TOP 10: How to increase engagement through Yapster
On good days, Yapster can help to engage and inspire teams, share positive feedback and develop company culture. When things get tough, maintaining communication with your front-line employees can feel like a challenge.
But remember - distancing isn’t the same as disconnecting.
Even during this impossibly difficult period, it’s important for leaders to be regularly and visibly engaged, and to communicate as much as possible with team members.
If you’re stuck on what to say, how to say it, or when to say it, here are our top 10 tips for increasing engagement through Yapster:
1.Consider it your job to actively engage people
If you want a team to ‘engage’, you have to put yourself out there first. But don’t feel pressured to turn yourself into a prize-winning journalist in terms of content standards. Simply saying “Good morning, what are you doing today?” is a fantastic way of getting a team talking to you and each other every day.
Of course, when you do have something meaningful to say or get feedback on, you can use Yapster to post a 1-2 minute video or create a poll and get them to participate.
2. Respond to all comments
This may sound simple but your reaction to their replies strengthens your communication. Just like if you were having a conversation face-to-face, let’s call it that eye contact importance - reply to their comments. We all want to be listened to so letting them know you’re there is very important.
3. Use images in every newsfeed post
You know the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words”? It’s true - people are far more likely to engage with a post if there’s a visual element attached to it. Make sure you share an image that reflects your content so people can really connect with what you are trying to say.
4. Encourage Collaboration
You don’t want to have a conversation with just yourself so make sure you are posting content that will encourage your team to get involved. Did you see our #yapstertwotruthsandalie challenge? It’s fun to get your team to participate and keep the conversation going.
Asking a relevant but fun question is an easy way to encourage engagement and get your teams talking.
5. Be consistent
If you want your team to be engaged, you have to make sure you are reliable. It doesn’t really matter how often you post on a given day if you’re only going to do it once a fortnight. It’s better to be consistent and post once a day everyday and create that sense of trust in your team. They will come to expect to hear from you and stay engaged. But remember rule 1 (be engaging!): if you don’t have something meaningful to post, stick to “good morning, what’s everyone up to today? and let the team do their thing.
6. Empower your team
We know this sounds a bit crazy considering where we are today but let’s be honest - you can’t do this alone. Most of your team is on furlough (if not all) so a lot of people are experiencing that sense of “what am I suppose to be doing?”. Empower them through participation on Yapster. For example, get someone in your team to start a book club, maybe that gym goer has a couple of workouts they can share with the rest and of course, the baker - they must share their recipes.
We hope you catch our drift. Give your team the opportunity to own content so that we can all have that sense of belonging.
7. Hold Q&A Sessions
Fun and games all the time can get a bit stale, so don’t be shy to also step up and show yourself to be a proactive leader. Your team will have questions, worries and concerns about their careers. You won’t have all the answers but you can try to help - remember we are all going through a difficult time.
You can host Q&A sessions where you can answer team concerns to the best of your ability. Lucky for us there are tons of platforms to host remote meetings like zoom, google hangouts, etc..
You can use the following steps to get you started.
1 - Send an invite in you newsfeed with the details of your session (date, Time, platform, etc..)
2 - Encourage your team to yap you questions ahead of the sessions so you can prepare in advance.
3 - Prepare questions that you’ve heard through the grapevine that people are asking themselves.
4 - Use articles and references from government, industry bodies that they can use for support.
5 - Record your session then post it on your newsfeed for those who didn’t get a chance to join.
Remember, you may not have all the answers but at least you are listening and trying. That goes a long way.
8. Use hashtags
Just like in regular social media, we use hashtags in Yapster. We don’t have them just for likes, we have them so that you can categorise your content on your newsfeed.
Once hashtags catch on with your colleagues, you will be able to search for a particular hashtag and see how much content has been generated on a particular topic. You don’t have to scroll through weeks of different content to find a particular post.
Make sure you keep your hashtags short and memorable.
9. Create your Communications & engagement strategy and stick to it
Yapster will not resolve your engagement strategy on its own. You have to create a plan and strategy, then use Yapster as the tool to bring your vision to life. 3 basic steps to get you started are as follows:
1 - Identify the purpose of your communications and engagement
2 - Identify your audience (different roles, locations, etc.)
3 - Plan and design your messages, posts, images in advance
You will have obstacles and emergencies (for example a global pandemic) but the importance of your strategy will help guide you through it efficiently.
10. Finally, remember to use engagement wisely and responsibly once you’ve earned it
Harvard Business Review has advised leaders during this pandemic to:
Act with urgency
Communicate with #transparency
Respond productively to missteps; and
Engage in constant updating
