Do you know who’s manning your social media accounts?
The pressure to get involved with social media is coming at organizations from all angles, and rightly so. One common mistake made by those looking to jump in as quickly as possible, though, is to just let whoever knows how to use the popular services take the reins, often with minimal or non-Web savvy supervision.
This can lead to trouble when their choice of message or topic violates acceptable business practice, as demonstrated in this quote from a Ragan PR Daily article by Pam Sahota:
Who has the keys?
Although the “younger” folks know how to use social media—because they’ve been thrown into it at an earlier age—does that mean they know how to use it properly for business? When making hiring decisions and “handing over the keys,” companies should not hire based solely on social media experience, but also on experience in business strategy and implementation.
Vodafone realized this after the fact. The company had a junior employee handling its online community, and the young gentleman foolishly posted a homophobic comment on the brand’s Twitter page.
Immature? Yes. Inexperienced? Most definitely.
Hand over the keys with care, folks—it’s just your brand’s reputation on the line.
It’s only human to make mistakes, but crisis management after a big one often requires a significant investment of time and money. While it can pay off to have your most “in touch” employees manning social media accounts, the less experienced benefit greatly from a veteran voice guiding the tone and direction of communication.
The BCM Blogging Team
https://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/