library
This is your folder within the Internal Brand Guide to show employee posts that are the perfect example of "on brand." Add posts, videos, LinkedIn posts, customer-facing content, inspiration. Anything that shows clear examples of what 'getting it right' means.
Compliance & Guardrails
This section is wildly important. For brands where compliance is an issue, you'll need this section fully covered with confidential information, what to not say about customer data, financial claims, competitors, and announcements.
It should include guidelines on what to do when an employee thinks a post will need approval, how and who to reach out to, and what should always be avoided.
Personal Brand Guidance
Employees still want to sound like themselves. This section allows them to understand that its more like 80% personal voice, 20% company alignment. You hired them for their voice and talent, you want that to shine through while sticking to the core brand guidelines.
Engagement Expectations
What happens after posting? Employees will need a straightforward list of what is expected.
This will include things like: responding to comments, tagging coworkers or clients, engaging with other content, sharing customer conversations and reviews when appropriate.
All of this (and more) needs to be tailored to your unique brand and business. When an employee is hired to create content, the Internal Brand Guide should be shared with them and a short meeting should be scheduled to go over it together.
Ideally, company EGC would be created by the employee, handed to the Head of Content, and scheduled. This means content on both the company page and employee personal pages can be measured for lead acquisition, customer sentiment, and brand positioning within the market.
If you're a CEO or VP of Marketing and you're unsure where to begin with EGC, the Internal Brand Guide is your best place to start.
The content strategy will naturally evolve and be tweaked from there. Having the brand as the foundation is essential.
Ready to start but want an initial push to get off the ground running? Email me today and let's get your EGC game going, the right way.
Bye for now, Carlee. carleeisawriter@gmail.com
