Social Media Policy for Enterprises
Recently I was asked to participate in a group to define the social media policy for an organisation. So, I thought I would form some thoughts on it, and might as well publish those to see if it would help anyone else.
So, social media policy. Many enterprises are still stuck in the old age where they block access to Blogs, Facebook, Twitter and so on due to the belief that it is personal time they are spending there. This, as I have discussed extensively in previous posts, is not true. In fact, there is a very strong case for B2C and B2B social media.
Sales and Marketing need to use Social Media for, well... sales and marketing. This includes (but not exclusive to) Facebook, Twitter, a great variety of blogs and, of course LinkedIn.
Support staff need access to Social Media to engage and support our customers. Engaging with them on, say, twitter will help adapt to the new world - using Customer Defined Processes.
Staff need to contribute knowledge and support back to the community through a company Blog. This will help an active engagement and show a willingness to help.
Snr. management can use Social media to find trends, hot topics and for other networking. Recommend that daily, localised reports be offered for time-poor management to scan.
Follow your competitors. Find out what they are talking about, you will get a lot of tips from them.
Guiding development of social media is more 'nurturing' and less 'constructing'. These are some Do's that can be in the policy:
Always be helpful, polite and respectful towards the community.
ALWAYS cite your sources - if you are re-posting some helpful stuff you found online, ALWAYS give a pointer to the original author <-- its a big deal, and its the right thing to do.
Include your employer in your business comms (a link in your online profile is fine). Anyone who finds your help honest will always look up your employer, trust me.
Try to stand for something - a cultural or ethical ambassador, if you will...it has to resonate with you, but it will keep your involvement with community motivated and consistent.
Find online communities in your domain of expertise that need help, and offer it honestly and with integrity
Remember, our competitors can follow us as well, so as you would imagine, there needs to be a list of 'dont's'... these can be set out in the General Guidelines for Social media use:
Don't discuss client information on public channels
Definitely don't give out personal information about the company or clients - funnel any requests through the reception or other formal contacts
Don't discuss any RFQs, Upcoming work, contracts or anything that might expose your employer commercially
You are not anonymous, and you represent us as a whole, so behave as if you are at work, because YOU are liable.
Dont insult or harass anyone
Sexist, racist or other types of offensive behaviour is also a big no
you are being watched, so act like you would at work.
As a basis for a formal policy, 5 minutes of googling found me this, a policy for social media and internet from International SOS. Has a few good points, but equally might be missing a few things... but it's a start!