Do your staff participate in your social media engagement? How do you receive feedback from your staff on what your clients are saying about how they heard of you? Do they follow you on Facebook? Pinterest? Instagram? Houzz? Have they read your blog? Have they seen your ads? Do they know that you advertise? Do they know that you’re a guest blogger? Should they get a full rundown on where you are and what that means for them as a team member? Does your staff follow you on these blogs? Do they know what’s going on with you?
If you haven’t asked these questions about your social media and your brand yet, it’s time to do so.
I have retail small businesses in mind in particular (the disinterested shop cashier has no idea what the scope of the business is beyond her daily duties, etc.) but this is absolutely applicable in other situations as well. Especially when there’s a hierarchy, a lack of team meetings, or just a lot happening in the busy scope of your days, it’s easy to take a look and find yourself with employees that not only aren’t contributing to your digital efforts or social media brand, but don’t even know they exist.
First, let me be the first to say that it’s not okay. Your team needs to be involved in your marketing, or aware of it, and they need to be supporting it. If you can’t get your own employees to share a giveaway on a Facebook page, that’s a major problem, right? It means that people invested in your brand aren’t investing in it on digital as well.
Shares are important, and can truly make a difference. This engagement is the difference between your staff members telling customers about your awesome Facebook page, or that they can follow you on Twitter for updates and deals, and missing that opportunity to make your marketing effortscomprehensive.
If this isn’t already happening, a staff meeting to update everyone on what’s new with your social media, what’s happening with your marketing, and how their comments and feedback make a difference is an important next step. For purely SEO reasons, views and comments from a variety of IP addresses and users will help make your website more searchable and your social media more effective. Maybe you don’t know where to begin with this, but making sure your staff all follow you on every platform you’re active on is a great first step. Are they engaged with what your clients are saying about you on social media?
This is something we can help with, but take that first step and it will make a huge difference. The whole team needs to be on board, it can’t be a lone few social media marketers out there by themselves. Look at this as an opportunity, not a challenge.
Image credit: CC by Mark Kens
