Using social media for internal communication

@AllthingsIC www.allthingsic.com
Rachel Miller
Internal communication and
Social media strategist
Using social
media for
internal
communication

Our menu for today
Back to the future

Being socially savvy

Benefits of social media for IC

“Everything that can be invented has
been invented”
Charles Holland Duell. Commissioner of US patents

@AllthingsIC www.allthingsic.comWestern Union memo, 1876
“This „telephone‟ idea has too many
shortcomings to be seriously considered
as a means of communication”

“I think there is a world market
for maybe five computers”
Thomas J Watson, head of IBM, 1943

500m computers in the world = 1 billion users
(and this figure doesn‟t include smart phones
= 1.5bn)

“Who in the hell wants
to hear actors talk?”
Harry Warner, founder of Warner Brothers, 1927

“Internal comms
pros are now
curators not
creators”

Are you socially savvy?

@briansolis
www.briansolis.com

• Opening up new feedback channels
• Encouraging collaboration and communication
across silos and geographies
• Horizontal networking, by breaking down
hierarchies
• Being all encompassing and interactive
• Approachability: Employees pick and choose
who and what to engage with
Benefits of using social media in organisations
Rachel Miller, Share This: The Social Media Handbook for PR Professionals, Wiley, 2012

Social media: the evidence
Organisations must make “substantial organisational and cultural
changes by transforming their structures, processes and cultures”
If your organisation:
Is open
Non-hierarchical
Creates a culture
of trust
You can improve productivity by
between 20-25 per cent by
improving communication and
collaboration using social
technologies
The Social Economy: Unlocking Value and Productivity Through Social Technologies,
McKinsey & Co, 2012

How social is your communication?
“Organisations
don‟t
tweet, people do”
Euan Semple @euan
“We welcome your feedback”…
but will edit, moderate, remove and ban it
or not give you an option to have your say

When companies use social media internally
Messages become content
A searchable record of knowledge can reduce
time employees spend searching for
company information (up to 35%)
Additional value can be realised through
faster, more efficient, more effective
collaboration both within and between
enterprises.
The Social Economy: Unlocking Value and Productivity Through Social Technologies,
McKinsey & Co, 2012

Enterprise social network (ESN) options
• Chatter (Salesforce.com)
• IBM Connections
• Jive
• Lync
• Newsgator
• SharePoint
• Snapcomms
• Socialcast
• Yammer
Ideally done, ESNs enhance business within companies by bringing people
together to communicate, for the benefit of themselves and the
organisation. These connections are achieved via high collaboration
software and using social tools.

Back to the future?
@AllthingsIC

“By 2016 enterprise
social networks will
become the primary
communication
channels for
noticing, deciding or
acting on
information relevant
to work activities”
@AllthingsIC Gartner analysts report, 2013

However, Gartner also
believes that between now
and the end of 2015,
80 per cent of social
network efforts within the
enterprise will not achieve
the intended benefits due
to inadequate leadership
and overemphasis on
technology

“Companies need to adopt an
approach that engages workers
and pulls them in, rather than
simply have the technology
pushed onto them”
Gartner analysts report, 2013@AllthingsIC

“Leaders need to develop a social business strategy that
makes sense for the organisation.
Just sponsoring a social project is not enough -
managers need to demonstrate their commitment”

For most companies the potential benefits
of social technologies remain “largely
untapped”
Average worker spends 28 per cent of work
week managing email and nearly 20 per cent
looking for internal info/tracking down
colleagues to help with specific tasks

• Personal use builds confidence for
professional use
• Experiencing new channels yourself
equips you to make smart business
decisions
• To grow your network, e.g. LinkedIn
groups or Twitter chats
10 reasons why IC pros should participate in social media 1/3

• Thousands of interesting articles, people and
resources at fingertips
• Your employees are already using social media
• Information and relationships improve personal
and professional development
• Employee expectations mean real time
communication is the norm

• External and internal comms teams need to
work together to know what communities are
saying
• The world of comms moves fast. Participating
enables you to keep up with the pace of change
• Job hunting: your social profiles, such as
LinkedIn allow potential employers to discover
your skills and interests

Social media isn‟t a magic cure

@AllthingsIC@AllthingsIC www.allthingsic.com
Who is doing what? Case studies can be found
at
www.allthingsic.com/blog

Keep in touch
Google „Rachel Miller‟
linkedin.com/in/rachelmiller01
Pinterest.com/AllthingsIC
www.allthingsic.com
rachel@allthingsic.com
Storify.com/AllthingsIC
@AllthingsIC

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