How to Create Internal Social Networks for Employees
By · Leave a comment with your thoughtsMore companies are using the power of internal social networks to help employees get the news and information they need, as well as other resources critical to doing their jobs.
Social networks connect employees
Some are at the starting line, just jumping into the social media waters. Others have built a global “digital village” for employees who can post updates in a Twitter-like feed, share information with colleagues and receive crucial corporate information that is fed to them daily.
One of these companies is Pfizer, the world’s leading pharmaceutical company. I wrote about Pfizer’s internal network My World last year. This network is truly awesome and it has only expanded its capabilities since then.
Come to Our Social Networks Webinar
I will be co-presenting with Bob Libbey, senior director of Global Colleague Communications and Corporate Social Media, Pfizer Inc., at an HR.com webinar on Tuesday, May 22, at 1 pm, EDT. You can register by clicking on the title of our presentation: How Internal Social Networks Enable Interacting and Responding to Employee Needs.
I will describe how smaller companies can also establish social networks for their employees by using third-party networks such as LinkedIn, Google+ and Ning.
Bob will explain how Pfizer consolidated more than 400 news and information sites, each with its own look, feel and navigation set-up. In the past year, Pfizer’s My World has attracted 175,000 unique visitors (including outside vendors and consultants) and over 60 million page views.
So I invite you to join us on our webinar to learn how your company can start or expand your employee’s internal social network.
Related articles
- Internal social networking can help employees get engaged (bizjournals.com)
Delta Needs a New Brand Name for “Economy Comfort” Class
By · Leave a comment with your thoughtsImagine my surprise as I was about to take my seat on a Delta flight yesterday and walked by “Economy Comfort” seats in the first couple of rows in the economy section. The words were spelled out in large letters on the front of each seat back.
My first thought was, is my seat in the “Economy Uncomfortable” section of the plane?
Delta Has a Branding Problem
What about my comfort?!
Who on earth thought up this name for seats that give you 4 inches more leg room and 50 percent more recline? Over the years airlines have developed various seat configurations and classes of travel — first class, business and economy — to satisfy customers and rake in more money.
But it sends the wrong signal to the passengers in regular economy that they are headed to a seat for a cramped and uncomfortable ride.
Reader reviews are generally positive about these seats (on Delta and partner KLM), but passengers have an expectation of comfort, without having to pay extra for it.
The Reports of Blogging’s Death are Greatly Exaggerated*
By · Leave a comment with your thoughtsWell, you’d think blogging was definitely on the way out for companies, based on a new study, 2012 Inc. 500 Social Media Update.
Although USA Today pretty much wrote off blogging in its coverage of the results, it did quote Scott Monty, head of social media at Ford Motor, as saying that engaging blogs can serve crucial marketing goals — especially executives out to establish expertise in their industry.
CMOs Interviewed
The Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts surveyed the chief marketing officers of Inc. Magazine’s 500 fastest growing companies to learn how their adoption of social media has changed since 2011.
The big news, according to the study, is that CMOs are turning to new platforms and tools including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, texting, downloadable mobile apps and Foursquare.
If you study the chart below, you will see that blogging has been increasingly successful as a social media strategy over the past three years, reaching 92% in usage even as its adoption as a social media tool drops. Blogging is still widely used by advertising and communications companies, less so by government agencies. Oddly, this was the first study including LinkedIn, which showed up at 73% usage, just behind Facebook’s 74%, which topped the list.
Read More→
How to Blog for International Audiences
By · Leave a comment with your thoughtsThe blogosphere is by its very nature a truly global phenomenon. Anyone with an Internet connection can, in theory, access your blog, no matter where they are in the world. But that doesn’t mean they will. To blog for an international audience, you need to make sure your content is appealing and accessible across cultural and linguistic divides.
Target your blog
Christian Arno
On the day The Huffington Post launched its French edition, founder Arianna Huffington said, “While we will be importing the platform, technology, and tools from across the pond, Le Huffington Post will be rooted in French culture and will reflect France’s own unique personality, rich culture, and diversity of voices.”
As with the preceding Canadian and UK versions, the news giant has tailored its French content to appeal to a specific international audience. We can’t all have the resources of Technorati’s current top-rated blog, but we can focus our efforts on markets that are likely to pay dividends.
The exact nature of your blog will help determine where you should start. A blog about soccer will have a wide potential appeal throughout much of the world but may have a more select, niche appeal within the USA. Concentrating on the Major Soccer League (MSL) could help reach that niche audience while in-depth coverage of leagues based in South America or Europe could give you inroads into those markets. Read More→
