In the world of employer branding, “authenticity” is the holy grail. We all know that a slick corporate video with hired actors and scripted lines doesn’t fool anyone anymore. Candidates want to see the real people behind the brand—their desks, their coffees, their challenges, and their triumphs.
But here lies the paradox: How do you get employees to share authentic content on scale without it feeling… well, forced?
If you push too hard, you get “automaton” posts that look like copy-paste PR blasts. If you don’t push at all, you might get silence.
In a recent episode of the Employer Branding Podcast, host Jörgen Sundberg sat down with Laura Masters, the Director of Global Employer & Talent Brand at Expedia Group, to discuss how they solved this puzzle. Her answer? Creating a virtuous cycle for brand ambassadors.
Here is how Expedia Group leverages this cycle to generate amazing, authentic content that attracts top talent—and how you can do the same.
The Problem: The “Forced Fun” Trap
Most companies launch ambassador programs with good intentions. They identify key employees, hand them a packet of “suggested social posts,” and ask them to share.
The result is often underwhelming. The content feels stiff. The employees feel like they are doing unpaid marketing work. And the audience—your potential candidates—scrolls right past it.
Laura Masters highlights that the biggest challenge is navigating this space without making the message feel forced. You cannot mandate passion. You cannot script culture.
The Solution: The Virtuous Cycle
Instead of a top-down mandate, Expedia Group focuses on a “virtuous cycle” approach. In business theory, a virtuous cycle is a recurring cycle of events, the result of each one being to increase the beneficial effect of the next.
In the context of Expedia’s brand ambassadors, the cycle looks something like this:
-
Discovery: The employer brand team identifies employees who are already sharing great moments (often travel-related, given the industry).
-
Amplification: The company uses its platform (like the @lifeatexpedia channels) to spotlight these authentic stories.
-
Validation: The employee feels recognized and valued for their contribution.
-
Inspiration: Other employees see this recognition and are inspired to share their own stories.
-
Content Volume: The volume of high-quality, authentic content grows naturally, feeding back into step 1.
By focusing on curation rather than creation, the brand team changes its role from “director” to “documentarian.”
Building the Cycle: 3 Key Pillars
Based on the insights from the podcast and Expedia’s visible success, here are three pillars to building this cycle in your own organization.
1. Mine for Gold, Don’t Manufacture It
Expedia Group has a distinct advantage: their product is travel. Their employees are naturally posting photos of amazing trips, team offsites, and “work from anywhere” setups.
But every company has its “gold.” It might be the pet that interrupts the Zoom call, the team lunch, or the complex problem solved on a whiteboard.
-
Actionable Tip: Don’t start by asking people to post. Start by listening. Monitor your company hashtags and look for the employees who are already advocating for you. They are your seed group.
2. The “Spotlight Effect” as a Reward
One of the most powerful motivators for employees isn’t a gift card; it’s recognition. When a global brand like Expedia re-shares an employee’s photo or story, it gives that employee a massive boost of visibility and professional pride.
This is the engine of the virtuous cycle. When Jane from Engineering sees that John from Sales got featured on the main LinkedIn page for his post about the company hackathon, she thinks, “I want to share my story too.”
-
Actionable Tip: Create a dedicated “Employee Spotlight” series. Make sure the employee is tagged and celebrated, not just used as a content source.
3. Provide “Guardrails,” Not “Scripts”
To keep the content safe but authentic, you need to balance freedom with guidance. Masters discusses the importance of ensuring the message comes across correctly without being stiff.
Instead of writing the copy for them, provide themes or prompts. For example, instead of saying “Post this text about our benefits,” say, “Share a photo of how you used your wellness stipend this month.”
-
Actionable Tip: Create a “Playbook” rather than a “Rulebook.” Show examples of great posts, offer tips on taking good photos, and give advice on hashtags—then step back and let them create.
The ROI of Authenticity
Why go through the trouble of building this cycle? Because the data proves it works.
-
Trust: Candidates trust regular employees 3x more than the CEO or PR department.
-
Reach: Employee networks are typically 10x larger than the corporate brand’s follower base.
-
Engagement: Content shared by employees sees 8x more engagement than content shared by brand channels.
When you create a virtuous cycle, you stop having to beg for content. The content creates itself. Your employees become your storytellers, and your employer brand becomes a living, breathing entity that attracts talent who align with your real culture, not just the one on your “About Us” page.
To listen to the full conversation with Laura Masters and hear more about Expedia Group’s employer brand journey, check out the episode “How to Create a Virtuous Cycle for Brand Ambassadors” on the Employer Branding Podcast.
