We work with many different organisations on improving the role, impact and value of internal communications (IC). So as a regular feature we thought it would be a good idea to share some of the key findings we have uncovered through a combination of our IC audits and health-checks, our conversations with key clients and our observations of reports published by others. We call it The Inside Track and each month we will focus on one of today’s common IC challenges.
This is one of ten specialist internal comms blogs. Email Chris for exclusive access to the full collection before they're released.
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With a fully integrated, purpose-led channel strategy, social media can play a key role in enhancing employee engagement.
Here’s a few hints and tips on how to effectively deploy social media as an employee engagement tool, fostering a sense of community and improving communication cut-through:
Before you dive into social media, be clear on what you want to achieve. Are you looking to integrate with other channels or do you have a specific role in mind to improve communication, increase collaboration, or boost morale? Defining your goals at the outset will help guide your strategy and ultimately help measure success.
Not all social media platforms are created equal and choice maybe driven by your organisational preferences aligned to broader business objectives. Ideally, you would choose the platform that best meets your objectives. LinkedIn, Viva Engage and Workplace by Facebook appear to be the leading options right now.
Not unlike any other channel, the key to successful social media engagement is creating content that resonates with your employees. Share a mix of content, such as company news, employee networks/communities, sourcing best practice and user-generated content. Interactive posts like polls, quizzes and Q&A sessions may also help boost engagement.
Invite your people to participate. Encourage them to share their own content, such as photos from company events, project updates, personal achievements and customer success stories. It could also be a channel to help showcase your purpose in action. Creating a sense of ownership and involvement should help boost engagement.
To help ensure consistency and maintain high standards, you may want to establish clear usage guidelines. You could also provide training, hints, tips and resources to help employees understand how to use social media effectively and responsibly. Guidance could be provided on content sharing, commenting and interacting with others.
With many employees split between home working and being in the office your social media strategy could help to reinforce a unified company culture by celebrating achievements, recognising hard work and sharing stories that highlight your organisational purpose and values. An opportunity to enhance employee morale and foster a sense of belonging.
With clear objectives at the outset you will be well placed to monitor and analyse your social media success. Consider the use of analytics tools to track engagement metrics such as likes, shares, comments and growth in followers. This data can help you understand what’s working and what’s not, allowing you to adjust your strategy accordingly.
Like any other channel, social media needs a clear role and purpose. Consider how it best complements your mix of other communication channels. How will it integrate with your intranet, email newsletters and team meetings to help create a cohesive multi-channel strategy designed to reach employees through multiple touch-points.
If you’re just starting out it may be worth identifying and empowering social media champions across your organisation. Employees who are enthusiastic about social media who can not only help ensure a successful launch, but also help build and sustain on-going value. Champions can also serve as role models and mentors for others.
Finally, try and keep your social media efforts fun and authentic. Accepting that, at times, messaging may need to have a more serious tone but try to avoid overly formal tones day-to-day. Strive for genuine, relatable content. Authenticity resonates more with employees and should help build trust and connection within the organisation.
