One of cloud integrator Bluewolf's biggest practice areas centers on Software-as-a-Service solutions for customer engagement, so it makes sense that the company apparently invests more than the average solution provider in building its brand both internally and externally.

It has long encouraged its employees to participate on social networks, both external ones such as Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn, as well as the internal solution built on Salesforce.com technology that is used to manage sales, marketing and other operations activities.

The rationale is pretty simple. By getting employees to share best practices information or important knowledge about certain technology platforms on its internal Salesforce Chatter installation, Bluewolf can identify issues that might have an impact across the company or help each other avoid common mistakes. "This is information that is valuable to our firm," said Corinne Sklar, chief marketing for Bluewolf, which is headquartered in New York with offices around the globe.

Meanwhile, by showcasing their knowledge publicly through social media posts or blog contributions, Bluewolf's consultants, engineers and other employees help build the company's brand with existing and potential customers, she said.

It also enables them to build their own "brand," the sort of activity many solution providers seem to resist for fear of seeing employees poached. But Bluewolf's philosophy is that enabling employees to share their knowledge is not only good business, it promotes a culture of trust and respect internally. "Everyone is on LinkedIn anyway," Sklar said. "People need to choose to stay."

Realistically, all this social "sharing" takes time and commitment that might go above and beyond typical job descriptions and expectations. So Bluewolf developed an incentive program called "Going Social" to make the idea more appealing.

As part of the initiative -- which is managed using the Bunchball gamification platform -- consultants earn points for completing certain activities, which can be applied toward rewards such as a lunch with Bluewolf CEO Eric Berridge or the opportunity to host a happy hour, lunch or dinner for his or her team.