We all know what social media is – but what is “corporate governance,” and what does it mean?
Corporate governance is the set of principles, policies and procedures created by a company to direct its operations and dictate the behavior and conduct of its employees. Among other things, corporate governance may involve how employees dress, the philosophies applied to their work tasks, how they may conduct themselves with the media, what is considered a privacy violation – and how they are allowed to conduct themselves on social media, both on the company’s pages and on their own.
As media scandals involving workplace social media accounts have grown in recent years – for example, the 2011 incident where Chrysler’s official Twitter account dropped the F-bomb – more and more companies have begun to implement social media policies for their employees. And because employee conduct can reflect on a company’s image, some also have policies regarding personal accounts – for example, a St. Louis Applebee’s employee was fired after posting a photo of a customer check with the tip amount crossed out and replaced with the text “I give God 10 percent, why should I give you 18?” on the popular site Reddit. Some companies have been accused of being heavy-handed with their policies – but many have also found themselves faced with a need for public response after such posts manage to go viral, potentially being seen by hundreds of thousands of internet users.
Here are a few tips for companies working to create social media governance policies:
1. Create clear policies, and ensure that your employees know what they are.
Add social media training to your company’s onboarding process. Especially if you have policies regarding employees’ personal accounts, make sure they are clearly spelled out and communicated. And make sure that you have a well-planned strategy for actually monitoring this policy, if you intend to enforce it. (Though in some cases, having a policy on the books is just a good practice in terms of sticky situations that might arise.)
2. Respond to digital PR issues promptly.
Make no mistake – you will be judged in terms of how well you respond to issues in the digital space. In some cases, company response can make the situation even worse than it was before. Consider creating a crisis management plan so that you’re not scrambling when problems arise.
3. Limit access to your company’s social media accounts.
This may seem like a no-brainer, but make sure your social space is in the hands of someone reliable and trustworthy. If you have a third-party company managing your social accounts, make sure they understand and follow your policies to the letter.
4. Monitor your accounts. Make sure that there are multiple pairs of eyes on your full social media presence.
This includes posts made by company representatives as well as comments by employees in response to these posts.
5. Don’t delete negative comments on your social media pages.
It won’t go unnoticed, and you’ll be accused of trying to sweep issues under the rug. Respond to negative comments quickly and with grace – and remember the eyes of the world are upon you.