Should Your Employees Be on Social Media?

Social media isn’t going anywhere. New apps and platforms are rolling out, people spend more time than they would like to admit scrolling through entertaining and distracting videos, memes, and content. So should employers be encouraging their employees to use social media as the face of their business? 

Your gut reaction might be - “no!” 

You might be thinking “I don’t want my staff sitting on their phones engaging on social media, what if it’s not for work and what if it’s taking them away from their work?” 

Along with the thought of - “”What if they post something that doesn’t align with your company values? What if they make us look bad? What if we have to spend time cleaning up a mess because something they’ve shared?” 

The reasons why not to be on social media are plenty. Generally we spend too much time online as it is. We’re trying to move OFFline and be more present. Encouraging your team, staff, and employees to hop online might not resonate with you. 

However, take a step back, zoom out, and remove yourself emotionally from all the feelings attached to social media. I want you to consider some of these fact. 

→ The digital online space is growing not shrinking. 

→ Your employees already have social media accounts. 

→ Your employees already speak about their work in other contexts. 

→ What worked pre 2020 won’t necessarily work post pandemic

In an increasingly digitized world, you must be willing to meet people where they’re at. The average person spends at least 2 hours a day on social media. What if you could get in front of more people and start writing the narrative about your company instead of having it be a secret of what its like on the inside to work for you and be a part of your company? 

You don’t need to become an influencer, but by being online it’s guaranteed you’re influencing someone. And the power of influence is that you can create desire. You have the ability to show people what a particular experience is like. The more the you share, the more you influence, and the more you attract the right people into your space. 

So the answer to the question “should your employees be on social media” is yes!

You have the opportunity to clearly define your workplace values, mission, and culture. You have the opportunity to highlight the skills and assets of your employees. Let them shine. You hired them for a reason, so let their unique abilities be shared with others to show just how great the work is that you do. 

Should you only leave the marketing team to be talking about what’s actually happening within the company? 

Is it only the marketing team who only knows how to share about events, projects, and opportunities? 

What if your employees bring that personal touch to their content that reaches people in a personal way that actually connects and sparks conversation? 

This is going beyond sharing a promotion or your stand at the next convention. 

It’s about showing the world what your company is really truly about. 

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