As more and more companies develop social
media footprints, the issue arises as to which individual or department will be
responsible for commenting, responding, and maintaining accounts. The CEO may
comment, department Vice Presidents may comment, the marketing or public
relations department may comment, or the IT department may comment. Before
long, lines blur – and chaos results.
But there are more ways that chaos can
result. When an employee leaves, who owns his/her Twitter and other social
media accounts? If the Twitter account is used for business, does the company
own it? If the LinkedIn account is used for business, and the contacts were
made as part of doing business, does the company own it? And if friends were
made on an employee’s Facebook page, does the company own that account?
The reality is, there are no easy
answers. According to Jennifer Archie, a privacy and data security attorney
with Latham & Watkins, “People’s professional work often bleeds over into
their personal time thanks to the interconnectedness of mobile devices.”
But there is a solution until the law
catches up with social media. The best way for employers to avoid legal issues
is to write clear policies indicating how employees can and should use social
media – and clearly state what will happen to an account when an employee
leaves the company.
According to John Delaney, an attorney
with Morrison & Foerster, “If a company is going to encourage its employees
to use their own personal social media accounts for work-related posts and
tweets, the company should not expect to obtain ownership over such accounts.”
So, before a crisis happens regarding
your business, write a social media usage plan for your business. The five key
elements to include are:
[1] Which Employees Will Post
(individual, department, overall ownership).
[2] Posting Schedule (hourly, daily,
weekly – and on which sites).
[3] Crisis Posting Plan (i.e., how to
respond to negative comments).
[4] Official Voice (i.e., friendly,
conversational, or formal).
[5] Be clear that no sensitive or
confidential business data may be shared via social media.
Once your business has social media
guidelines, distribute them to everyone – and if possible, schedule regular
training sessions. This way, people understand what is expected of them and
what is not. While we’re not all legal eagles, we can be prepared for the
potential of brand violations in cyberspace – but only with sufficient
planning.
This post was written as part of the IBM for
Midsize Business program,
which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they
need to become engines of a smarter planet. I’ve been compensated to contribute
to this program, but the opinions expressed in this post are my own and don't
necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies or opinions.
Image provided courtesy of http://451heat.com.
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