Facebook vs. the Employee Social Network

I find it rather ironic, that the biggest social network (speaking in offline terms) within any enterprise, is comprised of the people that work for the company. Social bonds, cliques, and circles form to create relationships and a unique company culture. Yet, that culture is rarely reflected within the social sphere. And I’d like to ask why?

I think I know the answer you are going to give. “I spent 8-10+ hours a day with these people, why would I want to connect with them on Facebook?”

I’d like to answer your question with a question. What are you really afraid of? Someone seeing a picture of your family–or worse–maybe you with a beer in your hand? I’ve got some advice for you; get over it!

Within the enterprise, there is no bigger asset in social media than involving employees. Tony Hsieh has built a culture of happiness at Zappos.com, and that is very evident on Twitter and other social sites. This is a rare example of a company culture manifesting itself in the social sphere.

When you first start any social media initiative, your first thought might be, “who will be my audience and share my content.” Answer, the people getting a paycheck, and the people that care about those getting a paycheck, will be some of your strongest advocates initially.

You may want to consider running a training for all your employees on Facebook. Show them how they can segment their family content from professional interests, and let the team know you want them to share your message. In fact, I’ve seen some enterprises directly prohibit the proactive of sharing and commenting of company messages within the social sphere. This is just backwards. Employees should be first. Then influencers, significant others, and the greater community.

If you start your social media efforts internally, by framing how you’d like employees to utilize these new tools professionally, you will be building value for the enterprise while simultaneously increasing personal development and education for your team. [win-win]

I find it rather odd that we spend the better portion of our days working for a company, but are scared to share photos of the people that show up at the Holiday parties. We are afraid to show our real selves to the people we spend the most time with. The largest social networks often exist within your enterprise. It is incumbent upon us as marketers to learn how to leverage social connections for productivity, and increasing the value each team member brings to the table.

You might start by writing a social media policy for your company. Then proceed with outlining realistic ways you plan to interact with the community. After that, have a regular trainings with employees who want to participate and guide them to professional productivity on the social web.

If you’ve had success getting larger businesses adopt social media into their enterprise, I’d love to hear your commentary.

Attributions: Photo by Little Pengiun