I keep thinking about the phrase "power to the people" and thinking it's definitely taken a whole new meaning when it comes to engaging employees in social media. During today's Let's Chat!#Ciscosmt Twitter chat with Cisco's Petra Neiger (@Petra1400) and Salesforce.com's Jennifer Burnham (@JennyDBurnham), we got a first-hand look at the ways employees can really make a difference for the overall company.

Here are some key takeaways from the chat and below is a compiled transcript. I'm interested to hear your insights. Do you agree with these guests' point of views? How does your organization engage with its employees? Are there other approaches perhaps not covered in today's chat? Let's keep the conversation going by sharing additional perspectives.

Key Takeaways

• Make sharing content through social media channels as easy as possible for employees.
• Create guidelines and policies and provide training to employees, creating a comfortable and safe environment to join the social conversation.
• Define different types of opportunities and content-sharing that suits employees' communication preferences and style.
• Leverage executive sponsors to enable employees to participate in the social stream.
• Design incentives such as gaming badges, recognitions, and other opportunities to motivate employees to participate more in social media.

September Twitter Chat

And mark your calendars for next month's Let's Chat!#Ciscosmt Twitter chat, taking place on Thursday, September 26^thfrom 9-10 a.m. PT. Stay tuned for more details by following the Cisco Digital and Social blog and the#Ciscosmt hashtag!

Let's Chat!#Ciscosmt Series: Engaging Employees in Social Media Twitter Chat Transcript

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Cisco Social Media Training Program Opportunity:

If you have any questions or are interested in other types of social media training, check out our complimentary Cisco Social Media Training Program and follow the#ciscosmt hashtag. To request  customized one-on-one team training sessions, email [email protected].