Brands use employees’ social networks as influencers. But what do employees get out of it?
I've noticed a trend where CEOs of well-known companies are investing more in their personal brands on LinkedIn and X.
However, the level is increasing, and they want something similar from employees.
I think building your own profile is great, but not completely at the expense of the brand. It seems a bit like an invasion of privacy to me, maybe the employee has slightly different values, interests and things that they would rather share. I also don't think they will be rewarded extra for promoting the brand.
And take people who, for example, started building their brand a long time ago at their own expense, and now the company only benefits from it for free, or only as part of the employee's salary.
What is your opinion on this whole thing?
Should they be compensated? If yes, how?
Replies
Personal profiles shouldn’t be treated as company assets. I’ve seen teams push this and it usually creates friction over time. If it’s being used as a distribution for the company, then it needs to be treated as something the company is leveraging, not something it owns. Compensation should reflect that. Either through a defined share of the upside tied to that distribution, or by making it an explicit part of the role with clear boundaries. Otherwise, it ends up being one-sided very quickly.
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@arun_tamang I think that some companies paid the 3rd party to create that content for their employees, okay, it is a kind of investment, but still doesn't reflect compensation for an employee and his/her channel.
@busmark_w_nika Paying someone to create content is a cost on the company side, but the channel still belongs to the employee. The value comes from the trust and audience attached to that profile, not just the content itself. So even if the company invests in content, it doesn’t really balance out if they’re also relying on that existing trust for distribution.
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@arun_tamang This!
same here - totally against it.
I even worked once in a company where I was expected by my manager to do so and I got improvement feedback if I didn't do so.
My own personal profile is mine and not the company's, it's for the employee choice what and when to share something.
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@nirit_weisbrot_altony Did they offer anything on top for doing that? Or they wanted it for free? :D
I get the tension here; personal branding feels empowering until it turns into "company work" without boundaries or upside. It's smart to nurture your own voice, especially if you've invested time building it pre-company, but mandates can cross into overreach.
Companies benefit hugely, so yes, compensation makes sense for required advocacy. Think bonuses/gift cards tied to impact, training stipends, or equity bumps; not baked into base salary. Voluntary programs with recognition work best long-term.
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@swati_paliwal How much is big compensation for that?
Companies shouldn't expect employees to donate their personal brand. If an employee wants to contribute they can but there should no pressure. On the flip side, it is up to the company if they want to leverage existing employees who have a significant online audience. If they would like to do so, there should be conversations about compensation or some type of reward.
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@calvin_lim_1 Many companies just expect to do it pro bono 🤷♀️
@busmark_w_nika We are not lawyers (with a few exceptions). Pro Bono should not be the norm. I once had a friend working for a company that leveraged their employees LinkedIn. The team would check if employees shared company content.
I get paid by an employee to do the work of the company I work for, that is it. Anything that goes outside of that is of my own personal interest and work. if they want a part of that, they can't have it. Can't stay loyal to companies that will get rid of you for any reason no matter how loyal you are.
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@david_sherer We can see that "loyalty" from the company side when it comes to AI layoffs.
@busmark_w_nika Bingo!!
This hits close to home. When I ran a restaurant, the most effective hiring 'marketing' was when team members genuinely shared their day on social. No script, no guidelines, just real moments. On the recruiting side now, I can tell you candidates absolutely notice the difference between authentic employee voices and corporate copy-paste posts. The companies winning the talent game are the ones making the work worth sharing, not mandating the sharing.
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@ceciliatran so did you scroll their profiles and made sure that they were posting about their previous jobs on socials too?
I totally agree with you here, asking employees to use their social networks to push company products is not right. What happens to their social media when they change the company, starting new account is the only option they remain with!
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@nayan_surya98 How much should be the compensation? :D Let's talk about the money :D