The Evolution of Employee Influence

Seeking recommendations from friends and peers to guide purchasing decisions is not a modern concept; it’s been fundamental to consumer behavior for centuries.

Today, you’re not calling up a friend asking them which shampoo to buy or what job to apply for. You’re looking online to see what the online community thinks. Traditional word of mouth influence was very limited. What consumers and employees share about your business online today has exponential influence— for better or worse. A small 0.1-star increase could double sales. A single negative review could cost a company dozens of customers. Winning a single best-place-to-work award based on employee reviews could multiply your applications by 500%.

But it wasn’t always this way.

Let’s dive in.

The Shift from Organizational-Generated Content (OGC) to User-Generated Content (UGC)

Marketing hasn't always been about consumer opinions. For much of the 19th and 20th centuries, advertising was dominated by Organizational-Generated Content (OGC). Companies created one-directional messages through mediums like billboards, radio, and TV, essentially telling consumers what to think about their products. The goal was to shape consumer opinions through repetitive and persuasive messages. OGC is defined as content or media derived from the ideas and concepts of an organization. At its root, OGC is one-way messaging dictated by an organization and delivered to consumers.

From Jared Bell's 1835 billboards to the first paid radio ads in 1922, and eventually to the first television commercials in 1941, marketing revolved around OGC. These were carefully crafted campaigns designed by companies that believed they knew the minds of their customers. It wasn’t until the rise of the internet that this model of communication began to change.

With the development of the internet and its widespread adoption by the late 1990s, a new era of marketing began. The internet allowed consumers to seek out information, compare products, and form their own opinions independently of brand-controlled messaging. This shift marked the beginning of consumer empowerment and laid the groundwork for the rise of User-Generated Content (UGC).

The Invention and Adaptation of Online Reviews

The internet was initially seen as a way to provide consumers with product information and sell products without visiting stores. But over time, it became clear enabling consumers to share their experiences with one another could become a superpower for selling products online. This is where online reviews took center stage.

Amazon, founded in 1994, is credited with being one of the first companies to incorporate customer reviews into its e-commerce platform. By allowing consumers to read and post reviews as early as 1995, Amazon paved the way for the democratization of product feedback. Reviews gave customers a voice, allowing them to rate products and share their opinions openly. This move was revolutionary because it represented a paradigm shift from the one-way messaging of OGC to a more collaborative, community-driven approach and UGC was born.

At first, many businesses were wary of this new power dynamic. The idea of allowing customers to publicly criticize products seemed risky—what if negative customer feedback hurt sales? But the opposite proved true. The presence of both positive and negative reviews created a sense of authenticity and trust. Consumers could now make more informed decisions, leading to higher levels of satisfaction with products that fit their needs better. Customers became marketers, contributing highly unique and specific product information independent of the company- making it very influential.

When Glassdoor was founded in 2007, a similar relationship opened between employees and employers. Current and former employees could now share experiences about their employment just as a customer could share an experience about a product. The employee experience a job seeker could expect was now a consideration added to just the compensation, benefits, location and type of job.

Now User-Generated Content takes many forms including employee and customer reviews, blog articles, unboxing videos and social media posts. UGC can be defined as any content produced by a user, customer or employee and shared online. This content can be in the form of text, pictures and videos. Reviews and ratings are forms of UGC, but the term UGC didn’t become mainstream until these other forms of UGC developed and categorized together.

The Impact of Reviews on Modern Consumer Behavior

Today, online reviews are everywhere, from Google to Glassdoor, TripAdvisor, and niche platforms like RateMyProfessors.com and InHerSight. Their influence is profound. According to research, 91% of consumers regularly or occasionally read online reviews, and 84% trust them as much as personal recommendations. Additionally 92% of working Americans consider employee reviews when deciding to apply for a job and 1 in 3 declined job offers in the U.S. are influenced by negative employer reviews.

Reviews help consumers feel more confident in their choices, as they rely on the opinions of others who have already purchased a product or worked at a company.

Over time providing a positive employee experience and that experience being reflected in employee reviews creates significant advantages for organizations with better recruiting, lower turnover and greater employee loyalty. These benefits are all similar to how a superior product experience showcased in customer reviews can help gain marketshare, retain marketshare and achieve higher customer loyalty.

Reviews Trump Other Forms of User-Generated Content

While other forms of UGC—such as social media posts, employee advocacy posts on LinkedIn, blog articles, and influencer endorsements—have proven valuable for marketing strategies, online reviews remain the most foundational and impactful. There are 5 key reasons online reviews trump all other forms of UGC:

1. Reviews influence current employees and influencers: Social media influencers, for instance, can sway opinions and promote products, but even their endorsements are influenced by reviews. No influencer would promote a product with a consistently low rating, as it would damage their credibility. The same is true of employees. We all have our own personal brand and find it personally beneficial to show off our association with an employer that has good ratings and a positive reputation. Employees are less likely to refer their peers and reshare your content when your public ratings and reviews are openly negative. Reviews provide a baseline of trust (for better or worse) that all other forms of UGC build upon.
2. Reviews influence search results: Many shopping and job board websites like Amazon and Glassdoor give searchers the ability to filter products and job postings by star rating. Additionally, search result algorithms on these platforms often reference ratings and reviews, favoring those with better ratings. Most other forms of UGC do not have this direct influence on purchases and application rates.
3. Social media posts have a short lifespan of influence: Although most review sites from Amazon to Glassdoor calculate average star ratings algorithmically, giving more weight to newer reviews, every review always retains some relevance as each review impacts the aggregated star rating. This is not the case with social media posts. Most posts become irrelevant as they age.
   Average lifespan of social media posts:
   TikTok – Instant Decay
   Twitter – 15-18 minutes
   Facebook – 6 hours
   LinkedIn – 24 hours
   Instagram – 48 hours
   YouTube – About 20 days
4. Reviews have a satisfaction rating: Most other forms of UGC don’t have a numeric indicator of satisfaction. A social media post may be positive but many may not be read to the end, which limits its influence. A star rating on a review communicates satisfaction instantly, without the need to continue reading. Additionally, there are several forms of review bias in decision making, such as consumers requiring a minimum star rating to consider an option— which do not apply to other forms of UGC that are not aggregated or quantified. This makes managing your reviews continuously imperative.
5. Review live at the point of decision: Reviews live on the product page or company profile— right where customers purchase and job seekers apply. Most other forms of UGC live on another website or platform where transitions and applications are not occurring. Reviews simply have a more direct and instantaneous influence on sales and application rates due to this closeness.

Supercharge your Employer Branding with Employee Reviews

Whatever you say about your own product or employer is biased. People don’t believe it, even when it sounds good coming off the tongue. Of course you would say your company is a great place to work. But how do current and former employees actually feel? That’s what really matters.

Trust and influence skyrocket when you let the voice of your employees share the story of how great it is to work at your company. And we’re not talking about the three carefully selected employee quotes on your career page. Of course you’d choose shiny quotes with smiley headshots to match.

So what should you do to win back your employer branding influence? Strategically embrace employee reviews. Here are 3 ways to give an instant boost to your employer branding with employee reviews:

1. Claim and/or open employer profiles on Glassdoor, Indeed, Comparably and InHerSight. Just like you want to diversify your financial investments, you want to diversify your employer reputation for added stability, reach and even best-place-to-work award eligibility.
2. Respond publicly to employee reviews on your profiles. Showcasing care in your replies builds trust and influence.
3. Link to all your employer review profiles on your career page. This embrace of transparency sends a clear message to job seekers, current employees and even customers that you value feedback and taking care of your team.

Ready to Become Your Company’s Certified Employer Reputation Management Expert?

This article provides 3 great starting steps for you to take. If you’re ready to go deeper with a professional training program, we’ve got you covered.

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And if you have questions relating to employee reviews or employer branding, you can also connect with a Mobrium expert.