How employees get involved in #zapposculture

A few years ago, the use of social media by company employees was at times prohibited and/or seen as a drawback to productivity. However, the dawn of a new era has come where handheld devices have become the new word of mouth and a prominent resource for organisations. Thus, social media advocacy is the topic of discussion in today. Various types of Institutions are finding ways to accomplish marketing efficiently by marshalling their internal teams to act as social media advocates.

One amazing brand that is honing in on the social media change is Zappos, an online shoe, clothing and accessories retailer that have an incredibly open and social culture. At Zappos, employees receive special Twitter training and are encouraged to share updates about what they’re doing at work (not for marketing products or for building the brand, but to simply be themselves and have their social media accounts be personal and insightful). Again, Zappos does not sell products via social networking; they just engage and measure reaction through the various platforms. In doing so, Zappo’s highlights company culture by making their business activities more visible to social media, in which they are accomplishing the goal of attracting clients and potential future employees…two birds, one stone! Employees use many social networks and tag their social posts with the hashtags #ZapposCulture and #Zapponians and #companyculture to reach an audience beyond Zappos.

Lessons for Others

Consequently, Zappos has laid the right foundation to encourage employees to participate in social media. With the help of their social media savvy CEO, Tony Hsieh (one of the most followed individuals on Twitter, having amassed nearly 2.7 million followers), the company’s social media strategy allows the company and employees, an excess of 440 tweeting employees, to grow together. Perhaps it is time to change the way your company allows the use of social media!

If you have concerns as to the accuracy of anything posted on this site, please send your concerns to Peter Carr, Program Director, Social Media for Business Performance.

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