It’s time to face the fact that your employees are spending their time and your dime on their mobile devices. 83% of workers have smartphones on the job, and 82% of these keep an eye on them at all times during the work day. Nearly 56 minutes each day are lost to these devices, which is 43% longer than most managers expect. Further, if your company is comprised of mostly younger employees (in the 18-34 age range), the average time spent on mobile devices jumps to 70 minutes.

Instead of looking at this as a loss of productivity, perhaps some of this lost time can be used to build your brand strategy. If you provide the right incentive, your employees might sing your praises on social media instead of watching the latest YouTube sensation. Like your other brand strategy methods, however, you need to plan and prepare.

The first step is to make employee social media posting voluntary. Forcing your employees to positively promote your business will end in disaster. Instead, let them know that the company is in the process of boosting the brand and explain that they can be a part of helping it grow. By making sure the employees understand that participation is voluntary it is more likely that you will garner the attention of the most loyal and the more socially active employees, who will post regular and honest reviews which, in turn, will reach a larger audience.

Then, make sure you have in place a strict and clear set of social media guidelines. Ensure that those employees who decide to promote you understand that they are representing your brand (and their job). A Social Media Policy is a great starting point, along with making sure the posts state that their views are their own and not necessarily endorsed by the company. Also, make sure employees understand that they must refrain from offensive content on social media while posting about your brand.

After some posts have been made, be sure to support your employees on your own social media page. By sharing appropriate tweets or posts from your employees you are letting them know that you have their backs. Customers love knowing that your company is comprised of happy people and what better place to show that than on your own social media channels. By regularly posting about your employees and encouraging them to share stories or images on their own accounts, you can get double the exposure. Company outings or holidays are a wonderful time to snap some photos of your staff at their most relaxed.

Also, share positive, appropriate stories about your employee of the month, new hires, high performers, or those who have completed years of service. Finally, keep track of your social media analytics and share it with your employees on a regular basis. They will appreciate knowing that their efforts have paid off and that you acknowledge their time. They may be more willing to help in the future as your brand presence grows.