TJ Walker argues that companies increasingly use their own employees as influencers—"starring in videos is everyone's job now"—to humanize brands and reduce ad costs. He cites examples (Delta’s Life at Delta, Lego designers, DHL, Portillo’s) and expert views on authenticity vs. control, then advises employees to embrace creating short social media content as a way to gain visibility and advance their careers while urging common-sense checks with PR/policy.
Chapters
There's always going to be some company that says, yes, I want to pay Kim Kardashian a million dollars for a tweet or to wear my clothing. I don't think that's going away. But more and more companies are realizing their best spokespeople are their own employees. Starring in videos is everyone's job now. Companies aren't just hiring influencers anymore, they're turning employees into them. According to the Times, brands from Delta to Lego and DHL are asking frontline staff to appear on TikTok and Instagram to humanize the brand and cut costs. Delta's Life at Delta shows mechanics and crews at work. Lego designers walk fans through builds. Portillo's is launching an international or an internal influencer at every location. DHL even urges couriers to post yellow United clips, then boost the best ones. Why does it work? Employees are among the most trusted sources, says brand strategist Lachlan Williams. But authenticity is messy. Too much control, warns Chelsea Thompson o' Brien of vml, and the content becomes wallpaper. Too little and posts can clash with strategy. Inside, DHL creator Balls Bailou says teams align on core messages like HR or sustainability, then have the freedom to bring those stories to life in our own way. The risk is real if employee stories don't match reality. Audiences spot the dissonance fast. So what's the real message here? You may tell yourself, oh, I'm not an influencer. I don't like the camera. Guess what part of your job, no matter where you work? Dhl, Burger King, maybe making video to make your company look good. So you might as well embrace it. It may be the ticket for your own advancement. Let's dig a little bit deeper here. So yes, there are still influencers. They're going to get deals. There's always going to be some company that says, yes, I want to pay Kim Kardashian a million dollars for a tweet or to wear my clothing. I don't think that's going away. But more and more companies are realizing their best spokespeople are their own employees who are working in the trenches every day, dealing with customers because they're the ones who know customer success story. And that's what makes it truly credible. Now you may be thinking, I'm just working in an Amazon warehouse. I didn't sign up for this. I don't have to do this. You're right, you probably don't have to. But here's where I'm really advising you. One on one. I want you to succeed. I could tell you right now, if you work for a big international corporation and you're saying you're caught saying nice things about how you personally help a customer and it's consistent with what your company does and it goes viral and it gets attention, there's no possible way that will help you in your career. It's going to make you more well known, it's going to make you visible. I mean, one of the problems we have in our modern day society is that people who are already at the top and are just wildly ambitious attention seekers and okay, I'm a part of that. People at the top, they get all the goodies, they rise to the position of CEO, they're constantly in the spotlight, even when they screw up massively, even when their stock price tanks, their visibility gives them so many more job offers, board opportunities, book deals, and that's when they're horrible and screw up. If you're an average worker somewhere, quite often you're working in the shadows, literally and figuratively, you don't have that visibility. And good deals, more opportunities aren't coming your way. One of the reasons I do a show like this every day is because, in fact, the visibility, even though I don't have millions of views every day, day, good things come to me. More people buy my books, online courses, people invite me to be on podcasts, people pay me to deliver a webinar just because they've seen me here on social media. And it's not like I have millions of views or downloads, although I'm hoping in a few years to change them. You might not aspire to be a full time influence, but you should aspire to do well in your job to advance in whatever organization you're in. So I urge you to, if your company is encouraging people to make social media content, don't wait until a manager puts a gun to your head or tells you, you better do this or else do it yourself. Do it during a coffee break. Initiate. It could very well lead you to your next promotion. If nothing else, the next time there are layoffs, it might prevent you from being on the chopping block first. So that's why I want you to think about doing this. And I know it takes you out of your comfort zone. I know you probably don't think of yourself as an influencer or a media personality or a podcaster. Okay? All it is is talking. If you've ever said one thing about something you're proud of at your job, to a friend, a family member, a colleague, you could do the very same thing and make a video of it and share it. Now, you might want to share it with your PR department or your boss first. I'm hoping you have enough common sense to realize that you probably shouldn't make a comedy video about how you appear to be puking in the food before it goes into a wrapper and shipped off to your customer. I'm assuming you're smart enough to realize something like that could destroy your career, get you instantly fired. But there are other things where it's not. It's a gray area. Maybe you helped a customer, but it's something where someone could construe it as, oh, you violated their privacy or you did something that's against our policy. Check first. I'm not saying it's a guaranteed success, but in general, if you talk about why you like working in a place or why you like helping people and fulfilling the basic mission of your organization, you're probably going to be on much stronger ground. Let's look at some more facts here. Nordstrom, Adobe and Dell offer creator courses. Some employees get bonuses or perks. And for those of you who own your own company or you're in charge of marketing, encourage this. The problem a lot of company founders have is they think I'm the only one who can speak on behalf of my company. And they're also so busy they only make social media content once every six months. Empower your own employees to create content. You'll probably be better off. Delta has life. At Delta features, technicians and crews, LEGO designers explain how they build things on TikTok. Much more powerful than just a big ad agency showing slick video of people making TikToks. So this is an important opportunity. We've seen the means of production democratize. Does that mean everything's perfect and everyone's gonna be rich? Famous TikTok star? No. But you might have your moment in the sun, and maybe it's just a moment, and that's okay. Your friends and family can enjoy it. But it might be something that could lead to. To a whole nother career, whether it's in social media or as a manager or head of sales, because people start looking at you in a different light.
