A pdf summary of the panel presentation "B2B to B2E (Everyone): How to Engage Employees as Brand Ambassadors Using Social Media" given in Orlando at the PRSA International Conference on Oct 18, 2011

1. B2B to B2E (Everyone): Employees as Social Media Brand Ambassadors
October 11, 2011
Presenters
Jaya K Bohlmann, APR – Corporate Communication and Design Consultant
o Jaya.bohlmann@verizon.net
Michael McManus – Director, Social Media, Sodexo
o Michael.mcmanus@sodexo.com
Rob Philips – VP, Digital Media, Golin Harris
o rphilips@golinharris.com
The Issue: Many large companies today struggle with empowering and allowing
employees to engage in social media while also protecting against potential risks to
corporate reputation. With social media rapidly growing in importance as a critical
business tool to foster dialogue with stakeholders, corporate communicators must
engage employees enterprise-wide as brand ambassadors, using social media, through
dialogue, knowledge sharing and training, a collaborative structure and approach and
policies – all governed by a strategic framework with business goals at center.
Research shows:
the emergence of social media
“mega-portals”
that the world’s most successful  Social media means we have to
brands also have the most active give up control and channel our
employees on social media
professional expertise to the
that word of mouth is the
influence of today and areas of education and
tomorrow empowerment. We have an
social media use without
policies increases risks for opportunity to expand the work
companies of PR beyond our teams to
engage the entire workforce of
our organizations as brand
What makes a good brand
ambassadors.
ambassador?
Specialized expertise
Credibility through their role @ your company
Some existing visibility & stature in industry
A unique or provocative point of view
1
International Conference
Bohlmann, McManus, Philips

2. B2B to B2E (Everyone): Employees as Social Media Brand Ambassadors
October 11, 2011
Ability to let personality shine through
Will take guidance from communications function
Time to participate
Recommended Programs to Engage Employees as Brand Ambassadors on Social Media
Training
Leverage subject matter experts enterprise wide for blog response and proactive outreach
Engage internal influencers through collaborative meetings and groups
Ask/coordinate employee efforts on various online communities on behalf of the
company
Employees contribute to corporate blogs
Employees participate in online monitoring
Minimizing Risk/Enhancing Efficiency (Policies and Systems)
Include in policies:
Ethical conduct and legal reminders
Description of “confidential information”
Boilers and disclaimers to include in any personally owned social media
Contacts in PR for clarification and situational assistance
Clearly state sanctions for breaches
Publicize the policies and train core groups of employees
Systems: Blogs and social media should have a clear business purpose. Evaluate by
asking:
Purpose (should be measurable and business-related)
Intended company business benefits
Potential risks to business and how those will be mitigated
Intended audiences (demographics, size)
Weekly time required for maintenance and plans for staffing
Budget needs plus availability
Success Story: Sodexo (http://blogs.sodexousa.com/)
Corporate blogs, Facebook and Twitter, issues management website, community relations
website, internally shared structure and content ownership
2
International Conference
Bohlmann, McManus, Philips