How PIA Automation engaged their employees and successfully launched a corporate influencer program
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The challenge
PIA stands for best mechanical engineering quality and is growing worldwide. In doing so, they rely on decades of experience, lived innovation, and global presence. PIA Automation's greatest unique selling proposition (USP) and, at the same time, its biggest challenge is the strong interconnectivity of its 12 locations across three continents. Ensuring active information exchange around the globe is a process that takes time and cannot be achieved overnight. It requires a stringent strategy for internal communication. To overcome existing barriers, PIA chose cofenster because through videos, they elevate their communication to a new level.
Internal as well as external messages should be conveyed effectively and authentically to achieve a positive impact not only on information transmission but also on corporate culture and employer brand. This way, a strongly interconnected corporate group can emerge from the 12 globally dispersed locations.
"Videos are a fantastic medium for fostering closeness and strengthening trust across borders. This is our main driving force for corporate communication." - Michaela Freytag
Especially in external communication, authentic and personal content can generate engagement ten times greater than content suggested by corporate marketing. (Hoffmann, Kerstin. (2020). Markenbotschafter - Erfolg mit Corporate Influencern: Überblick, Strategie, Praxis, Tools.)
With these statistics in mind and to convey authenticity externally as well, PIA developed a pilot project where corporate influencers virtually brought their networks to the company's booth in preparation for the most important industry trade fair. Thus, the #PIAcam was born.
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»The positive feedback truly overwhelmed us – the goal of generating attention and fostering a sense of global teamwork was undoubtedly achieved!«
The solution
The PIAcam pilot project began with the selection of suitable personas - PIA Automation aimed to establish various corporate influencer types through DIY videos, each representing their respective departments and involving their specific LinkedIn networks.
The goal was to keep the video production simple and authentic while maintaining a certain level of brand presence. cofenster implemented a brand-consistent custom video design that made the PIAcam videos easily recognizable.
Motivating employees to film themselves and record their messages presented another challenge, as reported by Michaela Freytag. "The PIAcam definitely helps create the impression that one is recording more or less live and spontaneously - this relieves the pressure of having to deliver a perfect result. However, it still requires some initial guidance. Personally, I believe it's essential that people feel comfortable while doing it - if possible, provide support during their first attempts at video recording."
For those who also want to start with video communication, we have summarized the best tips from PIA Auto
1. Start with WHY! Engage colleagues and explain why it makes sense to become active as video creators. Show concrete examples of what it can achieve but avoid putting too much pressure on them.
2. Provide a short training on how to record videos effectively. Where should the light source be? What should the background look like? How should one position themselves in the frame? This gives confidence and avoids frustration.
3. Prepare a few bullet points as text suggestions. Often, the biggest obstacle is not knowing what to say.
Overall, 12 corporate influencers, including PIA Automation's CEO, Thomas Ernst (featured in the following video), shared their PIAcam videos on LinkedIn in the period leading up to the automatica trade fair, and the results are impressive!
The results
Tight timing - significant impact! Following this motto, the pilot project was launched just two weeks before the trade fair. Hardly any of the colleagues who spontaneously participated had prior experience in this field or had actively worked on building reach as corporate influencers.
"The positive response truly overwhelmed us. We received feedback from numerous sources - customers, competitors, colleagues, and industry media. So, the goal of generating attention and fostering a sense of global teamwork was undoubtedly achieved!"
Overall, the videos garnered around 40,000 impressions and well over 800 likes.
With this successful start, the Corporate Influencer Program will now be carefully planned and intensified. More departments will be included, and employees will be prepared for their role as corporate influencers through LinkedIn training, cofenster camera training, and text support. Additionally, the #PIAcam will soon be used more frequently to showcase business trips and provide other professional insights.
"The #PIAcam has not only received a lot of positive feedback from external sources but has also brought our team together during the trade fair preparations. To see all the results, I recommend following the hashtag #PIAcam on LinkedIn" - Michaela Freytag.
