Employee advocacy challenges on LinkedIn drive massive visibility by rewarding staff for high-performing posts, as seen in programs from Storyarb, Patrick Trümpi's firm, Ash Jones' agency, Kavya Karnatac's team, and Sarah's company.
These examples reveal key lessons: tiered cash incentives boost participation to 30%+ without mandates, personal branding freedom sustains authenticity, short-term metrics like views prevent burnout, and transparent payouts build trust.
This playbook synthesizes their successes into actionable steps for a 10-week challenge yielding 1M+ impressions.
Set Clear Goals and Metrics
Align on business wins like recruitment or sales leads, using view thresholds proven effective across cases.
Storyarb hit 2M impressions via competition; Trümpi's firm Taskbase paid $350/20k views in 28 days.
Define tiers: 20k views/28 days ($350), 100k/90 days ($550), per Trümpi; adapt Kavya's flat $120 monthly for simplicity.
Track via LinkedIn or Supergrow’s Analytics: Weekly leaderboards shared in Slack, targeting 30%+ participation like Trümpi's 80k+ team views.
ROI focus: Measure leads, traffic, and culture perks like cross-team learning.
Recruit and Train Advocates
Target anywhere between 10 to 50 opt-in participants from sales/marketing, as in agency models; leadership posts first for buy-in.
Profile fits: Active users (10+ posts/month); invite via all-hands with exec video, echoing Alex Lieberman's team hype.
Onboard: 30-min session on hooks, carousels, and rules (no secrets); supply Ash Jones-style swipe files for personal spins.
Freedom rule: Posts on any topic, not just the company, boosting organic feel and employee brands.
Structure Rewards and Timeline
Multiple reward and timeline structures for LinkedIn employee advocacy challenges draw directly from proven programs.
Option 1: Tiered View-Based
Short cycles with escalating cash per impression milestone, ideal for quick wins and sales teams. Mirrors Trümpi's $350/20k views model, achieving 80k+ team views.
Cycle | Duration | Thresholds & Rewards |
Sprint 1 | 4 weeks | 10k views: $100; 20k: $350 |
Sprint 2 | 4 weeks | 50k views: $250; 100k: $550 |
Final | 2 weeks | Top 3 overall: $1k each + bonus PTO |
Weekly leaderboard resets prevent burnout.
Total budget: $8k for 50 participants.
Option 2: Competition Leaderboard
10-week "Own the Internet" showdown with top prizes, driving 2M impressions via hype. Gamified for marketing/creative teams.
Phase | Weeks | Milestones & Rewards |
Ramp-up | 1-4 | 5 posts: $50 gift card; Weekly top: $100 |
Peak | 5-8 | 50k views: $300; Dept winner: Team lunch |
Finale | 9-10 | 1st: $5k; 2nd: $2k; 3rd: $1k; Participation badge |
Peer voting for "most creative" adds engagement.
Total budget: $12k, with 55% traffic ROI potential.
Option 3: Flat Monthly Bonus
Simple recurring payout for consistent posting, suiting remote India teams with 10k Rs freedom. Low admin, high retention.
Month | Requirement | Reward |
1 | 8 personal posts | 5k Rs |
2 | 12 posts, 20k views | 10k Rs |
3 | Any 10 posts | 7.5k Rs (loyalty) |
No leaderboards; self-submit via form.
Total budget: $6k over 3 months; extend quarterly.
Option 4: Quarterly Top-Poster
Agency-style single big prize per quarter, encouraging quality over volume (£500 benchmark). Best for small teams (20-30 people).
Quarter | Focus | Rewards |
Q1 | 12+ posts | Top poster: £500/$650; Top 5: $100 each |
Q2 | Industry themes | Top: $700; Runners-up: Extra day off |
Q3-Q4 | Free choice | Scale prizes 20% if participation >40% |
Monthly check-ins, not weekly pressure.
Total budget: $4k/year; pairs with shoutouts.
Option 5: Budget-Funded Flexible
$22k pool for employee-chosen content, blending cash with perks for broad uptake. Enterprise-scale, opt-in heavy.
Tier | Effort Level | Reward Pool Access |
Starter | 5 posts/month | $200 from pool + templates |
Pro | 15 posts, 30k views | $500 + featured on company page |
Elite | 50k+ views/quarter | $1k + travel stipend ($300) |
Allocate via application; unspent rolls over.
Total budget: $15-20k; track via shared dashboard.
Provide Tools and Nudges
Reduce friction with templates, as low-adoption risks noted in debates; weekly prompts keep momentum.
Content kit: Canva templates, Supergrow for scheduling and managing the entire challenge
Engagement hacks: Post Tue-Thu 9-11 AM IST; nudge via email recaps featuring top posts.
Gamify: Badges, peer votes; reset weekly sprints for sustained 30%+ uptake.
Launch, Monitor, and Close Strong
Start with a CEO announcement for 50% week-1 signups; audit post-challenge for iteration.
Launch playbook: Demo post, share baseline metrics; run 10 weeks then survey NPS.
Sustain: Transparent wins; off-ramp low performers gently.
Close: Public celebrates, ROI deck (impressions vs. $5-10k cost); scale if 20% repeat.