Bob Milliken
Bob Milliken

Social Media is constantly changing the way we connect and it has me spinning out of control. Every time I turn around another social media platform has popped up making it difficult for us to keep track of media policies and assess their effectiveness.

An annual review of your policies will keep in check those employees who might get so obsessed with what’s trending on Twitter that they miss their deadlines. That would impact productivity and ultimately, your bottom line.

Avoid legal trouble

Do you remember Chipotle’s social media debacle in 2015? It lost a lawsuit for firing an employee that posted negative content on social media because it turned out that Chipotle’s social media policy violated federal labor laws. That’s why you should work with your legal team to keep your policies up to date and to ensure that they comply with both Government laws and Labour Relation boards.

Protect company information

Social media policies can actually help safeguard sensitive data from hackers and cyber-attacks, especially in a bring-your-own-device (BYOD) working environment. Employees must know the proprietary company information that must never be shared, as well as understand that confidential information — such as marketing tactics, non-public financials, and future product launches — are to be communicated only ‘internally.’

Social MediaDefine which kinds of social media activities are and aren’t allowed

Although posting offensive or insensitive material on a company-branded social media page being is an obvious no-no, it still happens. For the people handling your company’s social media, what precautionary mechanisms are in place to avoid a public relations disaster? Are there rules for different platforms? Beyond that, however, is a lot of gray area when it comes to if and how employees will be held accountable for what they post on their personal profiles.

When social media policies clearly outline how employees should behave online and the punishments that come with violating that agreement, you can deter rogue employee posts and avoid a viral fiasco. However, many small businesses do not have policies about using social media at work making it difficult for them to enforce roge behavior.

Your Take Away

Effective social media policies need to be fluid and responsive to the fast-paced modern business environment. They provide the rules and guidelines that guide the use of this technology in the workplace.

Taking the time out to perform yearly social media policy reviews will save your employees a lot of confusion while helping your company steer clear of potential PR and legal nightmares.

To help you build your policy we have created a list of 8 key Social Media guidelines that you are free to download from http://bit.ly/2op0otA

If you have further questions, or would like assistance building your Social Media Policy, don’t hesitate to talk to us. We can help!

 

Bob Milliken is the TheITguy@CascadiaSystemsGroup.com specializing in helping businesses with their IT needs. Discover how great local IT services can be.  604.270.1730.