The Social Media Strategist: Build a Successful Program from the Inside Out

CHAPTER 9TEACHING THE ORGANIZATION TO FISH

You know the old philosophical question, if a tree falls in the forest but no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? I’d like to offer my own adaptation of that saying: if an organization builds a great social media policy and program but doesn’t involve its employees, is that organization really involved in social media?

Not every organization or company will empower all of its employees to engage in social networks. All the same, it’s a good idea to build a social media education program for all employees anyway. Given the pervasiveness of the social Web, the odds are strong that at least some of your employees are already active in a network or two; maybe they even maintain active blogs. A ...