Should companies have a Social Media policy (before going into social media)?

I think, and hope, companies in Oman are finally realising that people are talking about them whether they like it or not so maybe they’re deciding whether they should consider having a social media presence, and hence, a policy for employees with corporate guidelines or principles of communicating in the online world.

So, just like in the old days when companies had to figure out how to deal with email, now they have to figure out how to deal with the various new media venues. Companies should contemplate what might happen if an employee says or does something stupid (we've seen plenty of cases on You Tube). Employers need to be upfront with employees that they have no right to privacy with respect to social networking. Employers reserve the right to monitor employee use of social media regardless of location, i.e. at work on a company computer or on personal time with a home computer.

And employees should be made aware that company policies on anti-harassment, ethics and company loyalty extend to all forms of communication (including social media) both inside and outside the workplace. People need to remember that bashing your organization/boss/co-workers online can lead to consequences at work.

Forming a social policy should start with an understanding of how your employees are aligned with your company values. It’s important that authenticity can exist without the need for what may be perceived as forced company morality.

In addition, social media can strengthen the company’s brand not only as an employer but as a company. Take Dell for example; a recent report claims that Twitter has made Dell $1 million in revenue over the past year and a half. So what are they waiting for?

Media is for everyone…not just your marketing department. So for it to really be effective consider expanding the policy to all employees, not just for a handful of people. One way to think of it is, while it’s called social media, it has a vibrant customer service component to it. You wouldn’t take the phone or email from your employees, so why take social media away from them.

Companies have existing communications policies, directives that spell out the company’s expectation when employees use the phone or email. Since the conversation has moved to the web, it’s important for organizations large and small to acknowledge that and extend their existing communications policies to include online sites.

When you give all of your employees the ability to interact with the whole world…well, then you have to provide them with some training on how to use it properly and effectively. A great example is Zappos. They encourage all of their employees to have Twitter accounts so they can interact with current and potential customers. And, they actually train their employees on the proper use of Twitter during new-hire orientation.

Zappos CEO, Tony Hsieh, said that their company uses Twitter in a big way. “We’ve found that it’s a great way to form more personal connections with both employees and customers.”

The time to think about drafting a social media policy is now. Twitter is growing at a rate of 1,382%, and it’s just one of the many social networking applications in the market. Companies are using social media tools to establish value in terms of marketing and branding.

Social media or new media is really media. Plain and simple. Many organizations with any kind of formal structure have a policy in place for working with media and social media is merely an extension of what any company should already have in place.

So it’s time for companies to start thinking about social media in the same context as all other forms of communication. That means developing guidelines for its use, training people to leverage the benefits, and proactively creating a positive social media presence for the organization. As an example you can view BBC’s policy here.