In this four-part series, we'll shed light on the world of IT training, social media consultants and whether your company needs a formal policy
FrogBox is a small business that’s on the brink of getting big. The Vancouver firm, which rents out eco-friendly reusable moving boxes, is on the cusp of launching an ambitious franchising plan across the country. What’s more, the company about to get a jolt of publicity with an appearance this week on CBC Television’s Dragon’s Den.
Soon, its brand – which was once easily managed in their head office – will be in the hands of several franchise owners across Canada. And, this being 2011, many of them will want to take to Facebook, Twitter and the open Web.
This gave CEO Doug Burgoyne – eager to make sure that none of his brand’s environmental claims are inaccurate – reason to pause.
“Greenwashing is such a touchy subject right now,” he says. For instance, after moving away from solar-powered Web hosting (the benefits, he says, were marginal), Mr. Burgoyne scoured the Web to remove all mention of it. But a well-meaning franchisee might find an old page referring to it, and make an untrue boast.
“We need to absolutely make 100 per cent sure,” says Mr. Burgoyne.
It was this kind of concern that led him to hire a consultant to work with his company on a social media policy – one of the more talked-about managerial tools in the social media world. Social media policies are increasingly prevalent and relevant – but does every small business need one?
What’s in a social media policy?
At its core, it’s a written document that lays out a company’s expectations for its employees as they take to social networks.
A good deal of the talk stems from the disaster scenarios that bubble up in the news from time to time: A videotaped prank at a Domino’s Pizza kitchen that became an unwelcome YouTube hit, or the summary dismissals of corporate employees who posted the wrong thing on Facebook.
But more often than not, social media policies guard against slips that are entirely well-intentioned. Kirstin Beardsley, the manager of marketing and communication at CanadaHelps, a website that helps connect charities with donors, cites the example of a charity worker posting a photo on Twitter, depicting a holiday lunch spread. If the photo isn’t captioned to indicate that the lunch was, in fact, donated, it could lead to readers wondering how the charity was spending its money.
Every policy is different, but most touch on a few critical areas:
• Being an ambassador: As long as they’re employees, they’re acting as ambassadors for the firm online. As such, their public postings need to be in line with the company’s values. Everything they post online needs to be considered; if they find themselves hesitating before clicking “Post” or “Send,” then they should probably reconsider.
• Proprietary information: It’s easy to give away company information without realizing it. For instance, just checking in on FourSquare or Facebook from a client’s location could compromise company plans. Employers and employees need to be crystal-clear on what’s proprietary information and what’s not.
• Private information: Client confidentiality needs to be preserved at all times. Jo-Anne Stayner, whose Vancouver firm, Fresh PR, is working with FrogBox on their policy, posits the scenario of a well-meaning employee thanking a customer on Twitter. That well-meaning act involuntarily puts confidential sales information into the public domain. The customer might not have wanted to be outed, and they might now find themselves spammed by other companies.
• Transparency: Employees need to be clear on how they can represent the company in the online world. Are staffers allowed to make representations or promises on behalf of the owner? Whose job is it to answer which queries?
Formal policy or common sense?
