Does Your Workplace Have A Social Media Policy?

 Online Brand Reputation, Online Media, Online Reputation, Social Media, Social Media in the Workplace, Social Media Policy  No Responses »
Jul 232012
 

As social media continues to grow, statistics in Australia show all platforms increasing.  With it comes a blurring of the lines between personal and business communication especially in the workplace.

Social media is more extensive than simply having a Facebook account.  It involves a spectrum of technologies that include web and mobile technologies including blogging, LinkedIn, text messaging, MSN Messenger and Skype all Web 2.0 platforms that encourage interactivity.  This may cause disruption in the workplace as employees can become preoccupied with non-work related issues.

Some employers make social media sites inaccessible in the workplace.  However, blocking such sites is neither suitable nor practical particularly in this age of changing communication and youth who have grown up not knowing life without the online space.

The solution is to have a policy that is balanced and makes clear what is appropriate behaviour.  No one policy will work for all organisations.  Such policies need to be tailored to the culture of the workplace.  But there are some key points that are collectively relevant and important to consider:

o       Include a definition of social media

o       Make employees aware there is a policy

o       Have consequences for breaking the social media policy

o       Implement it alongside your Internet and email policy

o       Have a training session to implement the policy

o       Have employees sign off that they understand the policy

There is no doubt that the use of social media in the workplace has become one of the hottest issues in human resources for a number of years.  Social media is part of the dynamic and constantly changing world of communication in the 21st century.  A blocking strategy is an overreaction and should be avoided, as employees will resent it.  A collaborative approach is more desirable and more in tune with a modern workforce.

Thanks for reading!

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 Posted by on 23 July, 2012 at 11:25 am

Social Media and Managing Your Online Brand and Reputation

 Online Brand Reputation, Online Content, Online Marketing, Online Media, Online Reputation, Social Media, Social Media in the Workplace, Social Media Tips, Social Network Sites  No Responses »
Jul 162012
 

Social media is an important tool for business communications.  Despite the positive aspects it brings, the nature of social media means that someone airing their bad experience online does so, instantly and potentially to a massive audience.

As the online environment becomes more crucial to business, and more people are continuously online, increasingly they will comment on their experience with friends via Facebook, blogs, Twitter and so on.  This emerges as a risk that all businesses need to manage.  Any negative comments from disgruntled customers (or employees) can potentially be very damaging to a business image if it goes ‘viral’.

Here are 3 steps for SMEs to be proactive in managing their brand and reputation:

1. Audit

This is essential to assess your brand and reputation and see exactly what people think about your business.  These conversations are happening with or without your presence so there is plenty of information out there.  Therefore it is vital for business to be a part of the online community and monitor what is being said about them.

2. Positive Content

It is unlikely that you will be able to have every negative comment or image removed from its original source.  Content which is hosted on a third’s party’s site is content that will be challenging to remove.  If you have been unsuccessful in asking nicely to have it removed, be proactive and keep publishing constructive content.  This can diminish the negative content’s visibility to the lower end of an engine search.

3. Track & Monitor

Think about key words or phrases that you believe symbolise you, your company, and your brand.  These can be typed into a search engine to see what comes up.  Better still, to be more efficient set up ‘alerts’ (i.e Google Alert) with your key words so that you are notified each time there is a post or tweet that mentions your key words.

Be cautious about trying to have negative comments removed as this may cause more damage as it alerts individuals to the content and suggests you are trying to hide something!!  Accept that the online environment is something you can’t control and that negative comments will always be part of equation.  Business can only track, monitor, negate and correct factual information.

Thanks for reading!

Feel free to ‘tweet’ or ‘repost’ this article or leave your comments….

 Posted by on 16 July, 2012 at 10:59 am