There’s no doubt about it, social media is here to stay. Nearly all of us have a presence on at least one social media site now and still companies battle to get staff to draw the appropriate lines of the use of social media at work and what to say and what not to say.
There’s plenty of blog posts out there about the perils of employees using social media and the horror stories like the lady who tweeted something before just as she boarded a flight to South Africa and then, upon landing, found her racist tweet was trending worldwide and that she'd been unceremoniously fired from her job. Check this story out here, it's worth a read!
Anyway, believe it or not, there is a way in which companies can get their employees using social media to the business's advantage.
Don't be fooled, this isn’t going to work for organisations that have low levels of engagement or low morale, if your staff aren't saying anything nice about you this could seriously backfire. But getting employees to post, on their social media accounts, some positive anecdotes about life at your company could boost your employer branding massively.
You can set up dedicated social media accounts for branding or recruitment straggles within your organisation and answer questions regarding vacancies and the recruitment process, you can get your staff to post on these accounts with their snippets of life at your company.
You can get employees to tag themselves in at your workplace in the morning with something motivational and you can share your organisational activities with your audience too.
It’s best to set up a full strategy behind such an activity as without this you’ll quickly run out of steam and inspiration and it’ll fizzle like a damp squib and could probably damage the employer brand rather than enhance it.
And of course, communicate it! You need to tell your staff what you’re intending to do. You could encourage their engagement by perhaps selecting one person who’s participated for a prize draw or something similar. You’re not trying to bribe their positive participation but gentle encouragement to take part in the exercise and the reasons behind the initiative will definitely encourage them to get involved.
There’s some great examples of companies who are using this kind of tactic for their recruitment activities and employer branding. Of course the big boys like Microsoft and Google are really getting it right.
It’s amazing how quickly you’ll attract a great following in your target market and you’ll have people battering your door down to work for your company!!
If you are an employer and need ongoing assistance with staff and employment matters, talk to Cheryl at PeakHR. We offer competitive rates and cater specifically for small employers.
Please note our blog posts contain general information and are intended as guidance only and should not be taken as an authoritative or current interpretation of the law. Please ensure that you obtain advice tailored to your individual situation before taking action. These posts apply to the UK only.