Successful Startup 101: September 2014 Successful Startup 101: September 2014 | Page 40
1. Keep employees updated on
all company news and customer
interactions.
One of the benefits of having an active social-media
presence is the ability to engage and interact with a
desired audience. This is not only helpful in marketing
your company externally, but also when used to align
internal teams and entire organizations.
Leaders should encourage everyone on their teams to
follow, like or connect with the company’s social-media
channels. This way, employees can stay updated on
company news or customer conversations that may not
warrant a mention in a meeting or newsletter.
It’s also important to let employees know they can,
and should, contribute to these conversations. Doing
so reflects positively on the company when potential
recruits or customers see that the people behind the
company truly support it.
2. Recognize employees doing
great things on social media.
Recognition is an important factor to employee
alignment, and social media can be an effective way to
spread the word about great work employees are doing.
Taking the time to not only recognize an employee
for their efforts, but also share it with the public is
significant. Use content that encourages comments
and make sure to tag the employee so all of their
network sees the post.
Before moving forward with any of this, check with the
employee and make sure they are comfortable with
public recognition. Some employees will prefer a more
internal tactic, which should always be respected.
3. Remain transparent and lenient
on social-media guidelines.
Giving employees the opportunity to become brand
advocates for the company can help the company reach an
extremely expansive audience. However, this also opens up
the company to more vulnerabilities and potential issues.
Instead of providing strict rules and guidelines for
employees, lead by example. Remain honest and
transparent internally about what is being and will be
said on social media. Ask that employees respect this and
explain why some things are withheld so they understand
why they must remain quiet on certain topics.
Transparency provides extremely strong alignment
between employees and their employers and allows
social media to be a much more powerful tool that
truly impacts a company’s bottom line.
About the Author
Andre Lavoie is the CEO of ClearCompany, the first
talent-alignment platform that aims to bridge the gap
between talent management and business strategy by
contextualizing employees’ work around a company’s
vision and goals.
* This article originally appeared on Entrepreneur.