Influencers help your brand gain visibility. The best brand ambassadors are often closer than you think: In this article you will learn how corporate influencers can support you in product marketing, corporate communications, or employer branding, and what they need to support you.
The creator economy is growing inexorably: The German Economic Institute has calculated that global sales in 2024 were US$155 billion and could triple by 2030. In Germany alone, there are an estimated half a million influencers. According to Statista, they will reach around 71 million people with their content in 2026.
Advertising spending by German companies in this area is growing accordingly: from 2021 to 2024, the influencer budget has grown by 60% to 622 million euros. If you want to save money and communicate brand messages in a particularly authentic way, you don't necessarily have to rely on social media stars or celebrities, but should focus on corporate influencers.
What are corporate influencer?
Corporate influencers are employees of a company who provide insights into their work on their private channels or act as brand ambassadors on the company account.
The great thing about it is that your boss has just as much potential to become a corporate influencer as your colleague in product marketing or the new software developer.
Examples of successful corporate influencer programs
Whether it's diversity, inclusion, sustainability, or thought leadership, corporate influencers can get people talking about your brand by highlighting different aspects of your company and bringing your culture and vision to life.
Influencer at OTTO
The career ambassadors at OTTO demonstrate how this can work: since 2017, the e-commerce company has been encouraging its employees to provide insights into their everyday working lives. Originally, the aim was to attract young tech talent. Today, the focus is on the public perception of the OTTO brand.
From corporate spokesperson to full-time influencer
Some corporate influencers are so successful that influencing has become a full-time job for them. Take Lara Sophie Bothur, for example. She was a tech influencer at Deloitte for many years, communicating complex tech topics in an understandable way. Today, her content reaches over 400 million people on LinkedIn, and she has been Germany's first full-time corporate influencer since 2025.
What are the benefits of corporate influencer programs for your marketing?
Corporate influencers provide genuine insights into your company, rather than glossy advertising. People can identify with this more easily than with a brand: according to a bvik survey, 73% of companies that rely on corporate influencers report high levels of attention for their employees' posts.
On social networks, employees who regularly report on their everyday work often reach more people than official company channels. According to LinkedIn, their posts achieve two to five times higher reach. Personal content seems more approachable and less like advertising. This benefits your brand in several areas.
Benefits of corporate influencers for brand image
Behind-the-scenes posts or testimonials from real employees are an effective way to convey brand values credibly. When real employees talk about their experiences at work, it comes across as more honest than an image film. They show how things really are in the company in an unvarnished and authentic way. This creates trust.
Another advantage: if your corporate influencers regularly comment on current topics, contributing their expertise and helpful product tips, they can establish themselves as thought leaders – and strengthen trust in your brand. Managers in particular can act as important multipliers and inspire other employees to represent your brand to the outside world as well.
Benefits for visibility and employer branding
Many applicants are not just looking for a job, but for a place where they feel comfortable. When employees share their experiences, it has a more convincing effect on potential new colleagues than any career page: according to LinkedIn, corporate influencers reach 3.4 times more people than organic company posts. And more than one in five companies has already been able to fill vacancies through corporate influencer activities, reports the bvik.
Benefits for your team
Companies should not only ask what corporate influencers can do for them, but should also be pleased that being a brand ambassador has positive effects for employees as well. The University of St. Gallen, for example, found that B2B corporate influencers identify more strongly with their company and are more motivated and satisfied at work.
If you're worried that corporate influencers are only for large companies, we can reassure you: small and medium-sized businesses also have influencer potential. Many surveys confirm that potential corporate influencers are eager to get involved and interact with your customers.
First, it's important to find suitable candidates for the role of brand ambassador. Of course, corporate influencers should have a certain affinity for social media and feel comfortable representing your brand on social networks.
Which platforms are best suited for your brand messages will depend on your target audience:
Platform diversity is not harmful, but it does require careful coordination and content that is appropriate for the various channels.
How to support your corporate influencers
Once you have found interested candidates from as many different fields as possible, it is important to prepare them well for their new role. Here's what your influencers need:
Coaching: On social networks, any employee can easily become a creator. However, your corporate influencers should know the rules of the game. You can support them by organizing training courses on social media skills and storytelling. These should also cover legal frameworks and issues such as the obligation to label posts as advertising or the obligation to provide an imprint.
Tools: Your colleagues will need to devote part of their working hours to corporate influencing. To ensure that they still have enough time for their day-to-day business alongside their social media activities, you can support your brand ambassadors with digital tools such as pixx.io. Your team will also benefit from this digital asset management tool, as keeping your assets organized saves time in content creation.
How does pixx.io take the stress off your corporate influencers?
pixx.io is a digital asset management system that you can use as a content library for influencers and as a central location for coordination. Your brand ambassadors will find media, content templates, and current brand guidelines there—everything they need for an efficient content management process.
With tools like pixx.io, clearly defined values, and transparent guidelines, you provide your colleagues with the basic tools they need to get started as brand ambassadors. Supplemented by continuous training, open feedback, and above all trust, corporate influencing can become a real success model for your (employer) branding.
As you can see, you don't necessarily need influencers with millions of followers to communicate brand values. Even a small post about everyday working life can have an impact. Provided it is honest and comes from first-hand experience. Happy influencing!
Sources:
Sabrina
Sabrina writes for pixx.io about everything that concerns you in your day-to-day work and helps you to overcome challenges in content and social media marketing, image formats or compliance. When it comes to complex topics, she prepares the knowledge of media and legal experts for you in an understandable way.
