The Process Behind Employee-Generated Content
I talk to Byron Stewart, who has worked at places like Highsnobiety, Foot Locker, and Team Epiphany, about crafting an EGC strategy.
I can’t seem to escape conversations around employee-generated content.
It’s in every 2025 social media trend prediction round up. (I called it out in my Q2: 2024 trend report.)
It’s all over my feed. Los Angeles Public Library highlighting their map librarian. The Philadelphia Eagles doing a day-in-the-life with their Director of Live Event Productions. Sotheby’s explaining rare books with a cataloger. Anthropologie crafting with display managers.
It’s even in my inbox. The other day Max Coatney, Social Media Manager at Fleet Feet, sent me a note about the impact employee-generated content (or, as he calls it, “store-generated content”) has had on their channels. “In 2024 we increased the amount of store-generated content published by +38% YoY resulting in 25% of our total Instagram posts. We saw total organic impressions up +192% YoY and total organic engagements up +305% YoY.”
It’s everywhere.
The brands that are doing it well aren’t just walking up to a co-worker and saying “Hey can you be in our TikTok today?”. They have buttoned up processes in place—like allowing employees to opt in, incentives for participating, and clear strategies for the posts.
For today’s interview I wanted to chat with someone who has experience implementing an employee-generated content process. Byron Stewart has worked in social media for a decade, is currently the Associate Director of Social Media at Team Epiphany, and writes the sharp newsletter
. He crafted Foot Locker’s employee-generated content strategy, which helped grow the brand’s TikTok following by 270%. We talk about putting a process in place, why working with cross-functional stakeholders like HR is key, and his tips for making people comfortable on camera.
Rachel Karten: First can you tell me about your current role and any previous social (or not!) roles you've had?
Byron Stewart: I have a decade of experience in social media, crafting social media and influencer strategies for lifestyle brands. My career in social started as a coordinator for Jimmy Jazz, a now-defunct sneaker and athletic retailer. It was a lesson in doing it all: managing social channels, collaborating on photoshoots, gathering products, and even working events. It built the foundation for everything I do now.
Next, I joined Highsnobiety as Social Media Manager for North America. There I honed my storytelling skills, developed a sharp editorial eye, and became adept at spotting cultural trends. From there, I moved to Foot Locker as a Social Media and Influencer Marketing Manager. I went from a one-person social team to leading a group of four during my time there.
Currently, I’m the Associate Social Media Director at Team Epiphany, a culture-first marketing agency.
RK: I want to talk a bit about employee-generated content (EGC). I've already seen it on a lot of "2025 trends" lists. How would you define EGC?
BS: EGC puts employees at the forefront of a brand’s social presence. It’s about celebrating internal fans of the brand—the ones who know the brand best and are passionate about the products or services offered. EGC gives them a platform to shine and create relatable, authentic content.
RK: How did you come up with the idea to introduce EGC to Foot Locker’s social
BS: EGC at Foot Locker started as a revelation. While working on the TikTok strategy, I typed “Foot Locker” into the app to gauge consumer perceptions of the brand. I discovered that employees were already producing engaging, authentic content. This sparked an idea: who better to showcase the brand on TikTok than those who represent it daily?
I pitched the idea to leadership, secured buy-in, and hit the stores to create pilot content. The first video performed incredibly well, and that was the spark.
RK: Can you walk me through some of the process of creating EGC?
BS: I developed an EGC strategy that eventually expanded globally. The strategy revolved around two content lanes:
Product: Highlighting sneakers and apparel in entertaining, creative ways. This can range from unboxings to curated seasonal product recommendations.
Culture: Tapping into trends on TikTok and Instagram, remixing them to align with Foot Locker’s voice.
We created EGC in two ways:
My team shot content in local stores with employees
Shared content briefs with employees across regions and sourced the content on social media channels
The strategy produced impressive results, often seeing higher engagement rates than traditional brand content and it helped grow our TikTok followers by 270%.
RK: How did you go about making employees feel comfortable on camera?
BS: The process started with working with the right employees—often those who already saw themselves as creators. Working in NYC and having relationships with local stores helped as I was familiar with the store staff, which made it easier to shoot content with employees.
For the employees who are new to content creation, it’s essential to educate them on best practices and make them as comfortable as possible on camera. My team and I were very hands-on, creating a positive environment in which employees felt at ease while filming. You don’t need Hollywood-trained actors, you just need patience. The goal is to make sure the employee show up as themselves.
We developed monthly briefs containing content guidelines, campaign themes, and dos and don’ts to maintain consistency and brand safety. These briefs were shared to employees through internal communication platforms. It’s super important not to make the guidelines too strict. You don’t want to limit creativity with forced language and content direction. If you do, the content you receive will feel very salesy, and no one likes that.
RK: Why is it important to put a process into place when it comes to EGC? What are the risks if you don't?
BS: A defined process ensures that EGC aligns with your brand guidelines. At Foot Locker, it was a cross-functional effort. I worked closely with the Brand, HR, and Store Operations teams to create a comprehensive framework.
Without a process, you risk inconsistent messaging and potential brand missteps. But with the right structure, EGC can be a scalable, impactful way to connect authentically with your audience.
Every org is different, so the way I was able to navigate EGC will be different compared to others. Hopefully, this provides helpful context to assist social pros in creating a process and workflow that works for their brand! Having key stakeholders as part of the process is critical.
RK: Can you share an EGC post that performed particularly well? Why did it work?
BS: I’ll share two examples.
First, there was post about how many times do you wear your Air Force 1, a polarizing topic for sneakerheads as some people wear them a few times and others wear them until they’re dirty and creased. It captured a round table of answers from employees, who were authentically themselves. It worked, generating 6M views across TikTok and Reels. (It’s unfortunately been archived.)
Unboxing content with employees also performed well consistently. The audience enjoyed the content because it wasn’t overproduced and took them on a BTS-like journey into the stock room.
RK: Any brands you've seen that do EGC particularly well?
BS: I recently stumbled across a pizza and daiquiri shop Velarde Pizza & Daiquiris that leverages EGC in a humorous and unhinged way. From a retail perspective, I love what Revolve is doing, tapping their employees for product recs around seasonal moments. Car dealerships are also putting a ton of great EGC out there, leaning into creating original content series and personalities like Javuan Banks from Premier Autos of Dallas.
RK: What do you love about working in social?
BS: I enjoy being creative every day and staying in tune with what’s bubbling in culture. It can be a demanding and sometimes thankless job, but I truly believe that our talent as social media professionals to spot cultural signals is like having a superpower.
I also love the social media manager community—call me biased but I think we’re some of the coolest and most unique people in marketing! Our shared experiences really bring us together. With platforms like Link in Bio, we have access to resources and advice that help us stay ahead in this challenging field. Everyone in social media is eager to lift each other up, too. It’s a beautiful thing.
RK: Thank you for the kind Link in Bio shout! I love your newsletter too! Let’s end our interview with some rapid fire questions. Favorite recent post?
BS: The Jennifer Hudson Show’s Soul Train-inspired greeting consistently goes viral and is one of my favorite content series on social. Recently, they featured Squid Games star Lee Jung-jae.
RK: Social trend that you'd like to see go away?
BS: I’m so over “cores” and assigning names to aesthetics. Let’s celebrate individuality. Social media has made the world feel too homogenous.
RK: Social media tip you wish more social media managers knew?
BS: Think beyond social. Dive into the bigger picture of your industry and brand by understanding what drives the business. Don’t sleep on town hall meetings. Take notes and keep up with investor updates, and leverage the insights shared. There’s usually helpful information you can use to shape a more impactful social strategy.
During my time in retail, sales data was my best friend. I made it a point to familiarize myself with key areas of the business, from buying and operations to public relations. This knowledge not only informed my strategy but also helped me articulate why our social efforts mattered, tying them back to core business priorities.
RK: Look into your crystal ball—what trend do you think will be big this year?
BS: Private communities and subscription-based spaces on social. From Substack to Instagram Broadcast Channels, intimate communities will thrive this year. I also expect a massive year for streamers. Streaming has revolutionized the media landscape, and with the wildly successful year that Kai Cenat had in 2024 (i.e., McDonald's and Nike partnerships), more brands should be open to partnering with these types of creators. They have a firm grip on culture right now that’s undeniable.
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This was SO good! I especially loved the rapid fire questions section.
Thinking of sales data to support social efforts was so wise especially with the bottom line not always being brand love but market impact.
I also agree on private communities being big this year as one of my favorite private communities is engaging with brands for their trivia game, collabing with Marc Jacobs, Beis, Spotify and others.
"Think beyond social" such good advice!