These days, a lot of companies are using social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to reach potential consumers, loyal customers, and the public at large. But there are risks to doing so. How can your company utilize social networking sites as marketing and educational tools without compromising privacy or your company’s reputation? Here are a few tips:
1. Make only one employee the administrator. Multiple administrators means more outlets for someone to post something that accidentally breaches security or compromises the company’s integrity. Even typos and misspellings reflect on a company when it comes from the administrator. The administrator should run what he/she wants to post past a supervisor first to make sure a second set of eyes are not only looking for errors, but also that the content is appropriate for anyone to read.
2. Delete inappropriate or abusive posts immediately. That means checking the site daily for posts that don’t reflect well on the company or that could offend your other customers.
3. Post items of substance and always link back to your own website. The idea is to drive customers back to the website that you control. Keep in mind that the social networking site is only to keep people engaged and updated but your own site is where you want them to end up.
4. Be careful not to open yourself up to malware and hacking. The more information you let the public see, the higher the risk that someone will use it in a way they shouldn’t. Be mindful.