Employees are emerging as the most credible voices of your brand, particularly on platforms like LinkedIn, your corporate website and YouTube. Employee-generated content (EGC) isn’t just a trend – it’s a strategic asset that communicates your brand’s purpose with authenticity. By offering a transparent, behind-the-scenes view of your organisation, EGC makes your brand more relatable, trustworthy and engaging.
Why authenticity matters more than ever
A strong corporate purpose can’t exist in isolation or live solely on a corporate website; it must be consistently demonstrated through the people who represent the organisation. When employees share their own beliefs and experiences, they naturally bring brand values to life in authentic, human and relatable ways. This kind of lived expression is increasingly central to building trust with all stakeholders.
Forward-thinking organisations are moving beyond promoting physical spaces or lists of services. Instead, they are recognising the strategic value of their intellectual property – not just patents or processes, but the unique stories embedded in how they operate, solve problems and interact with the market. These stories are often driven by the personal brands of their people. When aligned with the company’s overarching mission, strategy and objectives, these narratives become a powerful differentiator.
In a digital-first world where 80–90% of business valuation is intangible, companies that understand this shift and empower their people to be part of the storytelling, are building stronger reputations and maintaining their competitive edge. Meanwhile, organisations clinging to traditional approaches risk commoditising themselves by reducing their brand to generic claims about location, service lines or legacy. In that context, differentiation disappears, and comparison becomes solely about price or scale – a race to the bottom few can afford to win.
With 45% of marketers predicting that this will be a defining trend of 2025, we’ve explored how brands can strategically leverage EGC to elevate corporate communications and employer branding to create an impact both internally and externally.
Why EGC matters for brands
Aside from being a very cost-effective way to build engaging content, EGC responds to a growing demand for transparency. We’re already seeing this trend in consumer marketing where 81% consider trust essential when making purchasing decisions; therefore, we expect corporate communications to follow suit. EGC gives audiences an authentic look at the people behind the brand, helping to humanise your business and build emotional connections. Content shared by employees is also far more effective: it receives eight times more engagement than posts on corporate channels. This amplifies your reach and creates measurable impact.
At a Sprout event earlier this year in London, it was discussed that Oliver Wyman’s CEO has 7–8 times more reach than their corporate page, despite having just a quarter of the followers. And it’s not just about leadership – empowering a diverse group of employees across departments can multiply your reach. When an employee posts on their own channels about their professional experience, they’re sharing with their personal networks too, which introduces your organisation to a whole new audience.
EGC’s impact on corporate communications
Employee-generated content (EGC) is already well-leveraged by customer-facing brands, but the untapped opportunity lies in how PLCs and corporate brands can harness it for strategic advantage. In a space where B2B content is often overly formal or impersonal, EGC offers a more human, authentic dimension. By enabling employees to share their experiences and expertise, organisations can communicate with greater credibility and relatability, particularly across stakeholder groups that value substance over spin.
This approach not only cuts through digital noise with voices that feel real and informed – it strengthens internal alignment. When employees feel seen and heard, they connect more deeply with the organisation’s mission and are more inclined to advocate for it. For corporate brands navigating complex stakeholder expectations and intangible value creation, EGC offers a low-risk, high-impact route to building trust, enhancing visibility and reinforcing strategy, from the inside out.
How organisations can make more of EGC
To fully leverage EGC, you must strike a balance between business goals and individual empowerment. Start by identifying employees best suited to act as internal influencers – those who are passionate, articulate and aligned with your organisational goals and brand values. Then, consider your business pain points and opportunities. What questions can your team help to answer? People within your business are experts on what you do so leverage that to provide answers about your purpose, business strategy, R&D or even ESG goals. This is particularly important on social media where all posts need to be educational, informative or entertaining!
Once you’ve identified potential contributors, invest in upskilling them. Empower them to write or record and share their own content that is rewarding to them and creates a platform where they can comfortably control the narrative. Whether it’s a personal LinkedIn post or a feature article on your website, the format should suit the person – what matters most is that the content feels human and real. Perhaps they are best on camera or alternatively as a writer – ensuring it is human and authentic is the most important aspect, not the medium.
Encourage contributors to stay on-brand but allow space for personal flair. A rigid corporate filter can dilute authenticity, so provide guardrails, not scripts.
Creating a culture of trust
To get the best out of EGC, it’s critical to foster a culture of trust and creative freedom. This means empowering your selected employees to represent the brand in their own words and to explore the purpose in an authentic way. Support them with ongoing workshops, practical training and editorial feedback that helps sharpen their voice without compromising integrity.
Use data and analytics to assess what content works best and why. Start small with a pilot group of regular contributors, test content types and formats, then expand as confidence grows. Encourage senior leaders to actively comment and engage with the employee posts on social media to signify support. This will help to inspire broader participation and to reach an even larger group.
To summarise, this is how you can implement EGC in your business:
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Identify and train internal influencers
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Foster trust and encourage authenticity
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Engage senior leaders in amplification
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Track results and continuously iterate
Final thoughts
When so much content is algorithmically generated, it’s the human voices that stand out more than ever. Whether that personal touch provides authentic insights or draws on real life experiences (unique IP), EGC adds a personal dimension that no corporate messages can replicate.
EGC is a cost-effective, high-impact strategy for modern corporate communication. By empowering employees to share their authentic stories, you’re not just amplifying your message – you’re building deeper trust, stronger reputation and more meaningful connections. Start by identifying a few passionate voices and give them the tools and freedom to share their experiences – the results will speak for themselves.
If you'd like to talk to us about how we can help with your communications strategy, get in touch.
