How To Measure Employee Advocacy ROI: A Practical Framework To Prove Impact

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The Complete Guide To Employee Advocacy Training For High-Impact LinkedIn Results

This article explains how to build a practical, repeatable microlearning program to turn employees into confident LinkedIn advocates.Here's our step-by-step 6-week plan, module ideas, delivery tips, and ways to measure and sustain participation.Short, weekly modules increase completion and confidence.Design modules for profile polish, content curation, posting, and compliance.Use cohort challenges, badges, and reporting to reinforce habits and show value.Why microlearning works for employee advocacyLong training sessions are a participation killer. Microlearning breaks onboarding into tiny, targeted bursts that employees can finish on a commute or between meetings.For employee advocacy, the goal is not to create social media experts but to build repeatable, brand-safe habits.Micro-modules reduce friction, increase retention, and let you iterate content based on performance and feedback.6-week microlearning onboarding planThis ready-made plan balances skill, confidence, and compliance. Each week includes a 5–12 minute lesson, a practical task, and a quick quiz or reflection.Week 1: Why advocacy matters and low-friction first stepsExplain program purpose, expectations, and benefits. Task: like or share one company post with a personal note.Week 2: LinkedIn profile polishTeach headline, summary, and experience tweaks that improve discoverability. Task: update headline and add a short summary line aligned with role.Week 3: Content types and curationShow the 3 content types you want (company news, thought leadership, human stories). Task: save or suggest 3 shareable pieces from a provided content pack.Week 4: Simple post frameworksTeach a 3-part post formula: hook, value, CTA. Task: draft and publish a short post using the template.Week 5: Compliance and brand guardrailsCover what employees can and cannot say, privacy rules, and how to escalate questions. Task: complete a 3-question compliance quiz.Week 6: Amplify and measureShow how advocacy ties to metrics: reach, profile views, referral traffic. Task: compare week 1 and week 6 metrics and share one learning.Essential micro-modules to includeProfile optimization checklist3 quick post templates with examplesContent curation playbook and a monthly content packShort compliance scenarios and a one-question escalation flowSimple metrics dashboard and how to read itDelivery formats and tools that improve completionChoose formats that match how your people work. Mobile-first video, bite-sized emails, and chat nudges outperform long PDFs.Short videos (60–120 seconds) and captionsInteractive quizzes and reflection promptsSlack or Teams nudges and cohort channels for peer feedbackMicro-certificates or badges delivered via email or LMSUse your employee advocacy platform for content distribution and tracking. For example, integrate with your content hub to push curated packs and track clicks.Motivation, reinforcement, and measurementTraining is only useful if habits stick. Combine social proof, recognition, and visible metrics to keep momentum.Cohort challenges: small groups complete tasks together and share results.Visible leaderboards: show top contributors and sample wins.Recognition rituals: highlight stories in internal newsletters or town halls.Tie your program to outcomes. Use simple KPIs like participation rate, average reach per post, and referral traffic to campaigns. If you need a measurement framework, see our guide on proving advocacy impact.Common roadblocks and how to fix themLow completion: reduce module length and add a 1-minute reward (badge or recognition).Fear of posting: offer templates, peer review, and a private practice channel.Compliance concerns: build clear do/don't examples and a fast escalation path.Content scarcity: provide a monthly content pack and allow employees to suggest ideas.Scaling beyond onboardingAfter the initial 6-week program, keep momentum with monthly micro-modules - product updates, customer wins, or personal storytelling prompts.Couple learning with incentives and recognition programs to sustain long-term participation and measurable results.Q: How long should each micro-module be?A: Aim for 5–12 minutes of content plus a 5-minute task. Shorter modules increase completion and repeat engagement.Q: What metrics prove training success?A: Participation rate, active advocates, average reach per post, profile views, and referral clicks to campaigns are practical starting KPIs.Q: Can we run onboarding without a dedicated advocacy platform?A: Yes, but platforms dramatically ease distribution, tracking, and content packaging. If you lack one, use a mix of email, Slack channels, and a simple spreadsheet for tracking.

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How to Design Posts Employees Will Actually Share on LinkedIn

Most employee advocacy programmes fail at the same point. Not at launch. Not at training. At the content. Marketing teams build a library of posts, send a Slack message asking employees to share, and watch as adoption quietly stalls. The posts are well-written. The ask is reasonable. But the content does not get shared, because nobody designed it to be shareable in the first place. This guide introduces a practical framework to fix that: a five-part Shareability Score you can apply to any piece of content before it reaches your advocates, plus a test plan to validate what works before rolling out at scale. Why Content Shareability Matters More Than Content Quality Good writing is not the same as shareable writing. A post can be accurate, well-structured, and on-brand and still sit unshared because it asks too much of the employee posting it. Research from Richard van der Blom's 2025 analysis of 1.8 million LinkedIn posts found that posts which attract three or more commenters in the first 60 minutes receive approximately 5.2 times more amplified reach. That amplification window opens only if employees actually post. Content that feels awkward, risky, or too polished to personalise never gets there. While only around 3 percent of employees share content about their company, those shares generate roughly 30 percent of total company engagement on LinkedIn. The gap between potential and actual sharing is almost entirely a content design problem, not a motivation problem. Shareability is the combination of four things: how easy the content is to personalise, how credible it makes the employee look, how well the format fits the channel, and how clear the call to action is. Improving these factors lifts organic reach without asking employees to become marketers. The 5-Part Shareability Score Score each piece of content from 0 to 5 on the five factors below. The maximum score is Aim to push all content above 18 before wide distribution. Content scoring below 12 should be reworked before it reaches your advocates. First-Line Hook (0–5) The first one to two lines of a LinkedIn post determine whether someone stops scrolling. LinkedIn's algorithm prioritises content that generates early engagement, making the opening line the single most important element of any post. Score higher when the hook is concise, personalised, and invites a reaction. A hook that references a specific outcome performs better than one that sets context. High-scoring example: "We just cut time-to-value for new customers by 40 percent. Here is what changed." Low-scoring example: "As a company committed to customer success, we are pleased to share our latest results." If an employee would feel embarrassed posting the opening line from their personal profile, the hook needs rewriting. Personalisation Ease (0–5) How easy is it for an employee to add their own voice in 10 to 20 words? This is the most commonly overlooked factor in content kit design. Score higher when the content includes clear placeholders, modular sentences employees can swap in and out, or a short prompt like "add one sentence about why this matters to you." Score lower when the post is written as a finished piece that leaves no room for personal commentary. The goal is not to make every employee rewrite the post from scratch. It is to give them a visible gap where their voice belongs. Employees who add a single genuine sentence to a template post consistently see higher engagement than those who copy and paste without personalisation. For guidance on building content kits that make personalisation easy, see our guide to running a LinkedIn employee advocacy programme. Format Fit (0–5) Does the format match what performs on LinkedIn right now? Carousel posts currently achieve the highest engagement rate on LinkedIn at 6.60 percent, followed by video and images at 2 to 5 percent, and text-only posts at 0.5 to 2 percent. That does not mean every post should be a carousel. Format fit also means matching what employees are comfortable posting. A long-form document carousel requires more effort to share than a single image with a caption. For advocates who are new to the programme, a text post with a single image is a lower-friction starting point and still significantly outperforms a company page post. Video accounts for 17 percent of employee advocacy posts but generates middling engagement numbers in aggregate, though LinkedIn is actively investing in the format. The key is uploading video natively rather than linking to YouTube. Score higher when the format is something the target employee has shared before and lower when it requires production effort the employee is unlikely to invest. Credibility Signals (0–5) Employee posts perform best when they make the employee look informed. Content that includes specific metrics, named customers, short quotes, or verifiable data gives employees something concrete to stand behind. 92 percent of B2B buyers trust employee recommendations, and employee-shared content sees significantly more engagement than employer-driven content. That trust depends on the post feeling credible, not promotional. Score higher when the content gives employees a fact or data point they can cite confidently. Score lower when the content makes claims that are vague ("we are leaders in our field") or that an employee might feel uncomfortable standing behind personally. For regulated industries, this factor also covers compliance safety. Content that could be misread as a financial claim, medical advice, or legal statement scores lower on credibility because it requires employees to take a risk they may not be willing to take. Clear CTA and Destination (0–5) Every shared post should have a single, trackable call to action. Multiple CTAs split attention and reduce click-through. No CTA wastes the reach the employee generates. Score higher when the content includes one recommended action (comment, visit, register), a UTM-tagged link so you can attribute traffic and conversions to employee shares, and a clear description of what the employee is sending people to. Score lower when the destination is unclear, the link is untracked, or the post asks the reader to do more than one thing. For a full guide to UTM tracking and measuring the ROI of your advocacy programme, see how to measure employee advocacy ROI. How to Test Shareability Before Rolling Out at Scale Scoring content before distribution reduces wasted effort and protects the employee experience. An advocate who shares a post that gets no engagement is less likely to share the next one. Running a short validation test before wide rollout identifies what works without burning goodwill. Week 1: Sample selection and variant planning Choose 10 to 20 volunteer employees across different roles, seniority levels, and regions. Identify two or three variations of the same core message that score differently on the Shareability Score. Variations might differ on hook style (question vs. statement), format (image vs. text only), or personalisation prompt (explicit vs. implicit). Week 2: Live test Have volunteers share their assigned variation during an agreed posting window. Tuesday to Thursday consistently delivers stronger engagement per post than other days of the week, with Monday generating the least advocacy activity. Record outcomes for each post: reach, reactions, comments, profile visits, and link clicks. After week 2: Decision Compare performance across the variants using four metrics: reach per post, comment rate, click-through rate, and conversion per 1,000 impressions. Promote the top-performing variation to the broader employee base. Feed the results back into your Shareability Score calibration so future scoring is based on your audience's actual behaviour, not general benchmarks. For teams already running a content calendar, slot the test window into an existing distribution cycle rather than running it in parallel. Our guide to employee advocacy training covers how to brief volunteers without overloading them. Tactical Checklist: What Every Piece of Shareable Content Needs Before any post reaches your advocates, run through this checklist. [ ] Two or three opening line options employees can copy, personalise, and post [ ] A single image or video asset sized for LinkedIn (1200 x 628px for images) [ ] A one-sentence rationale employees can use internally: "Sharing this because it helps customers reduce X" [ ] A recommended posting window (Tuesday to Thursday, 08:00 to 10:00 in the employee's time zone) [ ] A single UTM-tagged link with one clear CTA [ ] A sample comment employees can pin to their post to boost early engagement [ ] A compliance note if the content touches regulated claims The checklist takes under two minutes to run through and prevents the most common reasons advocacy content goes unshared. Coaching Employees Without Overprescribing The goal is a 30-second routine, not a training programme. Teach advocates to read the hook, add one personal sentence, and post. That is the entire workflow for most content. Use short, in-context nudges to reinforce the habit rather than workshops. A one-line prompt in Slack ("this week's post is ready, just add your take on why it matters") is more effective than a monthly reminder email. For senior leaders and executives, provide two pre-written example posts they can adapt rather than asking them to start from scratch. CEO and senior leader content generates significantly higher engagement than average posts, and leadership participation signals to the wider team that advocacy is part of company culture rather than a marketing initiative. Governance and Compliance Shareability scoring works within compliance frameworks, not around them. Build a sentence bank of pre-approved language for regulated claims so employees have safe options to draw from. Set a score threshold below which content requires a compliance review before distribution. Content above the threshold goes out without manual review. This approach reduces approval bottlenecks for the majority of content while keeping compliance teams involved for the minority that genuinely needs review. For most B2B companies, a threshold of 15 out of 25 on the Shareability Score is a reasonable starting point. Measuring Shareability Impact Track these four KPIs for each tested content variation and compare them against your baseline posts. Average reach per employee share. This is the primary measure of whether shareability improvements are translating into distribution gains. Employee-shared content generates 561 percent greater reach than company page posts, but the gap between high and low shareability content within your own programme will be visible within two or three test cycles. Comment rate. Comments per impression. Posts that score highly on hook quality and personalisation ease consistently generate higher comment rates because they invite response rather than just broadcasting. Click-through rate. Clicks on the UTM-tagged link as a percentage of impressions. This measures whether the content is driving the behaviour you want, not just generating passive reach. Downstream conversion. If your CRM or marketing automation platform can attribute leads to UTM source, track conversions from employee-share traffic separately. Over time this gives you a cost-per-lead figure for employee advocacy that you can compare directly against paid LinkedIn campaigns. Use the Shareability Score as a leading indicator. If your scoring is calibrated correctly, higher-scoring content should consistently outperform lower-scoring content on all four metrics within four to six weeks of testing. Frequently Asked Questions How long does it take to score a piece of content? A reviewer familiar with the scoring criteria can assess one post in three to five minutes. Most teams score content in weekly batches as part of the content kit review process, which adds 20 to 30 minutes to a session that would happen anyway. Does scoring content remove employee voice? No. The Shareability Score specifically rewards personalisation ease, which means high-scoring content is designed to have employee voice added to it. The score helps you select and shape content that employees want to share, not content that removes their judgment from the process. How many employees should participate in a test? Start with 10 to 20 volunteers for an initial validation test. For broader statistical confidence, scale tests to 50 to 100 employees once the scoring framework is calibrated. Volunteer-driven tests consistently outperform mandatory participation in both content quality data and employee experience. What if our content is mostly company news rather than thought leadership? Company news can score well on the Shareability framework if it is framed from the employee's perspective rather than the company's. "Our product just hit a milestone that matters to my customers" is a more shareable frame than "Company X announces product update." The hook and personalisation ease scores will guide you toward the more shareable framing. How often should we update the Shareability Score criteria? Review the scoring criteria quarterly. LinkedIn's algorithm and format preferences shift over the course of a year, and what scores highly on Format Fit in Q1 may need recalibrating by QThe LinkedIn algorithm updates published by DSMN8 and Richard van der Blom's annual analysis are useful reference points for keeping the framework current.

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Vulse vs DSMN8: Which Employee Advocacy Platform Fits Your Team

Employee advocacy has become essential for B2B brands. With LinkedIn's algorithm favouring personal profiles over company pages, businesses that activate their employees as brand advocates see significantly higher engagement and reach.When researching employee advocacy platforms, DSMN8 often appears in search results. It's a well-established player with enterprise clients. But for many teams, particularly those focused on LinkedIn, DSMN8's approach introduces complexity and cost that simply isn't necessary.This comparison examines both platforms to help you understand which approach makes sense for your team.DR: Vulse vs DSMN8 at a GlanceFactorVulseDSMN8Best ForTeams wanting LinkedIn results fastEnterprises needing multi-platform complexityStarting Price£17/user/month$850/month minimumLinkedIn APINative integrationStandard connectionPlatformsLinkedIn (where B2B happens)LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, XingSetup TimeMinutesWeeks (onboarding required)Ideal Team Size5-500 employees100+ employees with dedicated adminTop Tip: If LinkedIn is where your audience lives, Vulse delivers faster results at a fraction of the cost. DSMN8 suits enterprises with large budgets who need to manage advocacy across multiple platforms they may never fully use.What Is Employee Advocacy Software?Employee advocacy software enables companies to distribute approved content through employee social networks. Instead of relying solely on corporate pages and paid ads, these platforms help employees share company content authentically.The results speak for themselves. Content shared by employees receives up to 8x more engagement than content shared by brand pages. Employee networks also have 10x more connections than a typical company page has followers.Both Vulse and DSMN8 aim to make this process simpler. The difference lies in their approach.Vulse Overview: Built for LinkedIn ResultsVulse is a B2B employee advocacy platform built specifically for LinkedIn. With unique LinkedIn API access, Vulse focuses on helping teams maximise results on the platform where B2B buyers actually spend their time.Key Vulse FeaturesNative LinkedIn API integration providing real-time analytics unavailable in other platformsProprietary tone-of-voice model ensuring content sounds authentic, not robotic or copy-pastedContent scoring system that predicts post performance before publishingAI-powered content ideas and article summariser for faster content creationTeam leaderboards to drive healthy competition without complex reward administrationPersonal profile analytics alongside company page metricsContent scheduling with optimal timing suggestionsISO 27001 and GDPR certified for enterprise-grade securityVulse PricingPlanPriceBest ForPro£17/user/monthIndividual professionalsBusiness£37/user/monthTeams with company pagesEnterpriseCustomLarge organisationsVulse charges per user, so you only pay for employees actively participating. A 20-person team pays approximately £740/month on the Business plan.DSMN8 Overview: Enterprise ComplexityDSMN8 (pronounced "disseminate") is an employee advocacy platform targeting enterprise organisations. Founded in 2016, it offers multi-platform sharing and extensive features that come with corresponding complexity.DSMN8 FeaturesMulti-platform sharing across LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Xing, WhatsApp, and emailAuto-scheduling for employees who don't have time to engage with the platformGamification engine with leaderboards and rewards (requires budget for prizes)AI content assistant for caption generationManaged services available for teams who find the platform too complex to run themselvesNewsletter feature for internal communicationsExtensive integrations with enterprise toolsDSMN8 PricingTierStarting PriceRealityStartup$850/monthMinimum commitment regardless of team sizeScaleCustomAdds customer success managerEnterpriseCustomRequired for larger deploymentsDSMN8 requires annual contracts and charges a flat monthly rate. For a small team of 10, you're paying $85 per person per month before you've activated a single employee.Feature Comparison: What Actually MattersLinkedIn PerformanceFor B2B companies, LinkedIn is where decisions happen. 80% of B2B leads from social media come through LinkedIn.Vulse was purpose-built for LinkedIn with native API access. This means real-time data, accurate analytics, and features designed specifically for how LinkedIn works. When LinkedIn changes its algorithm, Vulse adapts.DSMN8 supports LinkedIn alongside five other platforms. This breadth means their LinkedIn features compete for development resources with platforms your team likely won't use. The connection is standard rather than native.The difference: Vulse's LinkedIn focus means your employees get a tool optimised for where they'll actually post.Content AuthenticityNothing kills an advocacy programme faster than employees sharing identical, robotic posts.Vulse includes a proprietary tone-of-voice model that ensures each employee's posts sound like them, not like a corporate press release. Content scoring predicts performance before posting, helping employees optimise without endless trial and error.DSMN8 offers multiple caption options per post to avoid duplicate content. This helps, but employees still choose from pre-written options rather than content shaped to their voice.The difference: Vulse posts sound human. That's what drives engagement.Getting StartedAdoption is the single biggest challenge in employee advocacy. If employees don't use the platform, features don't matter.Vulse is designed for quick adoption. Employees can start sharing content within minutes of signing up. The interface focuses on what matters: creating and sharing content on LinkedIn. There's no training required because the platform is intuitive.DSMN8 includes onboarding support because setup typically requires it. Enterprise deployments take weeks, not days. The platform offers managed services for companies who find ongoing management too demanding.The difference: If you need managed services to run your advocacy platform, the platform may be the problem.Analytics and ReportingUnderstanding what's working is essential for improving results.Vulse provides real-time LinkedIn analytics through direct API integration. Weekly automated content reports summarise performance and deliver recommendations without requiring you to navigate complex dashboards. You see what's working and what to do next.DSMN8 offers extensive analytics with customisable dashboards, earned media value calculations, and detailed segmentation. This depth serves enterprises with dedicated analytics teams. For most marketing teams, it's more data than anyone has time to analyse.The difference: Vulse gives you actionable insights. DSMN8 gives you a data warehouse.IntegrationsBoth platforms connect with other tools, but the question is whether you need those connections.Vulse integrates with LinkedIn (with unique API access), CRMs, and analytics tools. The focus remains on doing LinkedIn exceptionally well.DSMN8 connects with Slack, Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, Marketo, Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, and single sign-on providers. This breadth serves enterprises with complex tech stacks but adds configuration overhead for everyone else.The difference: More integrations means more setup, more maintenance, and more that can break.SecurityBoth platforms meet enterprise security requirements with ISO 27001 certification. Vulse is additionally GDPR certified with robust access management and incident response frameworks.Pricing Reality CheckThe pricing models tell the real story:Team SizeVulse (Business)DSMN8 (Startup)You're Paying DSMN810 users~£370/month$850/month130% more25 users~£925/month$850/month+Similar, but locked in50 users~£1,850/monthCustomEnterprise sales processWith Vulse, you pay for active advocates. Scale up or down as adoption grows. No annual lock-in on standard plans.With DSMN8, you pay $850/month whether you have 10 active employees or 2. Annual contracts mean you're committed before you've proven the programme works.For most teams: Vulse costs less and lets you prove ROI before committing to enterprise spend.What About Multi-Platform?DSMN8's multi-platform support sounds attractive. But consider your reality:Where do your B2B buyers spend time? LinkedIn.Where do employee posts drive pipeline? LinkedIn.Where do candidates research your employer brand? LinkedIn.Paying for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Xing support makes sense if your employees will actively use those platforms for business purposes. Most don't.Vulse focuses on LinkedIn because that's where B2B results happen. You're not paying for platforms that sit unused.Who Should Choose Vulse?Vulse is the right choice if:LinkedIn is your primary B2B channel (it probably is)You want employees posting within days, not monthsYour budget is realistic for a growing programmeYou value authentic content over volumeYou need accurate LinkedIn data for reportingYour team is between 5 and 500 employeesYou want a focused tool rather than an enterprise platform you'll never fully useBook a Vulse demo to see the platform in action.When DSMN8 Might Make SenseDSMN8 could work if:You genuinely need employees sharing across multiple platforms regularlyYour organisation has 500+ employees and dedicated programme administratorsYou have budget for $10,000+ annually before proving ROIYour enterprise requires extensive integrations with Salesforce, Marketo, and AdobeYou prefer vendors to run the programme for you via managed servicesFor most B2B marketing teams, these requirements don't apply.The VerdictDSMN8 built a platform for enterprises who want everything. That means complexity, cost, and features most teams never touch.Vulse built a platform for teams who want LinkedIn results. That means focus, speed, and pricing that makes sense.If you're evaluating employee advocacy platforms, the question isn't which has more features. It's which will get your employees actually posting, consistently, on the platform where your buyers pay attention.For LinkedIn-focused B2B companies, that's Vulse.Frequently Asked QuestionsWhat is the main difference between Vulse and DSMN8?Vulse is a LinkedIn-specialised employee advocacy platform with native API integration and tone-matching AI, built for teams who want results without complexity. DSMN8 is a multi-platform enterprise solution with extensive features that require more budget, setup time, and ongoing administration.Which employee advocacy platform is better for LinkedIn?Vulse is purpose-built for LinkedIn with unique API access, real-time analytics, content scoring, and a proprietary tone-of-voice model. DSMN8 supports LinkedIn but spreads its development across six platforms, which means less depth in any single channel.How much does Vulse cost compared to DSMN8?Vulse starts at £17 per user per month, scaling with your team size. DSMN8 starts at $850 per month regardless of how many employees participate. For teams under 25 employees, Vulse typically costs 50-70% less while delivering LinkedIn-specific features DSMN8 lacks.Is DSMN8 overkill for small to mid-size companies?For most teams under 200 employees, DSMN8's pricing and complexity exceed what's needed. The $850 monthly minimum, annual contracts, and weeks-long onboarding process suit enterprises with dedicated administrators and large budgets, not growing marketing teams.Why doesn't Vulse support other social platforms?Vulse focuses on LinkedIn because that's where B2B engagement and lead generation happen. Rather than building mediocre support for six platforms, Vulse invests in making LinkedIn advocacy exceptional. Most B2B teams find this focus delivers better results than spreading effort across platforms their employees rarely use for business.How quickly can employees start using each platform?Vulse employees can start sharing content within minutes of signing up. The intuitive interface requires no training. DSMN8 deployments typically take weeks and include formal onboarding, which suggests the platform needs explanation before employees can use it effectively.Do I need managed services for employee advocacy?If a platform requires managed services to run effectively, that's a sign of complexity rather than a feature. Vulse is designed for marketing teams to manage themselves without dedicated administrators or external support.Is employee advocacy worth the investment?Absolutely. Content shared by employees receives up to 8x more engagement than brand content, and companies with advocacy programmes report 26% higher year-over-year revenue. The question is whether you need an enterprise platform to achieve those results, or whether a focused tool delivers the same outcomes at lower cost.Ready to Start Your Employee Advocacy Programme?The best employee advocacy programmes combine the right technology with clear goals and engaged employees. Complex platforms don't guarantee better results.Book a Vulse demo to see how LinkedIn-focused employee advocacy can amplify your brand's reach without enterprise complexity.

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