Postal Service employees across the nation are sharing news and information about the organization on social media through a first-of-its-kind program in the federal government.
USPS Zone, which began in 2021, allows Executive and Administrative Schedule employees to post approved content on their personal social media accounts.
“Employee advocacy is one of the most effective ways to improve online presence, build a great brand reputation and reach exponentially more customers than you can with your company’s social profiles alone,” said Melissa Lomax, acting social media strategist and USPS Zone community manager.
Participants can pick and choose what they share, as well as suggest content of their own. All content is preapproved so participants can share with confidence.
Since the voluntary program began, USPS Zone users have shared approximately 200,000 posts on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and X, drawing almost 134 million impressions.
The posts have also resulted in more than 168,700 clicks to usps.com, driving traffic to the Postal Service’s main website.
Ashly Purcell, a Coppell, TX, customer relations coordinator who signed up for USPS Zone last year, said posts about hiring fairs usually get a lot of traction.
Purcell, who had fallen on hard times before joining the Postal Service in 2018, said she’s mindful that “hitting the share button on a post could end up changing someone’s life for the better.”
In addition to job fair information, some of the program’s all-time top-performing posts have been about the Great American Mail Race board game, the Breast Cancer Research semipostal stamp and the USPS collectible bobblehead set.
Although employee social media advocacy programs are common in the private sector, USPS Zone is unique in the federal government.
Last year, the program received an honorable mention in the employee relations category at the PR News Platinum Awards, an annual competition for communications professionals.
In touting the program, the award organizers praised USPS for taking a “promote, don’t punish” approach to engaging employees online.
Mary Beth Levin, the Postal Service’s social media strategy and analytics manager, said the program benefits the organization and employees alike.
“Our intention here is not only to promote the brand, but also to develop social media literacy, helping our colleagues to develop their personal brand and be seen as leaders and subject matter experts in their fields,” Levin said.
EAS employees interested in joining USPS Zone, learning more about the program or scheduling a presentation for their team should send an email to uspszone@usps.gov.
