Social tools are used for a number of business reasons; to promote a brand, improve reputation, increase engagement, encourage advocacy, and recruit, retain, and nurture relationships. Not only that, they are accessible 24/7. Just because we can use social tools any time, should we use them all the time?
A couple of weeks ago, there was an article about @GovernorRod’s intention to live-tweet his corruption trial. Were Blagojevich’s tweets appropriate given the fact that he was in a federal courtroom facing 24 counts of corruption? Most people would agree that there are inappropriate times and topics to tweet. A high-profile, federal trial is definitely one of them.
Analogously, how appropriate is it to tweet or update your Facebook status while you’re in a meeting or an interview ? Or checking into a client’s office on Foursquare before the public knows that they’re your client?
A number of companies, Coca-Cola and IBM to name a few, have already put corporate social policies in place to avoid potentially embarrassing situations. As companies and their employees become increasingly social, brands must balance the essence of social (openness, sharing, and transparency) with the realities of business (information security, risk management, and legal). Corporations with policies in place will be better prepared than those that have yet to address the issue.
Does your company provide meaningful guidance in relation to the use of social tools?
I agree – guidelines need to be set for what is appropriate status updates. People need to remember that social media is developing a collection of indexed items that collectively speak to the integrity of the company brand and also of the employee. When used properly, social media is a fabulous tool for building credibility, community and customer relationships.
I have created a Policy for Social Media designed with the smaller business owner in mind – ones that don’t have an in-house communications/human resource department, a written document that spells out 16 policies for participating both on the job and off in social media. Employees need guidance, as your article highlights, so they can safely and effectively participate without harming their own reputation or the company brand.
Deborah Chaddock Brown