In the digital age, when even the most established corporations have to continually evolve and adapt to changing technology, IBM has figured out how to improve its return on investment (ROI) from within its own ranks. Brand consultant Susan Emerick describes employee advocacy as "...empowering employees to support the goals of the brand, using content and employee-owned social media." Read her full post here.

As Emerick explains, customers and business partners tend to trust internal corporate subject matter experts (SMEs) and employees to tout the firm's brand as much as, or more than, anyone else, including the CEO or perhaps external media agencies.

Emerick identifies ROI in both financial (e.g., increasing revenue or decreasing costs) and non-financial (e.g., increasing productivity or improving operational efficiency) terms, and has helped reinforce IBM's belief that its employees are among its most valued sources of influence.

The employee advocacy model she's helped Big Blue implement could save the company (and countless others) millions in traditional marketing and media branding programs.