It’s so great to see so many companies embracing social media as a marketing tool these days. Only a few years ago, mention “facebook” or “Twitter” to company decision-makers and watch them squirm for fear of adopting these new communication tools. But despite having come so far, there’s still another hurdle to jump before the squirming stops – and that’s enforcing a social media policy.
Sure, responsible social media use might seem like commonsense, but if you have no formal protocols in place, how do you expect to have a course of redress when something goes wrong? We continue to see regular examples of social media accounts being hacked and disgruntled employees taking to social media platforms to air their grievances.
It’s time to get serious about how you communicate the use of social media within your organisation. Remember when email was becoming more widely used? Many organisations quickly implemented email policies into human resource practices – and yet even with the rapid growth of social media adoption, many companies fail to address this and make the necessary changes.
It may sound fear mongering and onerous, but creating a social media policy doesn’t need to be. It’s about communicating your expectations and ensuring staff understand their obligations. Check out a few examples of how these organisations have implemented a policy – they might inspire you to do the same:
It’s easy to see how the line between personal and corporate social media usage can often become blurred. But regardless of the size of your organisation, this issue needs to be something you raise at the executive level. Put a plan in place to mitigate your risk and everyone will sleep easier.
