How Miami International Airport builds social media runways to help employees take flight
I AM MIA puts employees first on the airport’s social channels and beyond.
Employees remain a comms team’s most potent storytellers across social media channels. As they tout workplace wins, respond to and share company content, they shape the way an organization is perceived.
At Miami International Airport (which proudly calls itself MIA), the organization’s collective pride shines across its social channels due to its clear policies and people-forward campaigns.
Cristina Armand, digital marketing manager at MIA, will discuss employee social media best practices at Ragan and PR Daily’s 2025 Social Media Conference at Disney World, March 19-21, for a panel titled “Rules of Play: How to Establish Policies and Encourage Positivity Around Employee Social Presence.”
In the session, she’ll explain both the business end and the fun side of MIA’s employee social media policies, and the ways other orgs can encourage employees to share company pride authentically while respecting their autonomy and expression. Read on for a preview of her chat.
Putting employees first
“I AM MIA,” a people-focused brand platform and campaign that encompasses the airport’s ongoing employee engagement, workforce development and customer service training, includes a key social media element that highlights the wins and stories of the people behind the airport’s operations.
The engagement campaign includes behind-the-scenes videos looking at things like little-known airport roles, major achievements, and short day-in-the-life features showing the people who keep the airport functional and thriving.
“For us, a success is when an employee reaches out to us letting us know they want to be a part of the campaign,” Armand said.
And they do so frequently. Longtime employees like Jimmy Spry, who over his 35-year tenure went from an operations specialist to supervising terminal operations, join the chorus of voices who share their journeys and earn public recognition for their on-the-job contributions.
These stories — as both long- and short-form videos and graphics — roll out across platforms including YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Armand says the airport is looking for additional opportunities to show how its employees are the cornerstones of the airport’s success and operations. “We are looking at other ways to expand how we are messaging, like using customer testimonials we receive about great experiences with our employees,” she said.
Building the runway
As for the way employees use their own social platforms, Armand says policies “should provide employees with guidance and responsibilities when using social media for personal interests and posting material online,” Armand said.
A robust policy sets clear expectations on:
- What employees can and cannot share about their work.
- Avoiding security-sensitive or confidential information.
- Engaging with company content without misrepresenting the organization.
MIA uses Miami-Dade County’s social media policy for personal and professional accounts, which forbids discriminatory remarks, harassment and bullying, among other inappropriate behaviors, when employees are on or off duty.
The comms and social media teams post policies to its intranet and work with HR to integrate guidelines into the onboarding experience.
“We are currently working with HR to develop a flyer of social media do’s and don’t’s that summarizes the policy in an infographic that is easy to remember and gives the highlights of critical information,” she said.
Learn more from Armand and others about employee advocacy, policy development, best practices and pitfalls at Ragan and PR Daily’s 2025 Social Media Conference at Disney World, March 19-21.