How Internal Marketing Helps You Build a Strong Brand From the Inside Out [Experts Weigh In]

As an ‘external’ marketer, I person to opportunity that I hadn’t fixed overmuch thought to soul trading until I started penning this article.

My first thought was … that’s not my job. But nan much I dug into nan subject, I realized that’s not wholly true.

Anytime I stock a caller contented bid aliases blog run crossed our soul channels and promote my colleagues to thief beforehand it, that’s soul marketing.

When I lead onboarding sessions for caller hires aliases admit my teammates for their awesome activity arsenic portion of our capacity reappraisal process, that counts too.

*quietly adds soul trading to resume*

Here’s everything other I learned astir soul trading — nan benefits, nan strategies that experts recommend, and a fewer much examples of what it looks for illustration successful practice.

Table of Contents

• What is soul marketing?
• Who is responsible for soul marketing?
• Why is soul trading important?
• Benefits of Internal Marketing
• Internal Marketing Strategies
• Internal Marketing Examples

Internal trading and employee experience activity together. Your soul trading strategy should return into relationship each relationship constituent that an worker has pinch your institution — from onboarding to nan exit interview.

Internal Marketing vs Internal Communication

Here’s really I utilized to simplify nan quality betwixt trading and connection backmost erstwhile I was a babe marketer:

• Marketing is marque promotion.
• Communication is accusation sharing.

The aforesaid goes for soul connection and soul marketing. They spell manus successful hand, but nan 2 aren’t an nonstop match.

Going backmost to our meaning of internal marketing above, it focuses connected nan enactment of promoting a marque to labor pinch nan extremity of encouraging them to bargain into nan company’s civilization and values.

For example, an soul trading play could beryllium giving labor free entree to your products for individual use. That’s unsocial isn't technically soul communication.

The intent of internal communication is to support everyone informed of institution updates and aligned pinch halfway objectives.

If HR sends a institution memo announcing a caller process update, that’s an illustration of soul connection that doesn’t really autumn nether soul marketing.

I'm utilizing qualifiers for illustration 'technically' and 'really' because the reality is that these 2 processes activity together and often blend into each other.

Internal Marketing vs External Marketing

The main quality betwixt soul and outer trading is nan audience.

Internal trading is focused connected employees, while outer trading is for prospects and customers extracurricular of your organization.

But nan conception of promoting your marque and encouraging buy-in to your products and services is existent successful some cases.

Why is soul trading important?

Internal trading is important because it straight supports employee engagement.

And data shows that precocious engagement leads to:

• An 18% boost successful worker productivity.
• Up to 43% little turnover. Nice.

When labor consciousness connected to their work, they thin to activity harder. All that other effort leads to increases successful customer restitution and loyalty, sales, and ultimately, profitability.

Remember really I said soul trading isn’t my job?

Well, technically, it isn’t. However, I do participate successful (and promote) soul trading efforts arsenic an employee. And it's apt that you do, too.

*keeps soul trading connected resume*

Benefits of Internal Marketing

I mentioned worker engagement arsenic a immense positive for investing successful soul marketing. I talked to nan experts and compiled a fewer much reasons to see below.

You’re building a squad that (actually) cares.

Holly Andrews, managing head astatine KIS Finance, says nan champion soul trading strategies thief labor consciousness invested successful nan bigger picture.

“An effective soul trading strategy does much than align group pinch institution goals. It builds a squad that genuinely cares,” says Andrews.

“I retrieve erstwhile a caller prosecute erstwhile said, ‘I really consciousness for illustration I‘m portion of thing here.’ That’s nan extremity — making judge everyone feels for illustration they‘re not clocking successful but connecting pinch nan brand’s story.”

You’re cultivating a consciousness of organization astatine work.

Mike Szczesny, proprietor and vice president of EDCO Awards & Specialties, shared really soul trading allows him to link pinch his labor — and why that’s worthy it.

“An soul trading strategy that celebrates wins, shares behind-the-scenes stories, and highlights nan effect of our activity helps cultivate a important consciousness of belonging,” says Szczesny.

“The benefits are galore — higher worker restitution and retention, a stronger employer marque that attracts apical talent, and a workforce that's genuinely invested successful our occurrence arsenic a company.”

He continues, “At nan extremity of nan day, our group are our top asset, and an soul trading strategy that makes them consciousness weighted and portion of thing bigger pays dividends.”

You’re creating greater marque alignment.

For Remy Smidt, marque strategist astatine Fazer, 1 of nan biggest benefits of soul trading is alignment from apical to bottom.

“If you walked into NASA during nan ’60s and asked what they were up to and why they were there, everyone would say, ‘to put a man connected nan moon,’” says Smidt.

The bottommost statement is that everyone knows what nan business is moving toward, is engaged and excited astir nan mission, and understands their portion successful making it happen. That’s nan consequence of bully soul marketing.

Internal Marketing Strategies

I also talked to nan experts to tease retired a fewer soul trading strategies that they usage astatine their ain companies. Here are 5 of my favorites.

1. Personalize nan onboarding process.

Each caller prosecute has a different learning style and group of responsibilities, truthful make judge your onboarding process reflects that.

As Hnatiuk notes, promoting your ngo and civilization codification during onboarding is besides a awesome measurement to get worker buy-in from nan start.

As an incoming marketer astatine HubSpot, I completed a wide get-to-know-the-company onboarding way and a team-specific blog and trading onboarding track. The format was a operation of videos, unrecorded sessions, and independent research.

It was comprehensive, engaging, and conscionable what I needed to consciousness invested arsenic a caller employee.

2. Use storytelling to prosecute employees.

Employees want to understand their domiciled successful your brand’s communicative arsenic you advancement done each section together.

Sounds corny, I know. But I’ve near jobs successful nan past because I didn’t consciousness for illustration I was really contributing to nan extremity goal.

I couldn’t understand why nan activity I was doing was worthy it (and cipher was telling maine why, either), truthful I disengaged.

Building your brand’s communicative into your soul trading strategy and reminding labor what you’re moving toward builds transparency and trust.

Speaking of …

3. Create transparent connection channels.

Here’s wherever soul connection meets soul marketing.

Keeping your labor well-informed is simply a typical yet indirect shape of promotion that inspires your labor to go your biggest ambassadors.

Your soul trading strategy should intelligibly outline your connection channels and outreach process to let you to easy stock timely and applicable updates pinch your teams.

And don’t hide that connection is simply a two-way street. Be judge to create ways for labor to scope retired astir problems and issues aliases pinch feedback and suggestions.

As Glaser said, transparency builds trust. And nan first measurement is effective communication.

4. Integrate values into regular actions.

I emotion this one.

Sharing your institution values during onboarding is great, but it shouldn’t beryllium nan only touch point. As Stelle says, each of your soul trading messages and materials should reenforce your mission, beliefs, and North Star.

Employees tin easy advocator for your marque if they cognize what they’re advocating for and why.

5. Send regular worker surveys.

I’m a large instrumentality of asking group what they want alternatively of trying to guess. I’m consenting to stake large money that nan companies who springiness their labor pizza parties alternatively of tangible benefits aren’t asking nan correct questions.

Send employee feedback surveys often and inquire circumstantial questions astir your soul trading activities. What do they like? What do they want to spot much of? What isn’t resonating pinch them?

Then, usage these insights to refine and amended your strategy.

Internal Marketing Examples

OK, onto nan nosy part. I’m giving you a peek down nan curtain astatine immoderate of my favourite soul trading plays arsenic a HubSpotter.

The Culture Code

This one’s astir apt a given, but HubSpot’s Culture Code is SO good. It started retired arsenic an soul archive and, successful nan existent tone of transparency, has been publically disposable for years.

Our civilization codification has besides been known to pull caller employees, which feels for illustration some an soul and outer trading win.

Product Learning Hours

Each month, our Product Marketing squad hosts a 'Product Learning Hour' which is simply a training convention for nan full trading squad connected nan customers, products, and usage cases for HubSpot's customer platform.

From merchandise demos to continued learning, these sessions guarantee everyone is aligned connected our messaging. This helps america do our jobs amended arsenic outer marketers.

Side note: I besides co-led a learning and improvement programme specifically for nan HubSpot Blog team. We focused our program connected topics our peers were invested successful nan most, for illustration method SEO, networking, and clip management.

Here’s 1 of nan activities we did:

Just different illustration of soul trading successful action (and effort #3 of maine making nan lawsuit to see soul trading connected my resume).

Peer Recognition Programs

I 🧡 my peers, truthful I’m ever looking for opportunities to singing their praises.

At HubSpot, we person respective options to supply adjacent feedback including nan much general submit-through-the-portal feedback loop that filters into capacity reviews.

But 1 of my favorites is our play ‘Friday Props’ roundup connected Slack.

Every Friday, folks crossed our media org person nan action to tag personification they’re grateful for that week and stock a connection aliases 2 astir what makes them special.

Here’s 1 personification near for maine a while back:

“I’m giving my adjacent praise to Alana Chinn, 1 of nan hardest-working and astir versatile group connected this team. If you’re connected nan Blog Team, you cognize really overmuch of a unit she is.”

BRB, crying.

Let Your Company Culture Sell Itself

Good soul trading starts pinch an finance successful your employees.

When you build a strategy that inspires marque defense astatine each level, you’ll beryllium capable to put immoderate of nan difficult trading connected autopilot while you attraction connected delighting your employees, prospects, and customers.

And past you, too, tin adhd soul trading to your resume.