How and When to Use Social Media in Professional Contexts

Social media isn’t just for off-hours fun. It has an important role in the business world, and can help professionals with networking and spreading positive brand awareness, especially as it pertains to employee advocacy. In this article, we’ll explain how.

In the digital age, social media platforms transcend personal use, emerging as pivotal spaces in many professional contexts. Beyond just marketing tools, the use of social media sites facilitates employee advocacy, a strategy that transforms staff into brand ambassadors-critical content creators who can truly spread positive brand awareness online.

This blog post explores the essence of employee advocacy, its dual benefits for brands and personal branding, and how leveraging a specialized platform like Sociabble can amplify these advantages. Let’s begin!

Understanding Employee Advocacy

First things first: What is employee advocacy? Employee advocacy refers to the promotion of a company by its staff members on their personal social media accounts. Unlike traditional marketing, this method of capitalizing on social media sites is grounded in authenticity, as employees share genuine insights and experiences related to their work or company.

And when it comes to tools that can facilitate this kind of initiative, Sociabble excels, providing a comprehensive platform that empowers employees to become credible advocates for their brand through internal and external communications both.

Benefits of Employee Advocacy

Employee advocacy comes with a host of benefits from a professional standpoint. And what makes it so potent as a practice is that it helps employees and companies alike, in a win-win scenario where everybody benefits. Here’s how a strong social media strategy can make a difference for employees on a personal level.

For the Organization:

• Increased Brand Visibility and Reach: Content shared by employees on a social media site receives 561% more reach than the same content shared by brand channels (Forbes). Employee advocacy expands your audience organically, bringing authenticity to your online communication that resonates with modern consumers.
• Enhanced Brand Loyalty and Trust: When employees willingly advocate for their company, it demonstrates pride and trust in the brand, which can significantly boost consumer perceptions and brand loyalty.
• Improved SEO: Social shares by employees can lead to increased organic traffic, amplifying online visibility.
• Social Selling: Sales professionals can use employee advocacy to become thought leaders on social media, expanding their networks, building relationships, and when the time is right, making actual sales.

For Employees:

• Personal Branding and Professional Growth: Participating in advocacy programs via social media helps employees establish themselves as thought leaders in their industry, enhancing their professional presence, professional image, and career opportunities.
• Increased Job Satisfaction: By engaging in advocacy, employees feel more connected and integral to their company’s mission, which can enhance job satisfaction and loyalty.
• Recognition and Rewards: Platforms like Sociabble often incorporate recognition and gamification, where employees can earn rewards, further incentivizing social media participation.
• Digital Skills: Thanks to employee advocacy, employees can develop new skills and become more proficient at creating content, using social media, and building their networks.

Best Practices for Using Social Media Professionally

It’s not complicated, but it’s also not necessarily intuitive. Employees do need some guidelines, rules, and general training in order to become effective online ambassadors.

Here are some social media best practices to keep in mind, when it comes to sharing company content and personal updates.

• Content Alignment: Ensure that the content shared is true to the brand’s values and message. The Sociabble platform, for example, facilitates this alignment, providing content that is ready to share and resonates with both employees and their networks.
• Training and Motivation: Educate your team on the benefits and best practices of sharing content on social media. Sociabble’s intuitive platform includes training modules to aid in this process.
• Clear Guidelines: Develop comprehensive social media policies that define acceptable behaviors and outline the types of content employees are encouraged to share.
• Education: Regular training sessions can help employees understand the impact of their social media activity on both personal and brand reputation.
• Ethical Behavior: Promote transparency and honesty. Encourage employees to disclose their relationship with the company when sharing brand-related content.
• Tools and Technology: Sociabble offers a robust suite of features including multi-channel support, detailed analytics, and engagement tracking, making it an invaluable tool for managing social media advocacy programs.

Sociabble for Establishing a Social Media Presence & Building Employee Advocacy

Luckily, there is help-specifically in the form of a platform that can make launching an employee advocacy initiative simple and pain-free.

In effect, Sociabble offers a comprehensive set of features designed to optimize employee advocacy efforts. These features not only facilitate the sharing of corporate content posts by employees but also enhance engagement and measure the impact of these activities. Here are some of the key features that Sociabble offers to power employee advocacy:

• Multi-Channel Distribution: Sociabble supports content distribution across various channels, including email, mobile apps, intranet, and social networks. This ensures that employees can access and share content on the platform that best suits their needs and preferences, enhancing reach and engagement.
• Content Curation and Personalization: The platform offers tools for content curation and personalization, allowing administrators to tailor content according to the specific interests and roles of employees. This makes the content more relevant and increases the likelihood of employees sharing it.
• User-Friendly Mobile App: Sociabble provides a visually appealing and intuitive mobile app, making it easy for employees to engage with content and share posts directly to their social media profiles. The app’s mobile-first design is crucial for reaching deskless or remote employees who primarily use mobile devices.

• Gamification and Rewards: To encourage participation, Sociabble integrates gamification elements such as points, badges, and leaderboards. This makes it clear that advocacy is a two way street, with tangible benefits for posting their own content. Employees can earn rewards and recognition for sharing posts, participating in campaigns, and contributing to the platform, which boosts motivation and engagement.
• Advanced Analytics and Reporting: Sociabble comes equipped with advanced analytics tools that provide detailed insights into content performance, employee engagement, and the overall impact of the advocacy program. AI analysis can even determine the tone of feedback from opinions expressed, and help to avoid negative comments. These metrics help companies understand what works and refine their social media strategies accordingly.

• Secure and Compliant: The platform adheres to stringent security standards, including GDPR compliance, ensuring that all data handled is secure and that privacy regulations are met. This is particularly important for companies operating in regions with strict data protection laws.
• Integration Capabilities: Sociabble can be seamlessly integrated with other corporate tools and platforms, such as Microsoft 365, SharePoint, and enterprise social networks. This integration simplifies the user experience and supports a unified digital workplace.
• Customizable Communication Campaigns: Administrators can set up targeted communication campaigns using Sociabble, directing specific content posts to defined user groups. This powerful tool allows for more strategic and focused social media advocacy efforts.
• Employee Onboarding and Training: Sociabble provides features for onboarding new users and training them on how to use the platform effectively. This includes tutorials, support materials, and best practices to answer questions, share links, and ensure that all employees are equipped to participate actively.
• CSR and Sustainability Integration: With features like Sociabble Trees, companies can connect their advocacy efforts to corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Employees can contribute to sustainability projects, such as reforestation, enhancing both engagement and the company’s CSR profile.

These features make Sociabble a robust tool for any organization aiming to harness the power of employee advocacy to enhance brand visibility, employee engagement, and ultimately, business outcomes.

Want to improve employee advocacy at your company? Then get in touch and give Sociabble a try.

If you’d like to launch an employee advocacy program at your organization, or if you already have a program but think it could do more, get in touch! We’ve already worked with global leaders like Accor, Renault Group, and Allianz, and we’d love to discuss ways we can help your company achieve the same results.

You can sign up for a free personalized demo, and see firsthand what Sociabble can do. We look forward to the chance to learn more about your business and communication objectives, while sharing our own ideas for taking your comms capabilities to the next level.