Getting your team to engage with your company’s Facebook posts can be a challenge. Even when they’re aware of the posts or encouraged to interact, sometimes that engagement just doesn’t happen. Sound familiar?
We recently spoke with some clients who noticed this hesitation from their teams. After discussing it, we identified three common barriers. In this post, we share those barriers and offer simple solutions to help get your team more involved with your Facebook content in a way that feels comfortable and easy.
Why Employee Engagement on Facebook Matters
Before we get into the barriers, here’s why employee participation on Facebook is so valuable:
Tuning into Customers: When your team is active on Facebook, they have a chance to see what your customers are saying, observe trends, and gather feedback that can help the business grow.
Building Relationships: Employee interactions on Facebook help humanize your brand. Customers appreciate knowing there are real people behind the posts, which helps build trust and strengthen relationships.
Boosting Your Reach: Facebook favors posts with higher engagement. When your colleagues like, comment, or share, they increase the visibility of your content. Their participation helps fuel the algorithm, getting your posts in front of more people.
Now, let’s look at what might be holding your team back and how you can help them engage more easily.
1. They’re Not Regular Facebook Users
Some colleagues don’t spend much time on Facebook, so engaging with work-related posts isn’t something they naturally do. When Facebook isn’t part of their regular habits, participating can feel like an extra task.
Solution:
Encourage your team to set aside a small amount of time during their workday to check Facebook—maybe 10 or 15 minutes. This helps build the habit without feeling overwhelming.
Suggest using time management tools to keep their time on Facebook focused and productive, rather than turning into endless scrolling. From the app, you can set a daily time reminder.
Incorporate social media engagement time into your staff meetings and standups. Use a few minutes each month or more frequently to share a best practice and to mass interact with the brand’s recent posts.
By making Facebook engagement a quick and manageable part of their routine, your team will feel more comfortable jumping in without it feeling like a time-consuming task.
2. They’re Hesitant About Using Their Personal Profiles
Many employees are understandably protective of their personal profiles and may not want to mix personal and work life on Facebook. This is one of the most common reasons for hesitation.
Solution:
Recommend that employees create a secondary Facebook profile dedicated just to work. They can make it professional by using a branded cover photo and a simple headshot, keeping their personal life separate.
Encourage colleagues to review their privacy settings and set their personal profiles to “Friends Only” for extra security and peace of mind.
This allows you to participate in work-related conversations comfortably without feeling like they’re giving up their personal space.
3. They’re Not Sure What to Say
Sometimes, employees hesitate to engage simply because they don’t know what to say. They may be unsure about how to contribute or worry about whether their comment will add value.
Solution:
Provide templates or sample responses to guide them. Simple phrases like “Great idea!” or “This sounds interesting” can help break the ice.
Share guidelines around best practices for employee engagement on Facebook
Model what you hope to see from your colleagues
Giving your team a bit of direction can help them feel more confident about participating, even if they’re not sure where to start.
Encouraging Engagement: The Bottom Line
By addressing these common barriers—low personal use of Facebook, concerns about using personal profiles, and uncertainty about what to say—you can help your team feel more comfortable engaging with your posts. Simple steps like creating dedicated profiles, offering content ideas, and integrating Facebook into their workday can make participating more palatable.
This will improve your social media presence, strengthen your understanding of your customers, and boost the visibility of your content. Plus, when your team feels more involved, they’ll naturally want to contribute more. It’s a win-win!
