There is a positive correlation between company culture and being a social business.

Company culture is crucial for functioning communication, a solid business performance and employee engagement. It’s also an essential part of making Employee Advocacy programs work: “Without a working culture that people are happy with and ways to empower people to share their thoughts with others, any engagement or advocacy program is doomed to fail”.

It works both ways. Spreading a social media practice across the organization can have significantly positive effects on company culture and motivating employees, not to mention department-specific goals and boosting online awareness.

How does professional social media usage boost the company culture?

It integrates employees into shared values

“From an HR perspective, communicating a company’s values to potential as well as existing employees can often feel like reciting a motivational poster on a wall rather than expressing authentic qualities of company culture,” says Publicity and Communications Specialist Maree Jones at Luckie & Company, where employees actively share company content on social media.

“For employees to become true brand ambassadors, they must know what a company stands for, not just what a company does.” Ingraining employees into the company mission and values in a practical way means that employees can feel more connected to the company they work for, while being able to extend the company message more meaningfully to outside parties.

Related: The Importance of Company Values

It involves employees through trust and inclusion

Employees need to be aware of the ethical components of being active on social media. Any social media policy should rely on accuracy, transparency, humanity and accountability, says founder of Socialigned Stefanie Chernow. When employees are aware of what, on the one hand, is expected of them, and what liberties they have, on the other, social media holds significant potential for both the employer and employees.

Sharing company content based on shared guidelines brings employees closer together, while supporting employees’ own professional social media profiling along the way. On the other hand, distrust towards employees can backfire and unclear goals can result in miscommunication.

Showcasing company culture through content

Content can be a way to engage employees and build up an employer brand online. When content is invested in, spread across the organization and employees are encouraged to also produce their own content, audiences can gather information about a brand’s culture through its most valuable asset: the employees.

“Our organization found that when we communicated our values through videos, social media posts and other content, it kept them in our day-to-day conversations and helped us celebrate people who were embodying them in their work and actions,” Jones says. “From an ROI standpoint, it can also lead to increased levels of engagement on internal and external channels – completely driven by employees themselves.”

It’s good for personal branding

Social media advocacy helps position employees as thought leaders and experts in their industry. The trick lies in revealing the potential it holds for individuals and motivating them to maximize their professional presence on social media with their own goals in mind.

If the company encourages employees’ professional profiling on social media, employees will be motivated to share company content and highlight their expertise through their work experiences. This can result in fruitful conversations and new connections online.

how-social-media-advocacy-boosts-company-culture

Make the most of social media sharing

Involving employees into spreading content on social media is a great company culture booster, and it’s also a way to support individual personal branding. Sharing content company-wide is a way to start discussions, find relevant prospects and increase your brand awareness in the online space. Just make sure your content is top-notch, easily spread among your employees, and the staff knows why they should be involved in sharing the good word on social media to begin with.

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