By Oscar Waterworth
The workplace as a concept has always been an evolving "entity." From employees struggling to attain working conditions that would not kill them to companies encouraging their employees to nap at work; from companies trying to do everything to keep their employees from unionizing to employees realizing they do not matter to their employers. This could go on indefinitely.
Today's workplace is a very complex one in that employees are more jaded and less loyal than ever before. The employers, on the other hand, all have to deal with brutal competition but still need to let the employees "do their thing," especially in some super-competitive industries. Slap a ton of new HR tech on top of it and you get a whole mess.
One thing that has come out of all of this is that attracting and hiring the best talent in the industry has become more difficult than ever before, especially if you are targeting younger generations. One of the ways to do this is to be very smart about promoting your positive company culture on social media.
Create a Positive Company Culture
You can do as much employer marketing and social media promotion as you wish, but if you actually do not have a positive company culture, it will be for nothing. Trying to plaster a fancy façade on a house without walls and the foundation does not work.
Creating a positive company culture is a complex and comprehensive task and it would be silly to try and explain it in a few sentences. Still, there are some basics that can point you in the right direction: properly compensating your employees for the work they do; providing (at least) some basic employee benefits; ensuring everyone is treated fairly and given an equal chance; putting an end to any discrimination in the workplace; rewarding the people who deserve it; ensuring everyone understands what the company is about and acts accordingly.
It's All About the Employees
If you wish to start spreading your positive company culture across the social media channels, you will always start and end with your employees. At the core of it, a positive company culture is one where employees are happy and you need to show this. If someone does a great work, make sure to announce it on your social media channels. If a team does something truly great, create a short video and post it on your YouTube channel. If one of your employees has a baby, make sure to gift them something and publish it on social media.
As long as your social media profiles feature photos and videos of smiling faces, everyone will know that your company cares about its people.
“At the core of it, a positive company culture is one where employees are happy and you need to show this.”
Letting the People In
There is something alluring about a behind-the-scenes peek, it doesn't matter what into. We love to see how movies or TV shows are made. Sports fans enjoy it very much when they can see how their favorite team practices and travels. Fashion enthusiasts love watching how fashion shows are put on from the inside. It all makes us feel like we are involved in some way.
Believe it or not, doing the same for your company can be a great way to present it on social media. Snap a few photos when the day is particularly busy (and sunny, because of the light and everything), do a short video when the last "I" is being dotted on a project and when everyone celebrates. Show people how your different departments work.
Celebrate the Good Times
Every company has its non-work moments and these are the perfect opportunity to show how fun and employee-friendly your company is. Holiday celebrations, company outings, various teambuilding activities – all of these look amazing on camera and on social media. It is very likely that your employees will have a ton of pics and videos themselves. Ask them if they would share them with you. Of course, you will also encourage them to share them on their own personal social media profiles.
Another good idea would be to share these good times on the company blog. No matter how serious your blog content usually is, no one will mind if you do a couple of posts every year, showing off the fun-loving side of your company. Of course, you will need to pay attention not to go overboard. As content marketing agency professionals will always point out, your blog needs to be balanced.
Closing Word
In the end, it all comes down to how good your employees feel working for you. If they come to work with smiles on their faces (at least most of the time), promoting your positive company culture on social media will be a very natural process.
Still, you can always give it a push or two.
Oscar Waterworth is a writer and a senior editor at Bizzmarkblog. He frequently blogs about the latest developments in the tech, marketing, and business industries. To stay updated with Oscar’s latest posts, you can follow him on Twitter.