The Best Brand Influencers Could Be Right Under Your Nose

PR and communications professionals have long wrestled with challenges when it comes to the best influencers for their brands. Do celebrities still hold the power of persuasion? They’ve long been viewed as the ultimate influencer, but the days of relying on Taylor Swift and Timothée Chalamet to win hearts and minds could be over.

According to Cision and PRWeek’s 2025 Comms Report, the influencers communications leaders now find most valuable sit very close to home. When asked to rank the three most effective influencers at impacting consumer or customer behavior, more than half named their own employees.

Here’s the full breakdown of influencers from the 2025 Comms Report in order of effectiveness, with the percentages in brackets reflecting how many respondents put that type of influencer as their single-most effective:

These results indicate that leaders are increasingly viewing their own employees as valuable brand advocates, able to influence customers and followers more effectively than everyday consumers, corporate execs, and journalists – and far more than celebrities.

Moreover, the employee-as-influencer role has risen sharply in just 12 months. In the 2024 Global Comms Report, this entry sat in third place. In 2025, employees have flown past corporate executives and everyday consumers to take first place.

The continued downtrend of celebrities is also noteworthy. In last year’s survey, 36% of respondents named celebrities  as effective influencers, meaning a 12-percentage point drop in the space of 12 months. In 2017, the very first year of conducting this report,, celebrities stood at 59% and employees 36%. Now, the roles have practically reversed.

Meghan Meeker, director of social media at Brandwatch and Cision, says the switch could be down to consumers increasingly seeking authenticity and relatability, “which is oftentimes something a celebrity cannot deliver.”

“Companies should be tapping into the power of their employees’ networks and encouraging a culture where employee advocacy is celebrated,” she notes. “Having a robust employee advocacy program turns your colleagues into powerful, relatable, and authentic influencers in their own right.”

How to Turn Employees Into Brand Influencers: 5 Best Practice Tips

Any organization with employees has an army of potential influencers at their disposal. Many will have their own social media accounts or publishing platform to share experiences, industry insights, and perspectives about their brand.

However, turning employees into brand influencers won’t happen overnight. These five tips will help give you a framework to put plan into action.

1. Create an Opt-in Brand Advocacy Program

Building out an advocacy program has two big advantages: Not only will you be able to help employees develop their own presence across social channels, but you'll also boost brand visibility and reach through your staff’s social activity. Before you begin, ensure that all stakeholders – PR, marketing, and social media teams – are aligned on the initiative.

From there, reach out to team members who already show social media engagement and genuine interest in the platforms most relevant to your brand. Provide clear guidelines on what's expected and what's in it for them, including professional development opportunities and increased industry visibility.

2. Invest in Training and Resources

Your employee influencers may not be fluent in crafting LinkedIn thought leadership or Instagram Reels, but your social media team will be. Work with them to offer workshops on social media best practices, targeting the platforms that are most relevant for your brand and industry.

Think about each platform's algorithm, how they display content, optimal posting times, hashtag strategies, and how to build genuine follower engagement through comments and community management.

3. Establish Your Brand Influencer Guidelines

Create a social media playbook that outlines brand voice, content do’s and don'ts, and compliance requirements for each platform. While it's important to have this guidance in place, don’t over-police content. Trust your brand advocates to share their authentic perspectives and experiences.

Ensure you have a simple approval process for sensitive topics, but allow spontaneous sharing of day-to-day work life, industry commentary, and moments that demonstrate a positive company culture.

4. Focus on Expertise Over Adverts

Encourage employees to position themselves as industry experts rather than brand advertisers. This helps to build credibility (for them and your organization) and maintain audience engagement. Posts that look like mini advertorials will only encourage social media users to keep scrolling.

Steer your advocates to share different types of content across the most relevant platforms. For example, thought leadership articles work best for LinkedIn, behind-the-scenes content on Instagram, while quick tips work for TikTok. Encourage them to cross-pollinate content across platforms while adapting the format and tone to suit each platform’s unique characteristics.

5. Measure Brand Influencer Impact

Implement a system to track employee influencer success through metrics like engagement rates, reach, and lead generation. Social media monitoring and social listening can also help you pinpoint increases in brand mentions and what’s trending in your industry.

Pair measurement with a recognition program that rewards employees who consistently drive engagement and reach across their social channels, whether through monetary incentives or opportunities to represent the brand at industry events.

Final Thoughts

Any brand that works with influencers will have different objectives and thus a need for different types of influencers. Whether it’s to increase awareness, boost sales or deliver on other critical business targets, collaborating with the right people can help reach these goals (see our Do's and Don'ts for Influencer Marketing tip sheet for further advice).

However, this year’s Comms Report survey data suggests that your best brand influencers could already be in the building. Your employees understand your company and can amplify your story to their own individual audiences. That makes them an invaluable resource worth tapping into.

Brands with their own advocacy programs can unlock this potential, but they should ensure that they’re measuring its impact and aligning it with their overall messaging strategy – and not be afraid to refine their approach and experiment along the way.

Explore more findings from the full 2025 Comms Report.

Find out how CisionOne can help you monitor your social media impact. Schedule time now to speak to one of our experts.