Monthly Archives: January 2025

Scaling employee advocacy with authenticity: my pre-holidays chat with DSMN8’s Lewis Gray and Elliot Elsley

15 January 2025

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Thank you, Lewis Gray ⚡️ and Elliot Elsley and DSMN8 – The Employee Advocacy Platform!

View full episode here: https://dsmn8.com/blog/scaling-employee-advocacy-podcast/

Greatly appreciate the opportunity to share what I’ve learned about digital and social media marketing and about building dynamic communities. You are both such wonderful souls – your kindness means the world to me. Thank you for all you are doing to shine a light on these essential connection techniques ✨

Lewis writes:

I had so much fun making this one.

Our latest podcast episode features the incredible Roy Sexton. During his tenure at Clark Hill, he spearheaded the company’s highly successful employee advocacy program.

In this episode, Roy shares:

↪ How to navigate employee advocacy in legal marketing.
↪ The importance of engagement metrics and audience growth.
↪ Strategies for scaling programs and fostering a sense of community among employees.

Sneak Peek: Roy’s candid reflections on managing cultural shifts and his advice for marketers dealing with leadership constraints are unmissable gems! 💎

Listen in to learn from someone who has not only transformed a brand’s visibility but also inspired authentic engagement at every level (in one of the toughest industries to do so!)

Now, as the CMO at the Vedder Price law firm, Roy’s influence will no doubt continue to shape how law firms approach advocacy in regulated industries.

Wishing you all the success in your new role, Roy! They’re lucky to have you.

Elliot writes:

I had a lot of fun recording this one with Lewis Gray ⚡️.

Before Christmas, Lewis and I sat down with Roy Sexton to chat about all things employee advocacy in the Legal sector.

I’ve worked with many organizations in regulated industries that have launched employee advocacy programs, but Roy’s leadership in legal marketing is reshaping how firms should approach this strategy.

During his time at Clark Hill, Roy built a successful advocacy program that empowered employees to grow their own personal brands while amplifying the firm’s message.

In the episode, we discussed:

  • Strategies for managing advocacy in regulated industries.
  • Key metrics to measure success beyond basic engagement.
  • The role of leadership in fostering a culture of participation and trust.

Roy also shares his experience navigating the challenges of scaling advocacy efforts while maintaining authenticity and empowering employees to take ownership of their contributions.

Their colleague Bradley Keenan writes:

What does employee advocacy success look like?
 
Is it earned media value?
 
Audience growth?

Demand generation?
 
Maybe.

After all, it will vary depending on the organization’s goals.
 
Roy Sexton, now CMO of Vedder Price, has a fresh perspective on employee advocacy success, which he was kind enough to share on our latest podcast episode.

Roy, then Director of Marketing at Clark Hill Law, spearheaded employee advocacy in a traditionally regulated industry, fostering a culture where lawyers confidently shared their expertise online.

Roy’s take on success really resonated with me:

“When you see the organization just doing it – when it’s in their bones, their DNA – and lawyers are comfortable expressing themselves authentically, that’s real advocacy success.”

As Roy prepares to embark on his new role as Chief Marketing Officer at Vedder Price, we’re really grateful he took the time to share his invaluable expertise.

Hear how he transformed social media engagement into a cultural movement, making advocacy second nature at Clark Hill. Available to watch/listen in all the usual places! https://lnkd.in/eAbkyM3e

Let’s wish Roy all the best as he steps into his next chapter at Vedder Price 👏

Their colleague George Saffer writes:

One of the most enjoyable conversations I’ve had about advocacy since joining this space was with Roy!

Roy’s perspective challenges how many of us define success in advocacy:

🗣️ “You know you’ve succeeded when advocacy becomes second nature. Employees feel comfortable sharing their voices, and it’s just in their DNA now. To me, that’s success.”

Our team was lucky enough to have Roy on the podcast recently. If you’re interested in learning how Roy’s made advocacy second nature, give it a listen.

Their colleague Emily Neal writes:

What does employee advocacy success really look like? 👀

It’s different for every company, but for Roy Sexton, it’s not ALL about the numbers.

It’s about creating a culture 🤝

Joining Lewis Gray ⚡️ and Elliot Elsley for a podcast episode, Vedder Price’s new CMO shared a story about how his team’s advocacy efforts at Clark Hill Law sparked something bigger.

“You know you’ve succeeded when advocacy becomes second nature. Employees feel comfortable sharing their voices, and it’s just in their DNA now. To me, that’s success.” 👏

This episode is packed with actionable advice for those working in marketing for the legal sector (or any regulated industry).

If you’re aiming to build an advocacy program that empowers employees to show up authentically, this is a great opportunity to learn from someone who’s done exactly that!

Episode description:

[Episode Fifty-Three of ‘The Employee Advocacy and Influence Podcast] 🎧

In this episode, Lewis Gray and Elliot Elsley sit down with Roy Sexton, former Director of Marketing at Clark Hill, to uncover how the firm successfully set up, launched, scaled, and managed an employee advocacy program in a highly regulated industry.

Roy shares his journey, from overcoming early challenges to implementing strategies that turned employees into brand ambassadors. Whether you’re just starting or looking to scale your employee advocacy program, this episode is packed with actionable insights.

Roy highlights the importance of internal training, awareness-building, and creative ways to keep employees engaged and consistently share content. The conversation also dives into the personal benefits employees have gained, how Roy measures ROI, and how this impacts Clark Hill.

Key Takeaways:

Scaling Employee Advocacy with Authenticity

One key insight from this episode is the importance of authenticity in scaling employee advocacy. Roy emphasizes that organizations thrive when employees share their genuine experiences, thoughts, and insights rather than scripted or overly corporate messages. This authenticity creates trust, not just with the external audience but also internally within the team.

Roy shares how empowering employees to voice their own stories can humanize the brand, making it relatable and credible. He discusses how this approach can inspire other employees to participate and amplify the message, ultimately driving organic growth for employee advocacy.

Navigating Social Media in Regulated Industries

For organizations in regulated industries, social media can feel like a minefield. Roy sheds light on navigating these challenges by balancing compliance with creativity. Lewis and Elliot also highlight that education is key for equipping employees with clear guidelines and frameworks that help them feel confident about what they can share without overstepping boundaries.

This episode highlights the importance of collaboration between marketing, legal, and compliance teams to develop content that resonates while staying within the rules. This collaboration ensures employees can contribute to advocacy programs without fear, even in highly regulated environments.

Measuring the Impact of Advocacy Efforts

A key takeaway all hosts discuss is the importance of measurement in scaling employee advocacy. Roy discusses how organizations can set clear KPIs to evaluate the effectiveness of their initiatives, such as engagement rates, content shares, and even lead generation.

By regularly analyzing these metrics, teams can identify what works and refine their strategies. Roy also highlights the value of engaging employees to share their experiences and suggestions, ensuring that the program evolves to benefit everyone involved.

“Who cares if YOU love it? What matters is if OTHER people love you doing it.” Better Man

14 January 2025

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“I came out of the womb with jazz hands.” – Robbie Williams

It’s a surreal feeling to have a movie theater all to oneself. And yet strangely befitting a beautiful fever dream of a celebrity biopic like Better Man. Of course, it probably doesn’t help that I saw this at lunchtime on a bitterly cold Tuesday in January. Nonetheless, I feel like I’m the only person in America who is a super fan of the film’s subject, British pop singer Robbie Williams. He emerged from the ether in the summer of 1999 when Ricky Martin was conquering the charts. I liked them both, but preferred Robbie’s acerbic, sassy take on pop music with his first single, the James Bond theme homage “Millennium.” And I have followed him with great interest ever since.

Akin to Australian singer songwriter Peter Allen, Robbie seems to have had more fame everywhere else in the world but America, which seems consistent with his life’s calling to keep banging his head until bloodied against the brutal wall of superstardom. Like Allen, both artists marry soul-searching, left-of-center, searing lyrics with intoxicating melodies, all apparently lost on American radio listeners, and that’s a shame.

This film, covering Williams’ ascent to solo stardom seems to be following a similar path at the box office, with nary an American moviegoer giving it a chance. I’m quite surprised it even was released over here, though grateful that I had a chance to see it on the big screen.

Director Michael Gracey, who also helmed The Greatest Showman, taking the life of another problematic figure in P.T. Barnum and crafting an exhilarating fairy tale, works similar magic on Williams’ life. Perhaps our American politicians should hire him for their next campaign videos. He seems to do well with personalities with checkered pasts.

Gracey makes the odd but inspired choice of replacing Williams with a CGI-rendered chimpanzee, deftly portrayed in motion capture by Jonno Davies. This narrative concept achieves two pragmatic aims: one, we don’t have the inevitable distraction of watching someone who almost looks like the real life person they are portraying, and, two, it allows us as an audience to imprint more fully on the central character and their tragicomic journey. No explanation is offered in the context of the film, other than Robbie Williams, who himself narrates, explaining that he sees himself as a cheeky monkey in life, genus distinctions notwithstanding. As a storytelling gimmick, this swap works shockingly well.

The supporting cast, chiefly Williams’ family (Kate Mulvany, Steve Pemberton, Alison Steadman), achieve miracles selling the conceit, offering us a warm and often bruising depiction of the hardscrabble life Williams navigated on his way up the pop charts.

Pemberton, as Williams’ adulation-seeking father, deserves extra credit for not devolving into out-of-touch absent father villain shtick. He haunts the film as Williams’ source of misplaced motivation, suggesting that the only love that matters comes from faceless fandom and the worst tragedy to befall anyone is to be a “nobody.” The seeds are thereby planted for Williams to achieve everything he ever wanted and should have never received, self-immolating in the process. Williams explains to the one childhood friend who sticks with him: “Who cares if YOU love it? What matters is if OTHER people love you doing it.” Heartbreaking.

Much like the Elton John film biography Rocketman, which shares a kind of heightened and surreal DNA with Better Man, the latter film is most effective in remixing its subject matter’s hit ditties as unabashed song and dance commentary on expected (clichéd) story beats: the vicious cycle of rampant substance abuse and alienation, the deflection of inner turmoil through ass-shaking antics and ill-timed irreverence, the crushing burdens of fame, THAT scene where the rock star trashes his own home at the height of his acclaim, and so on. Standout numbers include “Rock DJ” – the jubilantly manic London street scene depicting Williams’ initial “Take That” boy band ascent – and “Angels” – the passing of his beloved “Nan” when Williams begins to realize he’s been spending his life’s energies in all the wrong places.

As with Williams’ music, Better Man is candy-coated on the outside but carries a corrosive, sticky nougat center, a cautionary tale for all who think the next brass ring will deliver the healing they desperately crave. It’s an excellent film that will no doubt become a cult favorite just when Williams no longer desires the validation. The story of his life.

And early morning when I wake up

I look like Kiss but without the make-up
And that’s a good line to take it to the bridge

And you know, and you know
‘Cause my life’s a mess
And I’m trying to grow
So before I’m old I’ll confess

You think that I’m strong
You’re wrong
You’re wrong
I sing my song
My song
My song …

If I did it all again I’d be a nun
The rain was never cold when I was young
I’m still young, we’re still young
Life’s too short to be afraid
Step inside the sun

– “Strong” (Robbie Williams & Guy Chambers)