As more and more businesses dive head-first into the raging waters of social media, having an official company policy surrounding individual tools and services is becoming increasingly more commonplace.
Social networks, if used correctly, can be a powerful tool. But it needs guidelines to cover on-line interaction with customers. Why?
Employees will have a clear idea of your position when it comes to social media so they will be able to communicate that to the outside world
Employees will feel empowered that they can leverage their social networks in support of their role, as well as for their professional careers
Companies will be legally protected from the possible misuse and misbehaviour of their employees online
Companies will appear more innovative, forward thinking and acknowledgeable of how social media has integrated through employees lives and the rest of the world
Employees will have a set of best practices and guidance while they venture into the social media world, so even the beginners have some reference guide to turn to
Official social media policies may vary as widely as company cultures do, but no matter what the nature of your business, it might be good practice to consider if you’re wading into social media waters in any strategic manner.
As you write your policy, consider these items:
Stay open to opportunities. Social media offers new options for business. Be open to how it can help you engage with your constituents, collaborate, solve problems, provide customer services, increase efficiency and more
Make sure your policy flexible enough to adapt as the world around you evolves
Keep it general. Social media isn’t just Facebook and MySpace. It includes blogs, groups and communities, file and link sharing, wikis, applications, mobile platforms and more. Set policies that apply to what exists now and what will exist in the future.
In the wake of the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, BP has been getting a lot of negative press, has been the butt of many YouTube parodies and has been generally lambasted on Twitter, Facebook and the rest of the Web:
Attacked on Facebook by a boycott movement called “Boycott BP,” urging a worldwide boycott of all BP brands and services
But now BP has purchased several phrases on search engines such as Google and Yahoo so that the first result that shows up directs information seekers to the company’s official website. Terms related to the spill, from “oil spill” to “gulf disaster” to “BP,” have consistently remained in the list of most-searched terms on Google since the spill began in April.
A simple Google search of “oil spill” turns up several thousand news results, but the first link, highlighted at the very top of the page, is from BP. “Latest news and facts about the Gulf of Mexico”, the link’s tagline reads.
From BP’s perspective it’s a brilliant move – directing traffic to their own site is a great PR strategy. But controlling what the public finds when they look online for oil spill information is just another way for the company to try and rebuild the company’s suffering public image.
Short URL & Title: Redirect traffic as a crisis management tool — http://www.torbenrick.eu/t/r/ksz
You’ve probably heard that Intel was attacked by activists opposed to minerals mining in the Congo, that Nestlé was attacked for using palm oil from companies that where trashing Indonesian rainforests, that Shell was attacked by human rights group Amnesty International for their activities in the Niger Delta. Or, more recently, that BP was attacked on Facebook by a boycott movement called “Boycott BP,” urging a worldwide boycott of all BP brands and services.
Even if your business chooses not to engage in the online conversation, people are talking about your products and services whether you like it or not. Surely it’s far better to acknowledge the presence of these conversations rather than ignoring them to the potential detriment of your business, especially given that any business would be adequately prepared to enter the world of social media without fear with the right social media strategynand social media policy in place.
In fact, brands who take on board the criticisms they hear on Facebook, Twitter or through social media monitoring, and then try to improve on them, will be the ones who continue to grow and prosper. Every single piece of information that is picked up online, be it good or bad, is a valuable learning.
A good example of a brand that has the ability to embrace criticism as well as praise is Domino’s pizza. Instead of cowering in shame or responding angrily to negative online reviews and comments about their products, Dominos pizza met the criticism head on - “Oh yes we did – The Pizza Turnaround“. They made a documentary describing the extent of their problems and the efforts they were making to improve their products and services. They posted the documentary on YouTube:
What’s refreshing about this reaction is that it’s completely transparent and wholly honest. Dominos acknowledged the shortcomings their customers highlighted and made every effort to address the issues.
Even more intelligent is the fact that Dominos clearly thought about their long-term business strategy rather than the immediate need to quell any negative comments. They openly addressed the issues that their customers were complaining about so that these same people would spread word of their proactive response via the same fast-spreading medium. In other words, if you act on negative comments and turn them into positive experiences then the people who you’ve listened to are likely to become your biggest advocates and will start doing your marketing work on your behalf.
Does your company care enough about its customers to rebuild a bad product from scratch?
As more and more businesses dive head-first into the raging waters of social media, having an official company policy surrounding individual tools and services is becoming increasingly more commonplace.
