2. Hack # 1: Internal Influencers How to Identify Them to Drive Employee Engagement
Finding the real influencers inside the organization is crucial if you want to “orchestrate a bottom-up, peer-to-peer transformation (change, culture, new norms, etc.),” as Herrero puts it.  

3. WHO ARE THEY?
An internal influencer knows exactly what your average employees are experiencing because they are one of them; being able to identify them and leverage them is paramount if you want to increase employee engagement.
-Finding the real influencers inside the organization is crucial if you want to “orchestrate a bottom-up, peer-to-peer transformation (change, culture, new norms, etc.),” as Herrero puts it.  
It’s tempting to think of internal influencers as those with official power and important job titles, but nothing is farther from the truth.
So, who are they: often have agnostic job titles & know exactly what your average employees are experiencing

4. HOW TO LEVERAGE THEM?
Armed with a better sense of how influence operates, senior executives can begin applying that knowledge in useful ways. For example, they can encourage influencers to help communicate necessary changes, convince skeptical employees of the need for change, or, best of all, do these things as active architects of the program. Indeed, the most powerful way to use hidden influencers is to bring them into such efforts in the earliest stages and to get their input and guidance on planning and direction—as well as help with execution. Changes made with the support of these influential employees are vastly more likely to succeed in the long run than changes delivered from on high.
 The five most influential people in the organization can reach more than double the amount of employees than an executive team.
By tapping into the power of these influencers, managers can use them to communicate necessary changes or make them architects of an initiative.

5. Steps to Identify & Leverage Internal Influencers
Ask Questions; Survey everyone
Meet them in Person (Human Connections are Critical)
Feature Influencers in Your Communications
Managers can analyze informal networks in three steps. Step one is conducting a network survey using employee questionnaires. The survey is designed to solicit responses about who talks to whom about work, who trusts whom, and who advises whom on technical matters. It is important to pretest the survey on a small group of employees to see if any questions are ambiguous or meet with resistance. In some companies, for example, employees are comfortable answering questions about friendship; in others, they deem such questions too personal and intrusive. The following are among the questions often asked:
Whom do you talk to every day?
Whom do you go to for help or advice at least once a week?
With one day of training, whose job could you step into?
Whom would you recruit to support a proposal of yours that could be unpopular?
Whom would you trust to keep in confidence your concerns about a work-related issue?

6. Case Study from Macys
The retail giant looked internally within its store and corporate employees to find influencers.
Initiated brand ambassador program for all store and corporate employees.
Members of the Style Crew act as Macy’s influencers, but with a deeper connection to the brand.

7. Hack # 2: Storytelling Quick Tips to Implement Into Your IC Strategy
Finding the real influencers inside the organization is crucial if you want to “orchestrate a bottom-up, peer-to-peer transformation (change, culture, new norms, etc.),” as Herrero puts it.  

8. THE ROLE OF STORIES
We are surrounded by stories.
Movies, television, books, news, history, podcasts, friends, family, strangers on the bus. Stories are a huge part of what it means to be human. They are how we learn, grow, and connect to one another.
Stories are how humans have always communicated and come to understand the world.
As the roles of internal communicators become more robust and creative, storytelling has reemerged in corporate and professional environments as a beautiful way to connect and engage employees and capture the organization’s heart and imagination.
Stories are how humans have always communicated and come to understand the world.
As the roles of internal communicators become more robust and creative, storytelling has reemerged as a beautiful way to engage employees.

9. LEVERAGE STORIES LEVERAGE STORIES
“Think back to the concept of show and tell. You go back to grade school and kids are encouraged to bring something in and tell a story about whatever it is that they're sharing... People remember things better when they have a visual. There's lots of data out there that suggest the relevance of a visual communication.” — Ally Bunin
Click to Tweet  
Strategically mix it up
“It doesn't have to be one or the other. Think about how well what you're doing can translate to different channels. Maybe parts of the story fit better in visuals, but maybe there's something else that's a small written piece... Where are these audiences? How are they using communications? If you work in New York City, you're in the subway a lot, so you may not watch video all the time, but maybe you can listen to a podcast or read the news.” — Christopher Swan
Make employees the engaged storytellers; feature them in newsletters.
Use the power of gamification and interactive team events.
Utilize creative campaigns to drive employee engagement.

10. Quick Tips for Effective Storytelling
Don’t forget your why.
Use show and tell features & don’t be afraid to strategically mix it up.
Ensure you involve the human element & always ask, what’s in it for them?
“Think back to the concept of show and tell. You go back to grade school and kids are encouraged to bring something in and tell a story about whatever it is that they're sharing... People remember things better when they have a visual. There's lots of data out there that suggest the relevance of a visual communication.” — Ally Bunin
Click to Tweet  
Strategically mix it up
“It doesn't have to be one or the other. Think about how well what you're doing can translate to different channels. Maybe parts of the story fit better in visuals, but maybe there's something else that's a small written piece... Where are these audiences? How are they using communications? If you work in New York City, you're in the subway a lot, so you may not watch video all the time, but maybe you can listen to a podcast or read the news.” — Christopher Swan

11. Case Study from Siemens
With the launch of their new factory of employees, Siemens created a new brand culture.
Captured insights from empoloyees to create graphics.
Used a visual metaphor reflecting their wind turbines throughout their imagery.

13. Hack # 3: Personalization & Segmentation Say Goodbye to Generic Messages
Finding the real influencers inside the organization is crucial if you want to “orchestrate a bottom-up, peer-to-peer transformation (change, culture, new norms, etc.),” as Herrero puts it.  

14. In a time when you can customize everything from your coffee
WHY
PERSONALIZE?
In a time when you can customize everything from your coffee
to your running shoes, we expect brand touchpoints in our lives
to be relevant.
This applies to your biggest brand advocates (i.e employees) as
well. Use merge fields to create a sense of individualization and
increase engagement.
In a time when you can customize everything from your coffee
to your running shoes, we expect brand touchpoints in our lives
to be relevant.
This applies to your biggest brand advocates (i.e. employees) as well.

15. WHY
SEGMENT?
Companies of any size can benefit from leveraging distribution
groups or lists to ensure the information is relevant and your
message is reaching the right audience
Segmentation lists can also help you identify internal
influencers, since with the right metrics you’ll be able to pin
point them from their open activity
Companies of any size can benefit from leveraging distribution lists to ensure the information is relevant and reaching the right audience.
Segmentation lists can also help you identify internal influencers, since with the right metrics you’ll be able to pinpoint them from their open activity.

16. Tips to Segment & Personalize
Use distribution lists.
Ensure you are personalizing the subject line as that area is critical.
Make sure to also personalize the body of the message.
Managers can analyze informal networks in three steps. Step one is conducting a network survey using employee questionnaires. The survey is designed to solicit responses about who talks to whom about work, who trusts whom, and who advises whom on technical matters. It is important to pretest the survey on a small group of employees to see if any questions are ambiguous or meet with resistance. In some companies, for example, employees are comfortable answering questions about friendship; in others, they deem such questions too personal and intrusive. The following are among the questions often asked:
Whom do you talk to every day?
Whom do you go to for help or advice at least once a week?
With one day of training, whose job could you step into?
Whom would you recruit to support a proposal of yours that could be unpopular?
Whom would you trust to keep in confidence your concerns about a work-related issue?

17. ContactMonkey for Personalization
Use ContactMonkey to send to distribution lists
Use ContactMonkey to personalize the subject line.