Supercharge your open enrollment and benefits communication with social media

You may remember from our Inside Benefits Communication survey that most employers (83%) said they’re not using social media to communicate about benefits, and 67% indicated 2012 would not be the year they give it a try.

Employers not using social media are missing out on an inexpensive and efficient way to communicate year round with their employees. Social media tools are especially helpful during open enrollment, thanks to their capacity for real-time updates, employee-to-employee sharing, and dialog with employees and families.

Here are tips on how to use the five best social media tools for employee benefits communication during open enrollment:

1. Blogs
   Take advantage of heightened employee attention during open enrollment and publish articles more frequently. Use your blog to push out information that supports your enrollment goals. If your goal is to get more folks enrolled in your CDHP, use your blog to help them understand what it is and how it works. Or, if your goal is to get employees to participate more actively in your wellness program, use the blog to share information on all the activities and resources available.
2. Microblogs
   Integrating your Twitter feed into your benefits website or intranet provides a free and easy way to keep those sites fresh. Microblogs are perfect for sharing open enrollment reminders and tips, providing directions to information, and defining complicated concepts and terms.
3. Podcasts and videos 
   These two tools are now being used to replace in-person enrollment meetings at many companies. Use them to record employee meetings and post them where they can be viewed by employees when they want, from where they want.
4. Social Networks
   If you’re using social networking sites, be sure to include your open enrollment messaging on them to extend your reach. Given their engaging social nature, your people are likely already going to these sites and paying attention to what they find there.
5. User forums
   User forums are moderated online discussions focused around a specific topic. You can use these to encourage employees (and your benefits team) to swap ideas and answer each other’s questions about how to get the most from your programs. Structure your forum by benefit plan so information is easy to find.

Ready to supercharge this year’s open enrollment efforts? Embrace these low-cost, super flexible, easy-to-use tools to power your benefits communication and see employee engagement skyrocket. Here are a couple more resources to help you get started:

Social Media Poster
Social Media Starter Kit