Creating and maintaining trust are the most important factors in
social media presence for companies, both internally and externally. I
feel that is one of the biggest challenges in any company in
presenting a social media presence. When I think of internal social
media, I think of TV screens located in public areas presenting a
message that management wants to convey to the employees,
internal emailed newsletters, recorded/livestreamed company town
hall meetings, and article postings on the company internal site. a
Internally these looped presentations playing on the screens
showcase employees, company benefits, volunteer opportunities and
activities, as well as products and services the company provides. By
presenting all these, it shows the employees that the company cares
about them, the community, and that management believes in and is
proud of what the company presents to the world. a A lot of these
same presentations can be included in social media platform posts as
well. By showcasing employees and company community out-reach
activities on external social media, it shows the public that they value
their people and community. a The public generally feels that when a
company cares about their employees and the community, they also
care about their products and customers. a These types of posts, along
with informative posts on products and services help to create and
maintain trust both internally and externally.
Constant monitoring of the company’s social media voice is essential
to ensure that they are maintaining trust with their employees in
internal posts and with the public. (Charest, Bouffard, & Zajmovic,
2016) a It is easier to monitor what is posted internally because
employees will talk to each other within the different departments
and discuss the positive or negative information they see. For
example, my former company repaired and sold medical equipment
and instruments. Internally, TV screens were hung in public areas
that ran a loop of some of our different products and services
available. While walking by the screen one day I took a double take
because the one slide advertising that we sold disposable medical
instruments only had one large picture of an instrument used in pelvic
exams. I asked several of my female friends at work what their
reaction was to the screen and it was the same shocked, taken aback
moment that I had. It took about two weeks before it was removed
because the office was still on a meager in person staff due to
COVID. It was apparent that the person who included that image
either randomly picked a disposable instrument and didn’t know what
it was used for or didn’t take into account female employee reactions
on posting the image of that piece of equipment out of all the options
available. The problem with that slide was the audience and the
presentation. a That slide presented as is externally to an OB/GYN
group, doctor’s group, or women’s clinic would have been a perfectly
acceptable piece of advertising. a If the product was presented as one
of several instruments and not front and center by itself on the large
internal company screen, it would not have had the reaction and
internal backlash that it did.
References
Charest, F., Bouffard, J., & Zajmovic, E. (2016). Public relations and
social media: Deliberate or creative strategic planning. Public
Relations Review, 530-538.
