Help your colleagues sharing content

Many of your colleagues find it difficult to create and post business related content on social media. We have much less trouble with this privately. Just think of all the photos and videos that you see every day on Instagram, Facebook and Whatsapp. There is no shortage of creativity.

We are too modest to share content
Why do we find it difficult for business? There are several reasons for this. First of all, we are far too modest; "That is not interesting to anyone", "nobody will read that anyway" or "they already know that". Another factor is that your business network is a little further away from you than your Insta friends. Of those you know what kind of content they like.

We are afraid to share content
This brings us to the second and probably most important reason; fear. The fear of saying and posting something wrong and then getting blown away by your manager. The result is that there is no posting, after all you will not do it wrong.

That's such a shame. It is often the colleagues who experience the most beautiful stories. In addition, your colleagues often know best what their relations consider important. What topics are currently relevant, what can they help their relations with and what new products do they currently need. After all, it is about their network, so some knowledge of their network can be expected. It is not only about the sales department, but also about customer service, the IT helpdesk, the service technicians, the administration and so on. All colleagues who are reliable and authentic for their relations and who can contribute relevant knowledge. They are people whose opinions are valued.

Because these colleagues do not share content, you miss out on a huge reach, with which you can achieve your content marketing objectives earlier.

The good news is; most colleagues want to share business content. In many cases, even gladly. They just need some help. For example, because someone, for example you or one of your colleagues, helps them to create content. Or better yet prepare content for them, so that they can share a post at the touch of a button. In short; help them cross the threshold and make sharing fun. A few more tips;

1. Create confidence

Help optimizing the social media profile
For example, hire a photographer for a day to make a good business profile photo for all colleagues. Provide a good headline on LinkedIn and a professional background photo.

Tell what is allowed
As mentioned earlier, fear is an important reason for not sharing content. So it is important to remove that fear. This can be done by telling what is allowed. Consciously focus on the positive and do not come up with a list of all things that are not allowed.

2. Support

Help creating content
Everyone has their own specialty. The IT colleague knows everything about scripting, coding, testing and so on. The service technician can solve problems for customers like no other. Being able to write an article or create a vlog is also a profession. Help your colleagues in creating content or go a step further and prepare the content for them. Colleagues can then give this their personal touch, so that it is still authentic.

Also consider offering that vlogging colleague a course. This increases self-confidence, but also shows appreciation. This makes colleagues even more motivated.

Be accessible
Make sure your colleagues know who to turn to with questions. That does not always have to be the marketing colleagues, but can also be specialists from other departments. Then also be open to content suggestions. As we have established before; they have a lot of contact with the customers and know better than anyone what lives there.

3. Inform

Share your goals
Why do you think it is important that your colleagues also share content? Tell what you want to achieve and why you want it. Explain the objectives of the organization and how you want to achieve them, but also explain your personal goals. And explain why it is precisely the sharing of content by those colleagues that is so important. Be vulnerable and ask for help in achieving your goals. You will see that people are happy to help you.

Share your results
To ensure that your colleagues remain enthusiastic, it is important to share the results achieved. Also make a comparison between the situation before and after colleagues actively shared content. Show them the effect on website visits, leads, applicants, etc. This way you can clearly see the effect of their efforts. For example, make a simple monthly report of the results achieved and show where you stand in relation to the goals you want to achieve.

4. Celebrate

Make sharing fun
Of course you want everyone to be intrinsically motivated to share content and bring the organization to the attention. However, it is also important to make sharing fun. For example, because you can save for incentives. It could be anything; a receipt for that nice coffee shop, a nice gadget or an interesting training.

Give a stage
You provide insight into results via the aforementioned monthly report. In addition, it is also nice to put colleagues in the spotlight or give a stage. For example, if they made a nice vlog or received a large number of likes on a post.

With these tips, we are convinced that your colleagues will actively help you. Once they share, the result comes naturally. In addition, they will receive comments, such as likes and comments, on their posts. This creates confidence, inspires and often leads to a demand for more content. The consequence for you; you get more traffic to your website, more engagement, more leads. You are more likely to achieve your goals and content marketing is no longer just a party of marketing, but is supported by the entire organization.