Why future is bright for content creators

WSJ ran an article about management's dilemma of employees on social media.  Because anyone with email address can open free social media accounts and start writing, management teams are concerned that there will be inappropriate content that reflects poorly on their corporate image.  Even worse, employee's writing may unwittingly leak information to anyone who care to search on Internet.  We've all seen how fast bad publicity can travel on social media.

Source: WSJ

But these risks are small when compared to benefits that content creating employees bring.  Benefits are of many folds.  

1. Content created by individuals are more authentic than marketing content.

2. Content creators are often experts in their fields or on their way to becoming one.

3. Content creators are plugged in to like-minded people in the industry.  Information not only flows from the  writer to readers, but also flows from readers to the writer via comments.

4. If content creator has active community, the community can be leveraged to build a mindshare for a product.

Even considering all these benefits, there is a checklist of items that employers need to consider before embracing employee content creators.  This is especially true in regulated industries like financial services.  Banks and financial advisers are bound by regulations that they have to comply with to stay in business, and the financial industry regulations cover social media marketing.

But extending beyond regulated industries, like financial services, there is a need for a process that can help company monitor, discover, and promote interesting content from individual content creators.  By setting up a process that rewards the right behavior company can positively reinforce employees to continue creating interesting content that strengthens the company's brand and image.