social media

Think You Don’t Need A Social Media Policy? Think Again!

In Technology Resources by Brandt A. HandleyLeave a Comment

It seems like Social Media is continually evolving at a breakneck speed. Very few organizations can stay on top of all changes, updates, and new programs.  Your Middle Market firm has its own viewpoint on Social Media, certainly. Possibly you feel it is not useful and necessary for your business.

Whatever your feelings, you can’t ignore social media. If your organization doesn’t have a policy in place for the use, monitoring and rules of engagement on Social Media, you need to start one.

You Need A Policy Even If You Aren’t On Social Media

Maybe, you have decided Social Media isn’t useful or an area you’d like to focus on for your company. While that is perfectly fine, you are still missing two key points.

  • You can’t control what others are saying about you online.
  • You can’t mitigate damage or respond if you have no idea what is being said about you.
  • Even if your Middle Market company has never been active on any Social Media outlet, you can be pretty sure somewhere, someone, at some time is going to talk about you. It may always be complimentary, but likely someone is going to air some complaints at some time.

    It could be an unhappy customer or even a disgruntled former vendor, partner or employee.

    If you don’t know what is being said, you don’t have any ability to respond. If you don’t respond, potential customers and employees may decide the information is accurate or that your company doesn’t care.

    Also, you need to monitor to protect yourself from people copying or taking credit for your proprietary processes and information.

    What To Do When You Don’t Want To Join Social Media

    If your organization decides not to join and participate in Social Media, that is totally acceptable. But, you still need a policy for how to monitor what is being said about your Middle Market firm and how you’ll respond.

    Begin by creating a team to determine how you’ll keep tabs on what’s being shared about your company and what you’ll do if a response is merited. There are many programs and tools you can use; the team should be tasked with exploring your options and selecting the best one(s) for your needs.

    Next, identify who or which team will oversee monitoring and responding to Social Media comments, posts, and complaints. In some organizations, the Marketing, Sales or HR teams would make the most sense. In others, it might be the IT team or CIO.

    Lastly, decide on a timeline and step by step process for how to craft responses. Decide what the ideal outcome is or the tone you’d like to set for your company.

    If you aren’t active on Social Media outlets, your Middle Market firm may need a very short policy to deal with comments and issues shared on Social Media – but your company still needs one.

    So what’s in the Mighty Middle Market for me? — get it right now at www.Go4ROI.com.

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