Let marketing control employee social media use, not IT

Back in November, I began a new writing adventure as the Technology:Emerging Media columnist for The Business News (yes, I gladly accept story ideas!). My first column focused on the big question many corporations have when it comes to social media access for employees: who controls it? Due to the injection of social media into many 2010 marketing plans, the article is just as timely today as it was in November.


For the last year or two social media has been one of the biggest “buzz” words throughout the Northeast Wisconsin business community (and everywhere else in the world). Most marketers have started getting involved, but proving to management and IT that there is value in opening social networks to employees to management and IT is one of the main barriers they face.

According to PRWeek’s 2009 Social Media Survey, 80% of the 271 marketers surveyed say their companies do not allow employees to use social media channels to share messages on behalf of the company or its brands. However, as social media becomes more important to companies, marketers are beginning to realize that employees can be their biggest brand advocates. To overcome management objectives, marketers need to start giving better reasons for allowing access to social networks in the office than IT departments are giving to restrict them.

Lee Aase, manager of syndication and social media at Mayo Clinic, has led the organization’s successful social media efforts for years and can offer great advice for corporations struggling with social media access for employees. In fact, each employee at Mayo Clinic is allowed access to Facebook, YouTube and Twitter and encouraged to use the sites to connect with patients.

“For more than a century word-of-mouth recommendations from satisfied patients have been the top reason for people preferring Mayo Clinic. Social media sites are just the way that word-of-mouth happens in the 21st century,” says Aase. “As we these platforms as ways to spread the word, it’s important that all employees be ‘in the loop’. We wouldn’t want to prevent them from seeing and hearing the stories by blocking their access to the sites.”

However, Mayo Clinic has never blocked social networking sites so, as Aase points out, they “didn’t have to go [into IT] and make the case for un-blocking.”

Unfortunately, for many companies, this isn’t always the case. Dawn Ruchala, marketing promotions and events manager at Pierce Manufacturing in Appleton, has been at the forefront of a strategic social media push for the last few months but struggles with the hurdles she’ll need to go through to engage employees.

“We were able to get social network access to a few people [in marketing],” says Ruchala. However, the thought of having to explain why social media access should be allowed to employees for marketing support is a battle she’s hesitant to fight with other departments.

Tom Clark, director of marketing at Faith Technologies headquartered in Menasha, is facing similar struggles. Both marketing professionals realize they will need to show the value of social media to influence their IT departments’ perceptions before they’ll gain their support.

“If IT had their way now, they would stop all social media usage and [they don’t have a solid reason not to],” says Clark. “However, it’s our goal down the road to show them the value of social media for our business in order to gain access for employees.”

Faith Technologies currently utilizes a Facebook fan page to connect with employees in their 15 office locations throughout Wisconsin, Kansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri and Oklahoma. As Faith Technologies’ employees become engaged in social networking for internal communication, they might be more prepared to communicate with external audiences down the road. This evidence could help Faith Technologies’ marketing department’s case when convincing IT to bend on access restrictions.

Fortunately, many social media tools are also becoming available for companies to track social media success – a key argument marketing departments can use during their battle. Start with access for a few employees with clear guidelines you’re prepared to enforce. Then, tracking Web traffic, interaction and the amount of discussion about your brand online as a result of social media marketing efforts can be extremely powerful.

Other successes include recognition from customers and using social media for lead generation. Melissa Schultz, associate product manager at Hoffmaster in Oshkosh, has been involved in her company’s social media outreach for the past eight months. According to Schultz, her company has been actively seeking social media engagement from the Hoffmaster sales force.

“[Social media] is not just for marketing. It’s another avenue we can use to get our sales force excited about lead generation,” says Schultz. “I don’t foresee a need for guidelines on internal social network usage.” In fact, the company has already seen a few successful face-to-face interactions with customers and prospects they connected with on Facebook and Twitter.

So, as the world of marketing changes, marketers who see social media as an important business tool are slowly impacting the decision of employee social network access. “The world is changing and we need to change with it,” says Clark.