Anyone who runs a company should embrace social media marketing. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn aren’t going anywhere soon. They provide your company access to a large audience of current and potential customers in almost any niche you can think of.
Marketing strategies that don’t include social media are essentially worthless. One other strategy is growing in importance: employee engagement in social media marketing. Here’s how to do it.
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Make Your Social Media Policy Accessible
Before considering getting employees involved in brand advocacy efforts, it’s essential to have a social media policy done and in place. Many employees may not know about the current policies, especially in larger companies. Having a written policy available is important so that employees are aware and can avoid apprehension in their participation.
If employees don’t know what your company’s social media policy is, they may be hesitant to access social media for fear of breaking a rule. To ease their fears, make your company’s social media policy easy for employees to access online, so they can see exactly what you permit and what you forbid.
On the whole, your company’s social media policy should be simple, direct, and easy to understand. You want to make it as clear as possible without making it too complicated, or employees will get confused. Employees are already busy with their jobs, so if you add a lot of rules, it will sound like too much work and not feel encouraging.
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Incorporate Games into the Social Media Experience
A gamified mobile app is typically not the same concept as gamification for a business, but incentives for participation can be a way to increase employee engagement.
For example, a gamified mobile app can give points or badges for being active, while incentives for participating in social media marketing can also be used. This way, your company has the flexibility to either make participation mandatory or suggest that you participate if you want to receive an incentive.
For example, our employee advocacy and social selling software display a leaderboard that shows which of your employees is getting the most clicks, shares, likes, and comments on their posts. Your company can also set a reward system based on this leaderboard. For example, you can award the top employee with a bonus every month or with a bonus at the end of the year.
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Don’t Force Participation
Getting employees involved in social media marketing at your company requires using various participation methods instead of choosing a single method.
If employees are forced to participate, they will not be as interested in the company’s activity, and their participation will be a chore rather than a joy. Participation can be voluntary or mandatory, but it must be positive and accepting of all types of activities.
As new employees join the company, ensure they know where and how to find the social media policies during their first week or perhaps the first month. Make sure it is clear that your company encourages getting involved with social media.
If you are using an employee advocacy tool, provide training sessions for employees who show interest in becoming involved. Provide webinars and multiple training opportunities at least once a month or quarterly.
Conclusion
Employees are great ambassadors for your company on social media. They are better ambassadors than your most active fans because they have a personal relationship with your customers. If you have a problem with employees being active on social media, it is probably because your employees do not feel like they are completely supported.
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