5 Ways to Get Your Employees Engaged in Your Company’s Social Media

By: Anna Wagenhauser

Social media marketing may seem overwhelming, especially if your business has been operating for years without the help of Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

But in today’s day and age, generating new sales and engaging with your current customers takes a little more creativity, and that’s where social media can help bridge the communication gap.

So, you decide to take the chance and create social media profiles for your company… but now what?

Do you make a few posts and hope someone sees them? Do you purchase fake followers to make your brand look more impressive? Definitely not!

Thankfully, there is a proven strategy for building your business’s social media profiles quickly and organically, and it all starts with you and your employees.

Think about it: if you and your teams aren’t following, liking, commenting on, and sharing your content, why would anyone else want to?

By rallying your team around your social media content, you will create business profiles that are engaging, informative, active, and supported by the algorithms.  

In fact, as a social media moderator here at COACT, I have found multiple successful strategies for engaging our clients’ employees in their own social media campaigns: 

1) Host a giveaway.

No matter who you are, the prospect of winning free stuff is always appealing.

I have found this to especially be true on social media, where hosting small giveaways is an easy way to draw in new followers. A great example is when one of our COACT clients was just starting a Facebook page:  

We created a social media graphic advertising the message: “Like and follow our Facebook page to be entered to win a $25 Amazon gift card!” This was also conveyed via email for more awareness.

Our client’s Facebook followers more than doubled as a result of the giveaway, and their employees got in on it, too. 

2) Encourage your personal network to connect with your company online.

Do you have a personal Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or Instagram account? If so, leveraging your personal network is an effective way to build your following.

Not only does sharing your company’s content increase awareness for your brand within your network, but it also shows that you are proud of your role and the work you do.

3) Put your social media links on your website and email signature.

Make it easier for your customers, clients, and employees to visit your company’s social media pages by adding links to your email signature and website footer.

It seems simple, but you’d be surprised at how many companies haven’t implemented this simple strategy.

4) Post employee spotlights.

Some of our most engaged social media posts have been what I call “Employee Spotlights.”

These posts contain a professional headshot of one of our employees, along with a thoughtful description of who they are, what they do, and why they are important to our team.

Tag your employees to ensure that the post shows up on their personal social pages. Here’s an example:

This Facebook post, featuring our talented graphic designer, Mallory Rao, not only had 61 likes, 20 comments, and four shares, but it also reached 1,693 people, had 540 engagements, and was one of our highest-performing Facebook posts this month.

5) Give incentives for creating social content.

You’ve worked hard to hire a team of intelligent, driven, and creative professionals. Now, it’s time to show them off!

Your employees are much more likely to engage with your company’s social updates if they are able to create the content themselves.

Start a program that incentivizes your team to take photos, create live videos, and write short blog posts that focus on your business. Not only is this a great way to build culture and employee retention within your organization, but it also gives potential customers a fresh and exciting look at your brand.