The risk of going social for business
Many experts advise that companies open company social media accounts to their employees, while others advise against it. It offers all the advantages of building relationships and trust with customers and positive interactions with your market.
Opponents, on the other hand, can cite events like the recent Twitter debacle in which Chrysler Motors posted this beautiful tweet: “I find it ironic that Detroit is known as the motor city and yet nobody here knows how to drive.” . The original message was NSFW, and while much laughter ensued, imagine the horror and frantic scramble for phones when Chrysler execs saw this!
It came to light that an employee at the company that handles the automakers’ social media campaigns was responsible for the slip-up, likely tweeting to the Chrysler account instead of a personal account by mistake. The company removed the erroneous tweet and issued an apology to Chrysler supporters, so I’m sure most understanding people will soon forgive and forget, but it goes to show how a company’s reputation can be affected by social missteps, even with the best of intentions.
Employees as ambassadors of your brand
Despite some nonsense, I am still inclined to recommend opening the channels of communication for your company’s employees through social networks. For one thing, your employees are already on Twitter and Facebook throughout the workday anyway. Yes they are. So you need to consider: do you set allowed distractions in the workplace or do you let your employees choose theirs? I’d advise there be no shame in it, as long as it doesn’t interrupt productivity (hint: with a written social media policy, it can even increase productivity).
Second, employees are more likely to be passionate about the services they provide, since they essentially become public figures with a level of expertise and implied authority that customers will admire. So why not empower employees to represent your brand effectively and give managers and/or employees the crown of being ambassadors for your business through social media marketing?
Putting the ground rules in writing will allow all managers and employees involved to know what is acceptable and what is not. The most important thing is that it will convey to everyone exactly what is the goal about the social presence of the company online. Do you go to social media for reputation management? To provide customer support? To show transparency in your company? To increase your marketing reach? Perhaps a combination of these ideas? When all parties know what you’re striving for, you’ll see your social media effectiveness—and your bottom line—soar.
Also, let only those who have the desire to take on these additional responsibilities, as these people will best represent your brand. It’s important to note here that taking on a social media role in the company should be completely voluntary.
Establishing a workplace social media policy
When establishing your company’s social media policy, it is important to cover aspects such as disclosure of company proprietary information, disclosure of personal or private information, use of profanity, maintaining a positive voice, time allowed on social sites vs. actual activity in the workplace, when and what personal activity on social media is allowed, etc.
Also document what the consequences would be for an employee who violates the rules of the policy. Instruct your employees about this document during their training for their social media role and ask them to sign a copy to be placed in their personnel file.
Start small, keep it fun
Obviously, you can’t just go company-wide with social media from the start. There’s likely to be a lot of glitches and concerns, and a bit of turmoil until the new roles become routine, so it makes sense to start on a smaller scale. Choose a small core of people, such as department managers. Give them a few weeks and ask them to report their experiences in monthly meetings. This is a good time to brainstorm ideas about what works and what doesn’t, and provides an opportunity to brainstorm on a regular basis. Throughout the process, keep in mind the company’s short- and long-term marketing goals for social media.
As your company’s social media experience develops, you can further refine your social media policy and eventually reach a point where you are comfortable passing social media roles to other employees. While a project manager may have a lot of information to provide to customers and prospects through their company’s social media, employees with more specific roles and “hands-on” responsibilities will have even more information to provide about products and services. services of your company. Everyone can play a role in the customer service your business provides.
Don’t discount the idea of having contests and offering incentives that can be awarded individually or to entire departments to keep employees motivated and engaged. Offer your employees rewards like lunches at work, extra days off, “early release” and even pay bonuses for reaching specific milestones you set. Play sports and watch your business navigate.
Remember, this should be an enjoyable way for your employees to contribute to your company’s goals. When social media becomes more of a chore than a desired responsibility, things will spiral out of control. It will always be imperative to maintain an open channel of two-way communication up and down the ladder. Establishing a social media committee, which meets weekly or monthly, is an easy way to accomplish this. Roundtables will promote brainstorming and give everyone involved their own voice in the process.
In the end, you’ll find that the benefits of all this far outweigh the problems you may encounter. The only real problem you may encounter is getting started with social media in the first place. There is a considerable learning curve involved, especially in using social media for business purposes, and it can seem quite daunting. You can designate a knowledgeable employee as your company’s “social media manager,” or hire an outside consultant or marketing company.
There are social media marketing agencies, both large and small, that can provide training and education to your staff and/or take on your company’s social campaigns, either in whole or in part. Don’t be afraid to seek help from outside sources, as they can give you information you may never have thought of and take away a lot of hassle and worry if you’re unfamiliar with social media marketing for business.