Bolster internal communications with these 4 tactics

Engaging your employees is a great first step toward external success

With so many experts, gurus and “mavens” (that’s my favorite, by far) telling people how they should and shouldn’t build engaged communities online, we often forget that solid external communities often start right within our organization’s four walls.

Yes, simple corporate communications strategies and tactics can go a long way toward building the external-facing communities that companies crave right now.

What am I talking about?

Think about the organizations that are successful online right now. Look at Zappos. What’s made it successful isn’t its Twitter accounts, but the trust and open culture CEO Tony Hsieh has worked hard to build. And he purposefully trains and trusts his employees with the brand in a very open and public way.

Take Southwest Airlines. By all accounts, it’s a fun, exciting and fulfilling place to work. Management has fostered a culture that embraces many voices speaking on the company’s behalf. And the organization’s aligned, all the way from CEO to customer service.