Kick off a campaign that invites all employees to share and post freely, no matter the topic. Set up a dedicated page with a timeline and let your employees loose. Promote using hashtags like #OurDigitalHome or #MyCompanyLife. 

It might get a bit messy, but the goal is to help everyone get comfortable posting and engaging—it's about taking action, not perfect content. And remember, it's okay if people try and fail — just maybe avoid auto-subscribing them to keep their newsfeed timeline tidy! 😉

Create a few communities to act as examples for the future. Start with general communities for hobbies or interests. 

For example, create an "Office Book Club" group and have an admin kick it off with a poll on what to read. Or, launch a "Runners of [Your Company Name]" group where employees can share routes and training tips.

Encourage employees to share a glimpse into their daily work. This could be a quick photo of their workspace, a screenshot of a cool new tool they're using, or a short video explaining a new process. 

This makes the intranet feel authentic and relatable, rather than just a formal repository of information.

Make it simple for employees to publicly thank or recognize their peers with kudos. Create custom kudos types that are easy to use and not too specific, such as "True Helper" and "Team Player". 

This shifts the focus from a top-down broadcast to peer-to-peer appreciation.

Ask senior leaders to post something personal and non-work-related. This could be a picture from their weekend, a short story about their first job, or a recommendation for a great book. 

For example, have the CEO post a photo of their new puppy with a caption asking employees to suggest names for it.

Identify employees who are already active on the platform and make them your champions. These could be early adopters or naturally social people. Work with them to create initial content weekly, have them become community admins to create employee spaces, and generally act as role models for their peers. 

Their genuine enthusiasm will be much more impactful than official orders.

Dedicate a space on the homepage to promote newly-created communities. Use the Suggested communities widget or, if you want to provide more context, the RTE widget or Teaser widget, to highlight newly created employee spaces. 

Include public recognition for the creators to reward user contributions.

Start with simple actions that make participation and replication easy. For example, post a weekly "Question of the Week". E.g., "What's the best podcast you've listened to recently?" or "What's the one thing that made you smile this week?" for users to comment on. 

Use polls to get people interacting with minimal effort. Send kudos to recognize colleagues.

Many people want to contribute but don't know what to post about. Create a dedicated wiki with post ideas and inspiration. This could be a list of topics like "Share a cool article you read," "Ask for advice on a project," or "Post a photo from your team offsite." 

This removes the friction of coming up with a topic on their own in the beginning.

Create a dedicated section on the homepage to highlight content created by regular employees. This could be a "User Spotlight" or "Top Posts from Colleagues." You can achieve this using the Teaser widget and by following your employees so you're aware of their posts.

By highlighting these posts, you're showing their importance and indicating that employee contributions belong on the intranet as much as official messages.

Introduce a light-hearted system of recognition. A simple "Top Contributor of the Month" award or digital badges for creating a certain number of posts can encourage friendly competition. For example, award a "Knowledge Sharer" badge for someone who creates a useful wiki or a "Community Builder" badge for someone who starts a popular community. 

Create cover images with these badges that users can use on their profiles.

Create a simple guide on "How to Contribute to Our Intranet" with how-to instructions for each content type, including videos if possible. Add this guide to your "Content Bank" wiki alongside content ideas as mentioned earlier. 

Share this guide or the entire wiki regularly, or keep it pinned on the homepage for easy access.

Create easy-to-use templates for common posts and formats, such as "Project Showcase," "New Hire Welcome," or "Department Update." 

This gives users a structure to follow and reduces the mental load of starting from a blank page.

Schedule regular, recurring time slots where you or another intranet admin is available to answer questions and help users with any issues. For example, schedule a biweekly 30-minute block where employees can drop in to a virtual meeting and get one-on-one help.

This personal support is crucial for turning hesitant viewers into confident creators.

Even if your users don't have access to the same resources as you, you can still draw inspiration from them. For example, the video tutorials and best practices found in the Haiilo Academy can inspire the simple, engaging "how-to" videos and guides you create for your own users.

This allows you to learn from our experts and then translate that knowledge into bite-sized, accessible content for your employees.

Introduce seasonal or thematic campaigns, like "Innovation Month," "Sustainability Week," or "Throwback Thursdays, " to keep things dynamic and keep employees curious about what's next.

Get inspired by our theme ideas in Best practices for a great intranet design.

Track engagement metrics (e.g., number of creators, posts created, and interaction) and share progress updates with employees. Celebrate milestones, such as "This month, 60% of you created or interacted with content!".

Learn which metrics to monitor in Evaluating metrics to enhance your intranet.

Run quick polls or feedback loops to ask employees what's working and what feels stale. Involve them in shaping the future of the intranet.

Discover the right questions to ask in Conducting effective intranet feedback surveys.