We live in a technologically-savvy world, with people seemingly unable to pry themselves away from their Blackberry or iPhone. Social media plays right into this trend, making it all the more important for businesses to join while there is still time. Two weeks ago we shared insight on how to jumpstart your social media presence, but getting started is only the first step. In order to maintain a successful social media image, you have to continuously update policies and manage your brand online. In this second installment of the three part series, we will outline how to maintain and supervise your company’s online image.
1. Create a social media policy.
• Outline an overall philosophy and acceptable behavior
• Request civility and respect, and discourage competitor bashing
• Determine who should respond to criticism
• Establish guidelines for responding to social media crises – timing, messages, actions
• Review the FTC updated guide on using endorsements and testimonials in advertising
2. Utilize predictive analytics to avoid surprises and to avert crises.
• Disrupt, Delay or shut down any possible threats to your brand
• Predict various scenarios and develop methods to avoid bad outcomes
3. Prevent security threats.
• Make sure you have updated anti-malware and anti-virus software
• Keep your computer’s software patched and current
• Implement strong password policies and know who has access to your data
• Secure remote connections and mobile device encryption
• Email is NOT secure. Train employees on proper use of emails
4. Monitor your brand online.
• Track comments posted on your social networks
• Regularly search your company name and offerings (on all search engines, not just Google)
• Set up Google alerts and analyze blog traffic with tools such as Technorati or Google Blogs
• Watch closely who is following you on Twitter
In the third and final part of our series, we will show you how to measure the impact social media has on your organization. This session will provide tools to look at the ROI online outlets offer and how social media is improving your company.