5 steps to build the best internal social media

You already know what the main benefits of internal social media are and why it is necessary to have it in your organization. However, what should an enterprise social network look like, and which features does it need to have to fulfill its role? Are there any requirements? What are the best practices when developing the best internal social media? 

What is the best internal social media for? 

Let’s consider what is the purpose of having the best internal social media in an organization? First, it is supposed to be a quick internal communication channel, where users can share their knowledge and experience without any restraints. The interactivity of the solution integrates the community by building a sense of community, engaging in joint activities, and motivating development.  

Internal social media connects all employees in one place. It doesn’t matter where they work, in which department, in the office, or remotely. Everyone has equal access to the same portal. By engaging in projects and being members of diverse groups, they build communities. Internal social media helps them to establish relationships within these groups, share information, and organize their work life. It is also a place to relax where your employees can chat about internal events, and exchange opinions, kudos, and even memes or gifs. This is how you build a close-knit team in the 21st century.  

Internal social media best practices 

For a tool to be used willingly, it has to be functional and integrate with other systems. Without it, using the tool would be cumbersome. It must also offer options that will make it easier to stimulate employee engagement and measure employee sentiment and interaction. So how to make it work and provide the best internal social media? See our 5 best practices! 

1. Newsfeed

It is the most essential element of your internal social media. The newsfeed is the place where the most recent publications are shown to the employees. They can see it right after they log into their account on the platform. They usually get a notification or a push update when something new appears on the website as well. Ideally, the newsfeed of your communication platform should have similar functionality to standard popular social media.  

The most important thing is that all of your employees should have easy access to the newsfeed – from the head office to the frontline. Give them the possibility to create engaging content.  

Workai Connections, for example, has a structure remarkably similar to the type you can see on LinkedIn or Facebook. The content displayed on the “wall” is personalized – an employee sees only the updates from their groups and friends. The home page aggregates all the latest posts so they can comment on them or react to them. Our starting page consists of: 

• top navigation where an employee can switch the application, see the notifications, and edit their user profile, 
• side navigation – it allows to see all user’s communities and switch between groups to see the discussions, 
• main wall with the latest entries, 
• side section with widgets and with the latest corporate news. 

Our application gives you the possibility to post diverse types of content. You can publish not only text messages, but also show your appreciation with kudos, publish articles, announce events, take surveys, and more. 

2. Community building

The point of having the best internal social media is to create a close-knit, engaged community. It won’t be possible without an elevated level of interaction. To achieve these goals, internal social media should be equipped with numerous features that facilitate it. Therefore, you should ensure conditions for free discussion and strengthening bonds among all employees.

In the case of Workai Connections, this function is fulfilled by social groups created by people from the same teams, working on the same projects, or having similar interests. All people have also the possibility to interact with any content that is published. They can not only comment on it but also leave a reaction in a form of an emoji. They can also publish their articles and share their knowledge or appreciate others for their small or big successes with the function of kudos. They can vote in surveys, ask questions, and give answers becoming an important part of the company-wide discussion. What’s more, using our internal social media, you can also organize events online.  

The personal profiles help in getting to know each other. Here, your employees can add all necessary information about themselves including their professional background. Using the cards an employee can know something about their colleagues and contact them directly from the profile card using e-mail, or Microsoft Teams. 

3. Private and group messages

The history of standard available social media has shown us that users value the ability to have not only the possibility of group conversations but also private chats. Thanks to these features, you can significantly improve internal communication and shorten the time needed to establish contact between employees.

Everything can be done using one system, so employees don’t have to switch to messengers or use popular, dangerous for your data, communicators. The integration with Microsoft Teams allows you to use all functionalities of its chats without leaving the platform and send messages straight from User Profile, People Directory, or Newsfeed. 

4. Mobile application

It’s hard to imagine life without a smartphone these days. We often carry it with us in our hands, checking notifications and our social media profiles now and then. Why should it be different from an employee portal?

Every employee should have access to a social network. In the case of non-desk workers, the mobile application makes it possible. But not only for them. Mobile application is a convenience, you can use it on the road, but also in situations when you do not have your computer with you or just want to check something without turning it on. The option of automated or PUSH notifications accelerates the flow of information, so it always reaches the right people at the right time.  

5. Real-time analytics

As an internal communicator, you should always keep an eye on employees’ engagement. Analyze their interactions to know what they like and what they do not. You need to become an in-house content marketer, engaging your audience in discussion and tailoring content to their preferences. Internal social media analytics features facilitate completing these tasks. In the case of Workai, they will allow you to measure ROI and generate reports for the management so you can keep track of all users’ activity. 

Instead of spending months building an internal network from scratch, save time and money. Workai offers you a ready-made product that you can implement in a noticeably brief time. Workai Connections is the best internal social media available as SaaS. It’s part of the Employee Experience platform but can also be used as a completely independent product. It provides you not only with security but also with gamification possibilities that boost the engagement of your employees. Workai Connections can bring the power of popular social media to your organization allowing your employees to easily connect, interact, and share expertise.