In business today, establishing and maintaining a strong social media presence is relatively high on the marketing to-do list. Customers expect to see you on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and all the other social media sites.
Participating in the social space makes you seem more real, and customers can get a better idea of what you are about from your posts rather than your expensive, scripted advertisements. You benefit from customer engagement and brand awareness, among other things.
But social media can be tricky, and more than a few companies have found themselves wanting to delete every tweet, pin and plus after someone on your team posts something insensitive or outright offensive. Companies also can fall victim to social media hackers who hijack their accounts or become the target of “tweet bashing.”
Here’s what every CEO should know about handling a social media mess.
Give Your Employees Guidelines for What’s Appropriate
The debate between social media sharing at work versus at home is huge right now. Employers like Applebee’s and Cisco have received major negative attention for firing employees over what they posted on social media.
If your company doesn’t have an official social media policy, write one that gives give all employees clear instructions for what they may or may not post, especially with regard to work-related content. Of course, the scope of any policy depends on what kind of business you are. Some companies might uphold more reserved images than others. If you expect the same reserve out of your employees, it’s important to make that clear from the beginning.
Keep a Plan in Place
If you do experience a social media disaster, it’s important to act appropriately. Notice, we didn’t say quickly. It’s tempting in a world of constant updates to issue an immediate answer to a negative post or angry reviews, but you’ll most likely make the problem worse. Instead, work with your HR and social media teams to establish a plan for when something goes wrong on social media. For example, know who in your organization can quickly change an account’s password if your Twitter feed is commandeered. Keep it simple so that you can customize it to fit a range of situations.
If a something comes up where you need to implement the plan, take the time to read over it and make sure it applies to the situation. Waiting a little longer and making sure you have an appropriate plan of action that doesn’t contradict itself is much better than getting an answer out quickly to appease your audience.
Apologize, But Don’t Delete
It can be tempting to delete negative posts and pretend they never happened, but this can cause even more of a scandal. People don’t enjoy feeling like they’re being lied to, and erasing posts screams cover-up.
If your company becomes the center of a social media scandal, act responsibly. Don’t throw out a response and then erase the posts in the hope that your followers will forget what happened. Instead, make an effort to respond appropriately and take every measure to prevent any negative feedback on social media. This isn’t always
