Time to develop social media policies
There are a lot of companies dipping their toes in the waters of social media, but the profound changes that it is ushering in means that a more profound organisational approach is required.
Companies need to be monitoring what is being said through social media as a start, and they need to train people so they can respond online in particular subject areas. Companies need to also understand the particular culture of social media and how other companies are handling it. At the moment, it seems that it is largely technology companies who are taking the lead.
Simply not participating will not work because it is a threat to your reputation. With more and more consumption of news and information taking place online, there are plenty of good opportunities to build close relationships with key stakeholders.
There also needs to be agreement across a company on how you want to use social media. How do you want to be seen by users of social media? How are you going to handle negative comments? Which platforms are you going to use and why? How are you going to develop products through social media? How are you going to build your company reputation through social media? How will you recruit through social media?
Individual departments are making strides forward, which is good, and tactical activities are fine, up to a point. In fact tactical work can help to advance the introduction of more wide ranging strategies. But companies need a joined-up approach. There needs to be a consistent strategic approach which enables flexibility in terms of how it is interpreted locally or by individual departments.
