A sturdy foundation of dedicated people is essential to the flourishing of any successful business. When we are passionate about our work, it shows in numerous ways. As we may proudly talk about our company to friends and family when we meet in person, we are eager to do the same online. But not all company-generated content is created equal, and not every company-generated post will tickle our sharing instincts in the same way.
To better ensure the positive outcome of any social amplification initiative, it is important to learn which type of content people love best, and what the company should do about it.
1. Notable experiences
In a way, that’s the whole reason why social media were invented; people want the world to know about their life and their thoughts, they want to let others in with what happens to them. For most of us, work is such a great part of life that it only makes sense to share stories from it with our online circles.
Whether it’s a business trip to an unusual country or some exclusive new product that just arrived at the office, people love to share original content that will reflect their interesting and unique personalities.
A Land Rover employee express his excitement about a business trip to Dubai:
2. Expertise and achievements
Let’s be honest – there are few things more enjoyable than looking good for something we are really great at. That’s why we all can’t resist to inform our connections about important achievements reached thanks to our expertise and unique skills.
By encouraging their people to ‘own’ their niche of know-how, companies strengthen their positive image as key-players of their specific industry.
A PwC employee shares company-generated data to showcase his expertise:
3. Fun occasions worth celebrating
Who doesn’t like a good party? Without night-out snapshots and wedding pics most social media platforms would be much less interesting. Sharing fun memories gathered on special work occasions comes only natural to us all. This state of things creates incredible opportunities of social reach for companies.
The fun employees have and share online can even extend itself to the emotion of the customer, who will see happy employees with high morale creating engaging content.
A Pacific Engineering employee shares a group snapshot taken at a company bbq:
4. Feel-good news
Yes, the world can be a scary place, but most people don’t like to be reminded of it on social media. It’s not a case that one of the most read articles EVER on BuzzFeed is a series of photos called “21 pictures that will restore your faith in humanity”.
The same principle applies to people’s sharing habits with work-related content. If the company receives good feedback from a customer or sponsors some charitable event, most employees will be happy to spread the good news.
Barclays employees retweet a gender equality acknowledgement received by their company:
5. Promotions their connections can benefit from
Few things can put a smile on your friends’ face faster than a freebie-grabbing occasion. That’s why we all are truly keen to share any promotion or special contest put out by their company, if they think their online contacts can truly benefit from it.
This simple concept is something all companies should think about when drafting their marketing budgets.
A MixMag employee invites his contacts to take advantage of a promotional sale taking place that same day:
Knowing which kind of content employees are more eager to share is only the beginning. Making it easily accessible to everyone, that’s the second phase.
Emails can get lost in the incessant flow of inbound messages, while internal communication tools are not as effective as one should hope. A more effective strategy could be to implement an employee advocacy program within the company.
If a plan is attentively designed and carried out, it will benefit the company in numerous ways. Having employees share consistent, original content through their personal channels is one of the most effective ways to positively impact the digital reputation of a brand, which may consequently increase sales.
Also, inviting employees to share their own content suggestions and personal insights about official campaigns is extremely useful for marketing strategists, relying on an internal asset at no extra cost.
Lastly, a good employee advocacy programme can help companies identify their most active in-house brand ambassadors, and encourage them to keep up with the good work.
This article was originally published on Econsultancy.
