What Happens When Your Employees are a Social Media Brand?

More people are using social media to build their personal brand — I am a full-time marketing professor, yet I’ve built a successful personal brand as a marketing and social media expert on my blog, Hausman Marketing Letter. Students in my Social Media Marketing Class are building their personal brand using a combination of a blog, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media.

Think about a radio show host who has their own social network — they’ll likely be future listeners of your station.

Or a salesperson with an online reputation in your industry? They’ll likely bring new buyers for your brand.

I have 1 student who’s developing a personal brand on women in sports. Hire her and she’ll have a custom-built network of women interested in your sports apparel or sporting goods.

So, what happens when these social media rockstars join your firm?

• Will you (try to) shut down their personal brand?

Maybe you’ll put rules in place to interfere with their branding efforts. Maybe a restrictive social media policy designed to keep them from going online on your equipment or during company working hours. Maybe you install software to block access to social media sites at the office or install gates to keep employees from going to social media sites (or monitor usage) on company owned devices.

Of course, then it just becomes a game to get around your rules. Rather than acting as a deterrent, your rules actually waste more time because employees waste time talking about how unfair your social media policies are and figuring ways around your social media policy.

Even if your social media policy doesn’t act as a big waste of time, employees who’ve built a substantial social media brand won’t give them up easily. And, they’ll resent you for your “unfair” social media policy. You won’t get the kind of commitment you need to get the most from your workers. Or, they’ll quit — costing you money and time as you hire and train their replacements.

• Will you accept their social media branding?

At least that way, you won’t have all the negative blow-back from restrictive social media policies, but you won’t gain any advantage from their social media branding. You’ll also likely lose productivity as they spend significant effort maintaining their social media branding. Maybe they’ll refrain from spending time maintaining their social media brand at work, but their minds will be on their own social media efforts rather than on building your brand.

• Will you harness their social media brands to HELP support your brand?

By harnessing the social media brands created by your employees, you can mobilize their networks to support your brand. Of course, your employees should be compensated for bringing their social networks into your fold.

How does your social media policy deal with employees who are social media rockstars?

Will your social media policy drive great employees away by forbidding their social media activities or will it encourage them to help build your brand with their social network?