Internal Communications Is Being Revolutionized By Social Networks

Daniel Roth, executive editor of LinkedIn, reveals in a Fast Company article two fascinating statistics that once again demonstrate that individuals are the heart and soul of social networks.

“On average, the employees of a company have 10 times the social following that their company has.

And those voices have much higher engagement. While only about 2% of employees reshare the content their companies share, they’re responsible for 20% of the overall engagement (views, likes, comments, and shares) that content receives.”

(CC) david roessli

I draw two lessons from this data:

• There are no longer any differences between the internal and external activities of a company. Internal and external communications can’t therefore be kept distinct, as was still the case a few years ago. Everything that is done internally is now known externally. This trend will only increase when Generation Z members, who are used to document their lives on social networks, turn the workplace upside down.
• Internal communications needs more than ever to give meaning to a company’s activities since its employees post on social networks more easily and with more pride regarding its vision and values than its operational and financial performance.