Dynamic Business

Web 2.0 policy and guidelines

The best preventative measure is to create a set of employee guidelines, informing them of what they can or cannot, should or should not, do when they visit social media environments. Such social media policies should be specifically designed to reflect the kind of organisation you have, but some of the key areas they should address include:

1. Identity
Social media is all about transparency, so staff or associates should:

• Disclose their true identity or allegiances, avoiding pseudonyms
• Disclose their organisation and provide appropriate contact details
• Not be covertly represented by a third party or agency.

2. Personal v professional publishing
When online, staff may find themselves involved in social media conversations that could touch on work-related issues. Accordingly they must:

• Be sensitive to separating their personal opinions from professional ones
• Watch their language and expression when referring to company matters
• Not reveal confidential information.

3. Blog relations
Blogs and bloggers should be afforded the same professional courtesy as traditional media sources, meaning:

• Don’t spam, target carefully, always observe ‘house rules’ and ask bloggers to be transparent when dealing with you.

4. Commercial transactions
Companies and their representatives need to be careful about the relationship they develop with online publishers, being very clear that:

• Ideally, they will not seek to buy or otherwise recompense favourable commentary (cash for comment)
• Encourage bloggers to be open and transparent in how they engage with/review organisational wares

5. Laws and regulations
Businesses can be held legally responsible for materials authored, created, produced, or posted online. If staff-created content is defamatory, inappropriate or libellous they could be disciplined by your employer and even sued by other parties affected.

• Comply with all relevant laws and regulations (especially those relating to identity and representation)
• Respect competitors and detractors; don’t get hostile or snide
• Adhere to corporate confidentiality, legal and privacy guidelines.

6. Confidential and protected information
Companies should always respect brand, copyright, fair use, financial disclosure, trademark and trade secrets regulations making it critical that staff understand that they must:

• Not share confidential, proprietary or sensitive information
• Not use copyrighted materials – audio tracks (speeches), footage (video), graphics (graphs, charts, logos), images, photographs or music – without seeking appropriate permissions from the originator or copyright owner.
• Respect the privacy, position and prerogatives of fellow employees and associates.

Get advice

While social media may be in its infancy, it is gaining acceptance as a credible form of media. It’s undeniable that your staff members can be credible brand touchpoints for your business. As more of them participate in social media spaces, they’re potentially going to be brand assets or brand liabilities. It’s not rocket science to figure out which you’d rather they were, is it?

If your business is thinking of social media right now, I’d suggest setting up monitoring systems to get a feel for how it all works. Then, get an expert to help you set up a safe, social media sandpit where you can try out the technical aspects of social media in house, before going ‘live’ online. And get your employee engagement guidelines written soon. For social media, honestly, it’s the best policy.

–Gerry McCusker is the author of Public Relations Disasters and founder of Engage ORM (www.engageorm.com), a PR company offering training for businesses looking to do more with online audiences.

People who read this, also liked:
6 ways to engage your online community

Seeking to promote your business? Create your free business listing with Dynamic Search business directory – Sister site of Dynamic Business.