While reading 5 Ways to Set Up Your Employees for Success in 2015 I was inspired to ask my Facebook friends this question:
‘What is your biggest challenge when trying to get more people inside of an organization to support their own brand’s social media activities?’
A quote that stuck out to me from the Entrepreneur article above and inspired this post was this: ‘Share the company’s overarching goals for the year and discuss how staffers’ individual efforts can help accomplish this mission.’ Don’t you love that message?
In addition to the 5 ways that employers could set up their employees for success – I also felt like there should have been a 6th success tip in that article. . . social media education.
Seriously. How is this not more important to employers? Well, I have a few theories that were confirmed by my friends comments and some that I’ll save for another blog post.
one theory – I know many folks fear that their employees would fritter their afternoons away on Reddit or Facebook and get distracted from their core tasks. I think that by NOT teaching employees to use social media properly they are a bigger liability. Don’t believe me? Read this.
A Social Media Blunder Can Cost an Employee of Any Rank Their Job http://t.co/9Y6blwGBzQ
— danielle hatfield (@dhatfield) February 11, 2015
another theory – Reluctant leaders, in positions of power, often make it difficult for others in your organization to learn, contribute and flourish. Be aware that if your social media is underperforming it could be a cultural issue. . . simply? If any leader in your organization is dismissive of the role social media plays in your bottom line or it’s value as a customer service tool – more than likely your employees will be discouraged and dismissive too. Oh, another thing to consider is this – taking the time to educate your employees on how they can better support and grow your company’s online community is NOT a waste of resources. In many organizations, depending on size, there are enough people on staff to have your own social media team in house that work together to make you shine online. They just need training on how to use the tools and work together.
In my opinion, you and your team are the best voice of your brand online but you have to believe in them, your social media efforts and your employees have to be motivated to help you for it to all to be sincerely successful. There are no “fluff” social media responses or boring blog posts. They all matter to your bottom line and help educate and build your community.
ASK your employees if they want to be more involved online – you may be surprised. What happens when they say yes? Ask them what they are interested in contributing, help educate them on how to use the tools and share where you need them most.
I wanted to share a few answers from some friends that are incredibly insightful (Thanks again y’all!) :
‘What is your biggest challenge when trying to get more people inside of an organization to support their own brand’s social media activities?’
Nancy Cunningham: ‘I think that people are a little bit cautious of using certain social media platforms to promote or sell their business. Best if you can set an example of how to do it in a way that focuses more on the social and less on the sale to ensure that they feel comfortable.’
Laura Schaefer: ‘It all boils down to having the opportunity to educate staff on the benefits of social media. Often they don’t see or understand the overall strategy of implementing a blog schedule or campaign. They don’t see the benefits or advantages it could give them. Often they’re so busy doing what they do best, they just see that you’re asking for as one more thing to add to the already long list of things they have to do. So it’s educating staff that it could help them meet goals and explaining why it’s important and how it could impact them.’
Jennifer Alsina Busfield: ‘I see caution/avoidance from a lot of people (both in small business and corporate environments), because they don’t feel comfortable with the platform and/or they struggle with having confidence in their #SoMe voice. Education, as Laura mentioned, helps to tackle the comfort issue. Small bytes at a time, a tip here and there, I find is the best way to get them to a place of familiarity. Confidence with voice on social media isn’t just about education. I work with people who breathe the marketing message, but they shrink from engaging. For some, I act as cheerleader. For some, I do a lot of hand holding. For some, I just SMH, because no amount of encouragement is going to make them test the waters.’
Staci Jordan Shelton: ‘I think people don’t approach it as a Communication tool. There’s still a lot of fear. Put guidelines around what you want and a good Strategy. And for GOD’S sake, put it in charge of someone who’s good at relationship building, connecting and engagement. People still buy from people they trust. Who are great story tellers. Who make them FEEL. We leave the humanity out of brands. I was happy to promote anything that had to do with helping others. Maybe companies need to step back and do things that matter to employees and they won’t be able to shut them up. Make them proud. Integrity counts. If your employees won’t share what you’re doing maybe find out why?’
‘Employees don’t owe you to promote for your brand. I’d focus on building a culture and Brand that people are so proud of that you can’t get them to be quiet. Build Brand ambassadors and they will do the rest. It’s like anything else. We talk about fantastic ideas and brands all the time. BE that fantastic brand and Idea.‘
Jim Hunt: ‘I think a number of the comments bring up solid reasons for the resistance to internal promotion. I have to agree with Staci – she is right on the money. There is discomfort when people who may post on their specific favorite network are then asked to speak for the organization across other platforms. Also like Staci mentioned many staff members are not natural-born connectors or networkers and when asked to promote or push they resist. Organizations would see better results from identifying those who understand, engage and use specific networks to promote internal causes, products or service. There isn’t much value asking folks to promote, like or follow if they are uncomfortable or they don’t have some reach of voice and influence on social. It is a personal choice and it is difficult to promote something you don’t believe, back or trust. Bottom line – folks will respond and engage much better in social media promotion if first asked if they are willing to support instead of being expected or required to support. To me social media is similar to the voting booth – it is a personal preference to participate and also whether you choose to let others know who or what your support.’
So I ask you social media folks out there –
‘What is your biggest challenge when trying to get more people inside of an organization to support their own brand’s social media activities?’
