Engaging Employees As Brand Ambassadors Via Social Media October 2011
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Tuesday, October 18, 2011 PRSA International Conference
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Learn how to empower your employees to build your brands via social media. Presentation given at the PRSA International Conference, 2011.
Transcript of Engaging Employees As Brand Ambassadors Via Social Media October 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
PRSA International Conference
Jaya Bohlmann, Rob Philips, Michael McManus
Jaya K. Bohlmann
APR
Robert Philips
Vice President, Digital Media
Golin Harris
Michael McManus
Director, Social Media
Sodexo
How many organizations represented in this room ask their employees to: ◦ Follow their social media pages?
◦ Share content to their online networks?
◦ Blog?
◦ Have a formal process/policy?
Many organizations today struggle with empowering and allowing employees to engage in social media while also protecting against potential risks to corporate reputation.
False Intimacy
Creates Business
Risk
Brand
Build Awareness
Share Company
News/Stories
Brand Preference
Brand and Market Insights
Increase Customer
Loyalty
Drive Sales
Crisis Mitigation
CSR
Social media rising in importance with the
critical shift from one- way
communication to RELATIONSHIPS with
stakeholders
Benefits & pitfalls of employees participating in social media on behalf of the organization
How you can engage your employees and empower them around social media through: ◦ Dialogue
◦ Knowledge sharing and training
◦ Shared, collaborative structure and approach
◦ Policies
◦ Strategic framework with business goals at center
Best practices gleaned from Sodexo’s social media program
Employees and Social Media
Source: NetProspex
Social 50
Employees don’t want to participate
They may not have the time
They don’t give a s**t…
Strategies and Programs
Drive Social Media Conversations
• Identify owned-channels to create conversation
• Determine the appropriate existing social channel to develop a presence
Social Media Monitoring and Response Process
• Measure/benchmark share of voice and engagement
• Understand key drivers of discussion
• Identify top-tier influencers
• Unearth specific, short-term opportunities for engagement
Positioning Employees to Participate and Engage
• Identify and train social media brand ambassadors
• Define processes across operational organizations, as appropriate
• Create culture that rewards employees for participation
Decentralized workforce and corporate structure
Many people on social media- not coordinated
Many company brands, products, positioning statements, personal experiences externally seen by many audiences (huge overlap and brand muddiness)
Cultural support (“collaborative,” “innovative,” “experts”)
Visibility overall increases
Legal and IT security alarmed!
Public Relations sighs.
Social media means we have to give up control and channel our professional expertise to the areas of education and empowerment. We have an opportunity to expand the work of PR beyond our teams to engage the entire workforce of our organizations as brand ambassadors.
• Specialized expertise • Credibility through their role @ your company • Some existing visibility & stature in industry • A unique or provocative point of view • Ability to let personality shine through • Will take guidance from communications
function • Time to participate • Willing to monitor
Not a social media strategy – a PR strategy!
What is the employees’ role and accountability?
What is PR’s role and accountability?
What are we trying to accomplish overall, together?
How will we measure it?
Smaller, core group of social media and organizational influencers ◦ They already are using social media
◦ Are influential within the company; have authority based on position, expertise or resource control
◦ Are willing and interested to participate and contribute consistently
Broad-based, enterprise-wide group of employees ◦ Anyone PR thinks should be involved!
Issues and crisis response
Leverage subject matter experts for creating blogs, responding to blogs
Provide the training
Regularly engage them
Ask them to participate in monitoring
Call on them often!
BLOG
RESPONDERS
Online writing and engagement (can use local university professors, agency support, PR team to lead trainings) ◦ How to write for social media
◦ How to keep audiences engaged (timely response, creative content, short and to the point.)
Media Relations 101 for all employees ◦ Media relations in general
Social media webinars ◦ Specific to your organization’s social media properties (how
you’re using it, why – business purposes, how employees can be involved and get information from those)
Create formal and informal internal groups of social media influencers and doers
PR to initiate and lead
Present latest trends in general; anything from monitoring
Discuss recent organizational successes (corporate blogs, Facebook and other social media platforms)
Mostly, discuss problems, issues, needs and wants of the group and offer group solutions (and corporate level ones if necessary)
To follow your social media pages and/or share the content: ◦ Feature content that would be of interest to employees
◦ Offer giveaways
◦ Develop rewards program (i.e., GaggleAmp)
To encourage employees to generate branded content: ◦ Ensure the social media strategy is relevant to them
◦ Facilitate their participation & trust their judgment
◦ Tie it into their goals and objectives
Blogs Boards/Forums Communities Twitter
Provide 1-1 feedback/ideas via email
Ask group moderator how the brand can provide valuable support
Ambassadors become members of online communities/groups
Follow and engage with influencers
Add to social bookmarks
Post commentary to an existing thread
Proudly display your membership elsewhere
Promote content posted on the corporate twitter
Share with others via email
Start a new Brands-related thread
Promote events; participate in other influencers’ activities
Digg or rate submissions
Link to/reference specific forum posts in brands online dialogue, official channels
Connect with or “befriend” other influential members
Link to/reference their content
Become guest moderators to shape dialogue
Answer questions asked by other community members; pose new ones
Post public comment with an official POV
Sponsor relevant boards/forums
Policies and Systems
Without policies, organizational risk increases… ◦ Intel has a great social media policy for their employees that
you can reference on their website
Most best practice companies have employee policies related to social media use
To create one in your company, follow a systematic approach and be patient with the following steps: ◦ Work with HR, IT, Legal, Marketing
◦ Inform executives
◦ Get an executive champion
◦ Take your time
◦ Get all the right buy-in for your organization
◦ Publicize and educate the new policies
Ethical conduct and legal reminders
What constitutes “confidential information” at your organization
Boilers and disclaimers to include in any personally owned social media
Contacts in PR for clarification or situational assistance
Clearly state what’s at stake if policies are breached (as HR policies, the same sanctions should hold)
PUBLICIZE AND TRAIN RE THE POLICIES COMPANY WIDE
Guide applies to “endorsements”
Proposed changes: ◦ Disclosing material connections ◦ Disclosing typical experiences ◦ Marketer liability for false info
Marketers best served by insisting on full disclosure of relationship by all participants
Monitor conversations closely, participate to correct misinformation
Remember federal and local laws
and guidelines in addition to
company rules (example: FTC
Guidelines)
Social media strategies should have a clear business purpose
When requests come in to start a new social media program, evaluate by asking: 1. Purpose (should be measurable and business-related)
2. Intended company business benefit
3. Potential risks to company and how mitigated
4. Intended audience (demographics, size)
5. Weekly time required for maintenance and related staffing
6. Budget needs and availability Educate with each
request
Comms Dept Business Units Ambassadors
Spot SM Trends
Identify & Prioritize Influencers
Unearth Specific
Engagement Opportunities
Build Influencer
Relationships
Measure Impact
Set SM Messaging Focus
Manage Ambassadors
Prioritize SM
Engagement Ops
Shape Suggested Responses
Share Best Practices,
Successes
Serve As Visible Rep. for Brand in SM
Deliver Responses within Company
Guidelines
Provide Expertise, Serve as a Source
Contribute Content to Brand Channels
Shape, Facilitate
Bring Ideas
Deliver Message
Sodexo
It may be external,
but think internal!
• Employee comments
• Employee posts
• Network group gages
• Links to employee blogs
• Employee Stories
Sodexo on Facebook
Dedicated to
employees
• Employee Stories
• Above & Beyond
• Recognition
• Links to social media
• Links to job
opportunities
“Sodexo Foundation Volunteer Day”
“Sodexo’s Trip to the Farmer’s Market”
“Sodexo Team Volunteers in Atlanta
Lessons You Can Use Today
Enterprise-wide, clearly stated, shared goals and strategy (PR-led, collaborative, inclusive)
Social media policy and guidelines are crucial–internal & external ◦ Create an oversight process (user friendly, helpful)
◦ Publicize widely internally
◦ Train thought leaders and other internal influencers
Admin management redundancy critical
Measure results; recognize successes
Ethical conduct and transparency are musts
Constantly benchmark and improve
Share what you learn!
Mashable.com
Intel (for policy) - http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/legal/intel-social-media-guidelines.html
Linkedin/in/jayabohlmann
www.fcc.gov
www.ftc.gov
