Social media: the importance of strategy

Implementing a social media strategy can both eliminate risk and provide employees with a clear behavioural guideline. MyCustomer.com explains how to build an effective online framework. 

Social media has become part of the daily routine for hundreds of millions of people around the world. And at a time when business technology is becoming increasingly consumerised, social media provides “tempting opportunities” for companies to interact with employees, customers and partners, according to research analyst Gartner.

Social networking has taken off in the businesses world with employees using Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter for marketing, recruitment and other processes. But the potential benefits of social media also bring associated dangers. A survey of over 1,000 adults conducted by market researcher ICM identified potential leakage of sensitive information, unintentional exposure to malware, increased targeting of individuals who are associated with the company for social engineering attacks and greater exposure to fraudulent scams as danger points.

Greater guidance

Gartner analyst Carol Rozwell called for greater guidance for the employee. However, few organisations are rolling out such policies. Debra Logan, VP and distinguished analyst at Gartner, explains: “Companies have one of two approaches at present. They either try to ban it because they are concerned that staff will waste their time on social media (but if people want to waste their time, they’ll do it without social media!); or they just ignore it instead of providing guidance.”

Continued...