Many of your colleagues and employees may be active within the social media space but are you ready to unleash them on your audience?  What can you do to ensure that the voice representing your company is impeccably groomed, and one you can have confidence in?

Welcoming new employees

Whether you are welcoming employees to your team who have been in previous social media roles or if this is a step in a new direction, starting off on the right foot is essential. It is easier to teach good habits than undo bad ones and that is especially true in the social media space. Day one on the job may not involve being on the front lines but it is the perfect time to start grooming employees. Use internal collaboration tools to share documentation, develop a social media policy for your employee handbook, host a new hire social media strategy session, the important thing is to COMMUNICATE! Don’t make assumptions based on a new hire’s employment history – companies have different tones, policies, strategies, and jargon – take an opportunity to communicate yours.

Teaching an old dog new tricks

Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? You may have loyal employees who have been a part of your team for many years but social media involvement is new to their role. Be transparent in communicating with these valued employees, communicate clearly the policies and especially, the benefits of “going social” or adopting the use of a new platform. Social media does not speak for itself in all cases, so give it a voice and help employees embrace the power! Including employees in key meetings and discussions is a great way to combine their tribal knowledge with your company’s developing social strategy.

If you don’t use it, you lose it!

Social media evolves, strategies are enhanced and best practices build themselves out of experience. Don’t just plan for the now, plan for the future when considering your employee education strategy. Offering ongoing education opportunities, resource libraries and interactive meetings will help employees stay “fresh” in the social space and will reinforce the value placed on social media in their professional environment.

Krystal Ford is a training specialist at Radian6 where she provides internal and external training sessions and develops educational resources. You can follow her on Twitter and find her on LinkedIn.