One of the number one reasons why Advice firms tell us they’re not on Social Media is the risks that it presents to a firm, particularly from a compliance and reputation point of view. Many firms are concerned they will say the wrong thing in such a public forum, whilst also wishing to avoid the possibility of the company’s name being ‘dragged through the mud’ online (and these are valid concerns).
But like any opportunity you are presented with in business or life, there are risks involved which must be mitigated and planned for. But at The Social Adviser, we feel it doesn’t make sense to miss such an enormous opportunity as Social Media solely due to the risks involved. So today, we would like to offer you some tips for avoiding a Social Media Disaster before it happens;
1. Don’t go into Social Media without a plan in place
Like any strategy in business, going in ‘half-baked’ without a proper plan is opening yourself up for failure and the potential for problems to pop up. As Social Media places so much trust on the staff in your business, it is vitally important to document your strategy, provide a policy which dictates what staff can and can’t do on Social Media at work, and ensure this is properly communicated to all of your team. It is far easier to empower staff to use Social Media the right way, than deal with a crisis once it’s too late.
An example of a ‘rushed’ strategy that we have seen adversely impact firms is setting up a company Social Media account using a staff member’s personal email address during the registration process rather than a generic corporate account. This is a risky strategy, especially given the control this staff member will still have over your company’s online reputation if they were to leave your business.
Setting the right foundation’s for your Social strategy from the start will eliminate many of the issues which may haunt you further down the track.
2. ‘Be careful who you hand your keys to’
So often we see firms who give the responsibility for Social Media to the youngest member of the firm as they are perceived to be more ‘savvy’ when it comes to technology. At the risk of over-generalising, it is often this person who has the least ‘people skills’ when it comes to conflict and crisis management. In situations where a Social Media ‘flame war’ has erupted, we often find that it was a junior member of a company who ignited this situation by responding to a negative comment in a reactive manner.
Whilst this emphasises that care must be exercised in deciding who should look after your company’s Social Media presence, it also highlights the need for a robust Crisis Management plan. Public complaints on Social Media can become positive events in your business, leading to greater credibility, engagement and reputation if handled in the right way. However, turning these negative events into positive PR for your business relies on someone with the ‘soft skills’ to handle complaints. Your crisis management plan needs to make sure that a complaint falls into the right hands to deal with it effectively and swiftly.
3. You need to be where your clients are
If you are yet to start using Social Media in your firm, there is a strong chance that it is for one of two main reasons. You either don’t see the point in being on Social Media and/or you want to avoid the risks of doing so.
Whether you like it or not, many of your clients are speaking on Social Media, and some of these conversations may be negative towards your business. It is a far more dangerous strategy to not be aware of what others are saying, compared to dealing with their feedback in a proactive and positive manner.
As with any tool, it is only through consistent use that you understand how it works and how it can make your life easier and better (there is only so much you can learn from ‘reading the manual’). So don’t stick your head in the sand, do your homework, mitigate the risks you can, but start using Social Media (either personally or professionally). This will not only let you join in the conversations your clients are already having, but also help you better understand the opportunities the online environment provides.
Read Part 2 HERE