How to Train Employees to Use Social Media for Your Business

Author: Kaitlyn Partington Category: B2B, B2C Date: March 18, 2021

Social media has become ubiquitous in today’s society and plays a significant role in the personal and professional lives of millions of people every day. Most would likely agree that social media holds tremendous value for a business. But it’s not without its dangers.

Just as social media has the power to help your business connect with customers, boost brand awareness, drive leads and increase sales, it can also tarnish your brand and cost you valuable customers, if not managed appropriately. While social media plays a vital role in a business’s success, only 40% of organizations have a formal social media policy in place—with even fewer offering social media training for employees.*

I’m sure you’re asking, how does one start to train employees to use social media?

Social media functions as a digital snapshot of a person or a business. Once it’s out there, there’s no turning back—for the employee or the company. The way a business, and its employees, handle social media can mean the difference between a thriving brand with expansive influencing power and one that struggles to grow followers, connect with customers and maintain a positive brand image.

Where are you on your social media journey? Does your social media marketing strategy include social media training for employees? If not, there’s no time like the present. After all, your brand is at stake!

Not sure how to train your employees to use social media properly? Here are five best practices to get you started:

1. Create a social media policy: Define and formalize an outline of expectations for appropriate social media behavior, with guidelines that detail how they can and should be using social media to help achieve business goals and support a positive brand image.
2. Build it into onboarding: As your new employees learn about the company, the processes and their role, take the opportunity to introduce them to your company’s social media policy. Walk them through it and make sure they not only understand it, but also internalize it.
3. Offer social media training for employees: Some of the best social media training courses available today can be easily accessed online, free of charge. If these self-guided tutorials aren’t your thing, consider turning it over to a social media expert who will create a social media training program tailored to your business and the employees who comprise it.
4. Instruct employees to keep their eyes peeled: As your company’s brand advocates, your employees are your best defense against a harmful social post about your business—whether from an employee who unknowingly made an error in judgement or a competitor or outside source that painted your business in a negative light. Encourage employees to always be on the lookout for any social media mentions that could adversely affect your brand.
5. Identify social media pros within your company to offer peer coaching: Some people are naturals at social media; they just get it—the ins and outs, what to do, what not to do—and so on. Identify those folks in your organization and ask them to share best practices and offer peer training to colleagues.

Your social media marketing is only as good as the people behind it. When you train employees to use social media properly, you not only protect your brand—you expand your reach and position your business for growth.

For help with your social media marketing strategy or how to train employees to use social media, contact Paradigm.