Be Like Cisco: Let Employees Take Over Your Snapchat

By: Ian James Wright

March 21, 2017

Do you have the guts to cede control of your social media to employees? This takes trust, but according to Carmen Collins, social media lead for Cisco’s Talent Brand team, it can be a rewarding way to get out your message, promote the brand’s culture and build your following.

In PR News’ new Social Media Guidebook, Collins lays out seven steps toward building a program wherein your most energetic and social employees serve as ambassadors on Snapchat. Excerpted briefly here, those steps are:

Identify Your Existing Brand Ambassadors. Listening in on the social media conversation is where you’ll find your superstars. A steady listening effort may reveal those talking about the company the most often.

Bring Your Employee Ambassadors Together. Let them get to know each other, meet the people who, like them, are sharing in social. Face-to-face time can’t be overemphasized.

Make Them VIPs. Make them feel special, that they are a secret society, with “red carpet” access to the social team, that they are the first to know about events and happenings.

Let Them Fly. Don’t ask them to read a script or say something they wouldn’t normally say. When Cisco employees take over the WeAreCisco account, they post on their other social channels about it. They say things like “Does your company trust you to post on Snapchat with the dog lens? Mine does!” You can’t buy that kind of amplification.

Guard the Account Security. The more people who have the password, the more vulnerable you are. Have a plan in place to change the password, and have a secure communications platform to share the username and password.

Create a Content Calendar. Only one person can be signed in to Snapchat at a time, so it’s important to be a traffic cop and make sure that people aren’t bumping each other out.

Create Goals and Guidelines. It’s important that the Snapchatters know what your goal for the channel is. In the case of WeAreCisco, we’re not trying to sell a product, we’re showing a lifestyle.

Share in the Success. Make sure to report back to the Snapchatters the effect their efforts are having on the business. It’s important to tell the employees that people are watching what they’re doing.

Follow Carmen on Twitter: @cshirkeycollins

Follow Ian: @ianwright0101