The conversation that makes EGC programs work

Every time I mention employee-generated content, somebody wrinkles their nose. Mixing your day job and your personal social accounts isn’t everybody’s idea of a good time.   

Carmen Vicente explains why that might be the case, how brands can overcome it, and the one thing she absolutely will not let AI do for her. 

Meet the Master

Carmen Vicente

Content and social lead, Slate 

Lesson 1: Set EGC expectations at hiring, not after the fact.

If you want great employee-generated content, start the conversation during the hiring process.

When Vicente interviewed at Slate, “it was very clear that this was a part of how we do our marketing and social and this is part of our strategy. It was explicit from the beginning.”

When companies “impose quotas or some strong suggestions about how [employees] should show up in social media platforms,” Vicente says, “that’s a mistake. EGC is more successful when it’s a clear expectation from the get-go.”

Bonus lesson: Don’t be prescriptive about what employees post. It’s no small ask to have somebody use their personal platform to promote a business. “You have to be flexible with what that relationship looks like.”

Lesson 2: Don't plan your way to a voice — post your way there. 

There’s nothing quite like staring at a blinking cursor to give you imposter syndrome. 

“It's really easy to look at a person who's got a developed or semi-developed personal brand and think, ‘My gosh, there's so much intention here, and they've clearly found their voice and they're honing it. I need to do all this pre-work before I can post.’”

Do the opposite of that, says Vicente. “I think you have to start posting and you have to put in a lot of reps before you understand” exactly what you’re looking for. 

And what you’re looking for is the overlapping part of a Venn diagram with “content the algorithm favors” and “content that you actually like making.” 

Finding that is a matter of trial and error, no matter how much we wish it wasn’t. “We want to believe that you can just come up with a brand identity and then launch,” but in truth, you just have to practice until you find that sweet spot.

Lesson 3: Use AI for content management, not content creation. 

Despite working for an AI-powered platform, Vicente is exceedingly picky about how she uses AI, and she has some bright lines. 

“I don't think it's good to outsource ideas to AI. I've never used AI to write a post on LinkedIn. I write everything from my brain.”

Some of that is an element of building trust with her audience — “they can tell that these are earnestly my thoughts.” 

But she’s a big fan of using AI as a workflow tool. “If you work in content and you have to parse through a lot of content regularly, it's hard to watch many hour-long videos to get clips.” That’s a job for AI, she says. “I really don’t think that’s diminishing our humanity.” 

Vicente made an AI tool with Perplexity that, she jokes, “is like an internet troll,” looking for something to take offense at.

“Let’s say I had a piece of content that maybe talks about not having enough to do with your time,” she explains. If there had just been a bunch of industry layoffs, that’s something that people could take offense to. The tool would basically “put my content through the wringer,” including alerting her to recent events that could affect how readers interpreted her content.

Right now she’s building one that helps her with hooks. “It's nice to build a tool that is just kind of uniquely set up for you and your challenges.”

Lingering Questions

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION

What’s one thing marketers overcomplicate that could actually be much simpler? 

—Laura Cameron, Founder, Women in SPAM network 

THIS WEEK'S ANSWER

Vicente says: My feeling is that marketers often over-complicate attribution, meaning they attempt to make everything into a trackable touchpoint, when in reality there are plenty of untrackable/unknowable levers at play (ahem, social media). 

I know why they rush to categorize attribution — we're out here fighting to justify our work! — but I think sometimes we have to de-emphasize dashboards and relay, in detail, what's happening in the DMs, dark social, and private communities.

NEXT WEEK'S LINGERING QUESTION

Cameron asks: With the exponential advancement of AI in the work sphere, what's a human skill you foresee ascending in value?