Social media for internal communication

Well, we're talking on Facebook, LinkedIn, My Space, Twitter and so on... this is all happening outside of the workplace. Why not take some of those same tools and use them at work, for work? What is the place of social media in the workplace?

As a form of external marketing, we know social media works. It can be a valuable tool when you want to directly interact with your target market. Social media can also be a fantastic way to improve internal communication. There are always opportunities to improve internal communication. It has been my experience that most companies focus on external communication and often internal communication is, although not quite an after thought, not as high a priority as most external messages. For internal communication the primary and most effective social media tool would be a blog.

As an internal communication tool, blogs allow for true, real time back and forth conversation. Blogging as an internal communication tool, can help with transparency and aid in making sure the truth is heard directly from the source, rather than allow for rumors to run rampant. This is particularly important if companies are going through troubled times.

Blogs also provide an important outlet for employees, by allowing them to be heard. Empowering your employees to ask the questions via a blog can really help the internal conversations and build community. Companies often fear the creation of an internal blog. They feel that having the blog will open a can of worms in the form of negativity and unproductive communication. However, most companies are pleasantly surprised to find that isn't the case. In the blogosphere, employees often police each other and help bring the conversation back on track.

The key to ensuring that you have a successful internal communications blog is very similar to planning for your external blog. Determine your strategy, goals and a clear set of protocols for use in terms of posts and responses. Your blog policy should clearly communicate acceptable and unacceptable types of language and posts. Expectations in terms of what the blog is intended for must be clearly outlined up front for all potential users, including those responsible for posting topics.

So, who should be posting the topics? Well, blogs are a great way for Human Resources, Facilities, even Administration to speak directly to employees on a topic and solicit direct responses. Personally, I think, although it may be more difficult to manage, companies should look to have as many departments involved as possible.

Having representatives from many different departments will help keep the blog more interesting and engaging. Everyone has a different writing style and brings something unique to the blog. This can help increase the audience because there will be something for everyone both in terms of subject matter, but also in terms of accessibility to different readers.

So, to get started, simply make the decision that an internal company blog is for you. Start planning your strategy, determine your goals and outline expectations. Don't rush this process the key to any successful blog is all in the planning.