At a time when small businesses are competing for talent, attention and social media exposure, they could overlook their best potential ambassadors: current employees. When employees believe in — and advocate for — your business, sharing information and content on their own personal channels, you automatically extend your reach, authenticity and desirability. Here are four ways to turn your employees into advocates, according to How Can You Turn Your Employees Into Your Biggest Advocates?, a column The Bot Platform co-founder and chief marketing officer Tom Gibby wrote in Forbes.

1. Make sure your employees feel heard and valued.
   Employees are only likely to become brand ambassadors if they’re having a good time working for you. That starts with feeling seen.
2. Recognize employees for their work.
   Everyone wants to feel appreciated. Publicly call out employees working hard behind the scenes, or send workers cards on their birthdays.
3. Make it easy.
   One way to do that is to create a center of approved content that staff can share on their own personal channels effortlessly. Make sure they have access to approved images and videos.
4. Incentivize them.
   Employees are more likely to boost your small business if they understand the benefits for both the business and themselves. To encourage employees to post, consider offering perks and incentives like referral bonuses.

For more detail, see Tom Gibby’s post in Forbes.