Glenn is the founder and CEO of GaggleAMP, an employee advocacy and engagement platform.
Data from 2016 found that 77% of American workers use social media at work, yet 45% of companies do not have social media policies. Overlooking employees’ social media presence can cause confusion and missteps. You also miss an opportunity to create benefits for both the employee and the company.
For the individual, creating a strong brand on social media can grow their network and increase their engagement—meaning likes, shares, views and comments. This “industry influencer” status stays with them, even if they move to a new company. For businesses, I’ve noticed helping employees build their brands can improve employee advocacy, the systematic approach to empowering employees to advocate for your brand. People don’t want to engage with a faceless organization. They want to engage with people. Social engagement helps your workforce build one-on-one relationships in a way your brand never could.
Let’s take a closer look at the win-win scenario that is building your employees’ personal brands, and how focusing on the positive—“the dos,” as opposed to “the do nots”—can lead to better results for everyone involved.
Share content for all legs of the three-legged stool.
When I have a meeting with someone new, the first thing I do is look at their LinkedIn profile. This profile is more than a digital resume. It is a way to build credibility and instill confidence in potential clients and partners. So, during employee onboarding, consider providing guidance to help your team make a strong “first digital impression.” While social accounts belong to and are the sole property of employees, training goes a long way in helping people create professional profiles.
Additionally, provide guidelines and guardrails for sharing content and engaging the marketplace. Rather than asking how you can get employees to promote your company, consider how you can align the company’s social media efforts with the interests of employees. You can’t pump out “buy my widget” content again and again and expect people to want to share them. Instead, create and curate content that benefits the business, the employee and the audience. Think of the audience-employee-business trifecta as a three-legged stool. Neglect one element and you will topple over.
Another best practice is to customize your content approach based on the employee’s role and the desired audience. Your employee base is not a monolith. Different roles, regions and focuses make for a rich tapestry of folks who are connected to a variety of audiences. The key is to align content with the potential audience each employee will be reaching.
Let’s pretend your company just launched a new widget. Your product team may want to celebrate its new process for handling data. Your sales team may want to share how the widget increases ROI for clients. And the customer success team may want to chat about how this new product will enhance the existing customer experience. Sometimes a one-size-fits-all message may be appropriate. However, I suspect that will be the exception rather than the rule once you see the impact of targeted messaging.
Worry less about driving off the road.
One of the reasons companies choose not to enlist employees in social media strategies is because they worry about risk. They fear employees might go rogue and say something that makes the business look bad. But I’ve found the chances of this are smaller than you might think. Has an employee ever said something inflammatory or controversial? Sure. It happens. But most employees are not looking to drive themselves off a cliff. And if they are, fine—as long as they are not driving a car plastered with your company’s logo. (In other words, participating in an employee advocacy program can be optional.)
The reality is, a business can only regulate content on platforms it owns. Unless you’re leading Meta, Twitter, LinkedIn or TikTok, you don’t own the channels your employees spend time on. Beyond the right to free speech, employees’ decision to share glimpses into their personal lives creates connection points for prospects and customers and humanizes the brand.
Rather than worry about listing every single thing an employee should not do, spend more time and energy building a map for the majority of your workforce who will be sticking to the roads. Many people want to build their brand on social media and advance company goals, but they don’t know how. Provide suggested content and posts for those teammates who prefer to be told exactly how to proceed. For those employees who are ready to lose the training wheels, provide guidelines and guardrails, such as a map of topics the business wishes to own.
Celebrate the wins and focus on culture.
Another way to promote social media engagement, thereby building employees’ personal brands and driving engagement that benefits the company, is to acknowledge successes. Recognition goes a long way and does not have to cost a lot. Deloitte research shows that companies with recognition programs have a 14% higher level of employee engagement and productivity than companies that do not. Try creating friendly competitions using a leaderboard and rewarding milestones. Prizes could include company swag or lunch with the CEO (and yes, fellow CEOs, finding ways to have lunch with your employees is crucial).
Publicly acknowledging employees by sharing success stories with the team can breed more successes, make people feel good and create way more of a positive impact than slapping people on the wrist. If you feel like you are constantly “wrist slapping,” you might have a toxic culture on your hands. Word of warning: If your culture is toxic, you are probably not ready to create an employee advocacy program or to support employees’ personal brand building.
On the other hand, celebrating employees’ wins and trusting and empowering them to build their brands by sharing company content, as well as their own perspectives, contributes to a positive company culture. And when the culture is strong, employee advocacy programs can take off and employee affinity for the brand can increase.
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