Engaging Your Employees with Your Social Media

April 25, 2019

In the last 20 years, a horde of social media platforms has emerged. Odds are you’re an active user of at least one platform; between Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Reddit and the rest, a vast amount of online time is spent on social media.

With employees averaging hours of screen time daily, businesses are asking team members to use this to their brand’s advantage by engaging with them on social media.

The question is: how do you get your colleagues on board with using social media for business? Here are our favorite tips to strategically engage your employees on social media:

 

1) Find where your people already are

Most of your workforce will already be on a number of social media platforms. Once you’ve decided which platforms to use, simply forward the announcement to your team and ask those already on those platforms to follow your accounts. This helps expand your company’s network and can help spread your message quickly.

2) Have a clear content strategy

It sounds simple, but it works: engaging content elicits engagement. If you post content your workforce is proud to share, they’ll share it. Share business accomplishments, meaningful charitable initiatives, quality pictures, or impactful videos. It’s good to show your human side, highlight your workers, or even take a stand on important issues. The more authentic you are, the more authentically your workforce will engage with the content. Plus, you can tag your colleagues so that they know they’re a part of the success you’re having.

3) Consistency is key

The hardest part is sticking to a consistent posting schedule. This will keep your brand at the top of people’s minds when they’re on social media. The more you post, the more visible you are. Once you send out a post, make sure your team knows it’s out there so they can share, like, retweet, comment, and tag others.

4) Involve your employees

The more that you can impart a sense of ownership of your organization’s social media presence to your employees, the more likely they will be to engage enthusiastically. Allow your employees to be storytellers: encourage them to develop social media content and feature their work often across your platforms.

5) What’s in it for your employees?

This comes in two parts: first, employees deserve to understand why their role with social media is important, and second, they need to be rewarded for their efforts. Analyze your social media metrics and share the data regularly across your organization. Identify opportunities in incentive plans or employee appreciation plans to say thank you to social media supporters.

Getting employees on the same page when it comes to social media will spread your company’s message further, faster. It’s (basically) free advertising, so gather up the team and start brainstorming fun ways to engage those who are looking at your pages.

Originally posted in MidlandsBiz on April 25, 2019.