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However, there are employees that are eager to help this effort and show their support for the company.
In addition to helping spread the word about the company, employee morale and loyalty can also improve, which creates benefits for everyone.
Here are a few great ways to encourage employee participation in the Social Media environment: Social Bookmarking and Content News, videos, and other content about the company are important, but they only help if they're being seen.
So, encourage employees to keep an eye out for interesting items on the company's products or services, and when they find something interesting, bookmark it using sites such as Digg and Delicious.
They can also post on the company's Facebook Fan Page, on MySpace, or other Social Media accounts.
Group Blogging Projects Allowing and encouraging employees to contribute to a company blog exposes readers to fresh content, new ideas, and gives the employee a chance to contribute and add value.
It gives the company more of a 'human' image, and helps build relationships between the company and its target market.
It is important to know that training is the key - even though your employees may already be personally using social networks doesn't mean they're following recommended guidelines.
Therefore, a company should provide some form of education and tools to all employees so there are no misunderstandings.
Lastly, don't forget that websites need links to build authority and drive new traffic.
Therefore, always encourage employees to link back to the company website.
One way to share new content on the blog as well as other content around the web is to start a company account on places like Tumblr and encourage employees to subscribe to the RSS feed.
Reviews and Geo-Location Networks Local search is an important element to any business operating online.
So, to help build awareness and promote companies to a local target market, employees should be empowered to write reviews on the company, its products and services on websites such as Yelp.
However, it's important that these reviews be completely honest without negative reviews of the competition!.
Social Networks such as Foursquare have become extremely popular online.
These allow users to record where they are and reward them for frequenting businesses by unlocking badges and electing them as 'mayor' of various businesses and organizations.
Businesses have been able to promote their companies further by offering discounts, prizes, and gifts to those who visit and use these networks.
If a business is unsure how to set up accounts with these types of sites, an interactive marketing agency should be able to assist.
Make It Fun and Worth It There's nothing wrong with a little friendly competition and it gets everyone in the mood to share and have a little fun.
So, create little contests and reward systems to encourage employees to share, have fun, and interact with others inside the company and out.
However, in order to moderate the competition, it is important to establish rules and guidelines for everyone to follow.
Social Media is a great way to build a brand and encourage loyalty within a company as well as with its client base.
By encouraging participation from your employees or by taking advantage of the knowledge from an interactive marketing agency, it's possible to do just that and enjoy the benefits without having to worry about the problems that can arise when there is little to no guidance.
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