With Social Media being so ingrained in our daily lives, it’s more important than ever to set some ground rules for how we allow (or don’t allow) social media during company hours. Without a clear policy in place, your company risks being embarrassed or even caught in a data breach in the case of a misstep or account hack.
Lines between personal and professional are increasingly blurred, so it’s a good idea to limit or ban employees from posting controversial views to their platform. Remind employees they are ambassadors for your brand, and therefore should present their thoughts and views in a professional manner.
It’s also a good idea to have regulations regarding conflict in the workplace. Any complaints or concerns your employees have should be properly addressed and mediated without a social media audience of potential customers, partners, and most importantly competitors.
Your policy should apply to all social media platforms. Some employees may only consider LinkedIn and Twitter for business while keeping Facebook for personal use. A simple name or content search can easily link all of these platforms and the employee back to your business. Remind employees they are company representatives and anything inappropriate can damage their brand, as well as yours.
This being said, you shouldn’t go on a virtual witch hunt looking for employees to break your codes of conduct. Simply monitoring any company mentions should suffice. Also, try to implement a “see something, say something” approach with your employees in the case of a disgruntled employee posting anything threatening to their accounts. And, of course, if an employee is let go or resigns, be sure to delete their access to all corporate channels and change all passwords immediately.
Social Media is certainly necessary in our day to day business dealings, and you’d do well to protect yourself and your brand when it comes to managing all the platforms available. If you need help implementing a strategy, give us a call at 800-538-0669 today.
