Internal influencers: Getting employees to magnify your company’s reach on social media

Companies primarily use their social media presence to promote their services, products or organizational news, but is that really a productive way to capture a greater audience? If the goal is to connect, engage and convert, then maximizing your organization’s exposure will be vital.

Nowadays, companies spend substantial amounts of money on consultants who tell them how to pull in followers and fans, but the reality is, the solution is internal — using employees as influencers. Enlisting employee advocates to promote services or products, or to share news and stories on their personal social media accounts can be a powerful marketing tool for companies. Advocacy initiatives allow companies to cast a larger net of influence by tapping into other networks already established by their employees. This leverage often leads to increased visibility, and provides an easier way to acquire connections that will continue to build upon your organization’s credibility and rapport.

Employee advocacy programs can be viable because the benefits are exponential. You can boost brand buzz and increase profits using existing resources, with individuals who have a stake in and are knowledgeable about the company. In addition, having internal influencers provides a more personal outreach that can appear more genuine and authentic because your employees are familiar and trusted in their respective social networks.  

So how do you get your employees to magnify your reach?

Let them use social media

Chances are employees are accessing social media via their mobile device throughout the day anyway, so why not allow them to peruse their personal platforms on their computers? Do not penalize them for posting, tweeting, commenting or reviewing. Instead, encourage them to check in, explore and post during the day, as long as it doesn’t interfere with their productivity. Companies that are more relaxed with social media usage during company time will find that employees are less like to abuse the privilege and more likely to self-regulate usage. In addition, this policy helps facilitate a more transparent environment that encourages trust between the employee and employer. Employees will be more willing to post company-related things on their personal pages because they feel valued and included in contributing to the company’s success.

Provide training on social media use

Employees want nothing more than to increase their skill sets. Providing them with ongoing social media training helps them develop professionally and increases social media competency that helps employees understand how to represent themselves online in a way that’s consistent with the company’s brand. To become effective social media advocates, employees should receive basic best-practices training on things such as setting up profiles, privacy settings, and the company’s social media guidelines. You should also offer advance training on how to market using social media or on new and upcoming platforms to help employees stay knowledgeable and current about the latest trends. This doesn’t just help the employee acquire new competencies, but it also helps build a stronger foundation of experienced professionals in your organization.

Incentivize usage

?There is nothing like a little friendly competition to get employees motivated. Help your employees help you by gamifying company promotion on their personal social media pages. Create individual or group contests around who posts the most or who gets the most likes, shares or engagement. Track the performance using hashtags or key words, and then provide some low-cost rewards and prizes and distribute them to the top performers. Provide bonus incentives, like free lunch or maybe even a day off for those who can get their networks to take actions such as joining the company’s email list or attending an event. Employees will begin to post more once they see the rewards in participating.

Employees can be your most treasured asset and ally on social media. They are influencers in their respective circles and they can often get word out more quickly because people put their trust in people before brands. Create a social-media advocacy program that is robust and enticing so that you can build internal brand ambassadors who will help you maximize your reach.