With the retail industry demanding up-to-date information around the clock we spoke to Tesco‘s digital chief Adrian Harris on how the UK‘s number one retailer uses social media to communicate internally and externally in a fast-paced retail environment.
Tesco, whose @TescoMedia corporate handle has 25.4k followers, allows it to connect quickly to its key stakeholders, the media, bloggers, its customers and retail commentators.
“Twitter is the primary social channel we use in the Tesco Corporate Affairs team for external communications,” Harris told Retail Gazette. “In addition, a large number of colleagues are on Twitter and use it to share their content with us, which we can amplify through our account.”
The retailer also uses Storify to aggregate social content around key events for the company such as supplier sourcing events and neighbourhood food collections. It has also re-launched its social media guidelines for employees to use social channels to talk about their work.
Twitter is used by the big four supermarkets to communicate its messages and Sainsbury‘s and Morrisons often feature student graduates and store managers in its corporate messages.
He added: “Store managers in particular have really taken to Twitter to celebrate success, showcase what‘s going on in store and connect with the local communities and charities.
“The big learning for us is that without original content and material from colleagues we would struggle to drive engagement and followers.”
