Hey there, I'm Devin!
Most of the time you can catch me deep in the world of internal comms at Workshop (yes, the Happy Mondays folks!), and while I love AI, there are just some comms questions that need a human who really gets it… that’s me!
Hey Devin,
So as part of my internal comms role, I also look after posting on our company LinkedIn page. What is coming up is that some of our team members are posting on their personal LinkedIn profiles, tagging our company, and they’re not quite “on brand” with the language or what they say. I am encouraging them to repost with their own thoughts, but not to go rogue… for example, someone in Finance doing their own recruitment/talent call-outs.
How do others handle this??? To me, it’s more than a social media policy — it’s personal brand and staying in your lane…
Ooooh — love this! There are a lot of ways to look at it, but I’ll start by saying this is kind of a great “problem” to have. If employees feel empowered enough to share internal happenings, open positions, or other company updates on their own LinkedIn without being prompted… that says something really positive about your culture. They’re proud to work there, clearly! Yes, it can feel a little rogue at times, but that energy is usually something you can polish — not shut down.
One quick note on the reposting approach — I totally get the instinct there, but from a performance standpoint, reposts just don’t do as well as someone actually posting in their own voice. So I’d actually encourage employees to post originally, just with a little more guidance. Which brings me to…
One of the ways we approached this at Workshop was by creating and sharing some simple brand guidelines, especially for our more junior team members. For many of them, it’s their first job, and they’re figuring out in real time not only their role, but also the pressure to show up online. Within those guidelines, we talked about brand voice and tone, when and how to use the logo (or not), and what worked best was actually showing examples. We even highlighted posts from employees who weren’t on the marketing team that struck the right balance — authentic to who they are, but still clearly aligned with the company. Doing this during All Hands made it feel extra special for those who were featured too.
And that access piece matters more than you’d think. Even something as simple as a shared Google Drive folder with approved assets — logos, graphics, templates — can go a long way. We do this ahead of big product launches and include sample language people can use or tweak. It gives employees guardrails without making them feel boxed in, and it keeps them from going off on their own in Canva with a stretched-out logo and off-brand colors (we’ve all seen it!).
When something didn’t quite hit the mark? No public call-outs, no shaming. Just a quick 1:1 message with a few tips for next time. You have to appreciate the effort — they’re advocating for the company, and that’s something you want more of, not less. To put it in perspective, in the entire history of Workshop — about five years — we’ve probably asked for maybe five posts to be taken down or adjusted. And it was always something small, like the logo being used in a weird way in a graphic. Never anything too dramatic.
The rise of employees building personal brands has been really fascinating to watch, and I’m honestly excited to see how it continues to evolve. I don’t think the answer is to clamp down — it’s to guide, educate, and create clarity so people feel confident sharing in a way that reflects both them and the company well.
