“Maintaining Hope and Inspiration”: Using Social Media to Encourage Internal Stakeholders

Abstract

Teach For America’s (TFA) internal communicators are tasked with keeping TFA’s more than 2,400 staff members inspired and connected even though they are spread across the nation and sometimes isolated in offices of one. The team has used social media to communicate with stakeholders around the organization: Yammer has opened up opportunities for the CEOs and the staff to communicate directly and for the effectiveness of communication efforts to be measured, while YouTube videos have knitted the internal community together and encouraged them about the importance of their behind-the-scenes tasks. Using video for the staff has been instrumental in a culture change; many were reinspired. This case study of Teach For America provides an example for other organizations on how social media can help them communicate with their internal stakeholders.