The impact of social media has affected brand recognition and enterprise revenue for many organizations, according to a 2009 study by ENGAGEMENTdb. Gone are the days of resistance towards Twitter and Facebook in fear of damaging a professional image. Enterprises have not only seen the return on investment (ROI) in social media engagement, but have found to be more financially successful when using social media as a part of their strategy, reported the ENGAGEMENTdb study.
It is no surprise that 65 percent of the Fortune Global 100 companies have active Twitter accounts, 54 percent have Facebook fan pages, 50 percent have YouTube video channels and 33 percent have corporate blogs, according to Burson-Marsteller's "The Global Social Media Check-up" report.
While this is encouraging, enterprises still have to be cautious when it comes to using social media channels. The negative impacts of social media are not always talked about –such as liability for libel, privacy violations and damage to brand reputation. If your company is involved in social networks, then take the time to learn about their negative effects just as much as the positives.
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
Examining the risks is not always done by enterprises until it’s too late. As with any new project, businesses should compare the risks vs. benefits before joining social media networks to reach, attract and engage customers, employees and future prospects.
Enterprises world-wide are finding that social media channels increase web traffic, engagement, and ultimately conversions. One of the biggest benefits of social media is its ability to be tracked and measured. Enterprises can easily allocate time and resources based on the metrics they receive from social media networks as well as external social media analytics tools. Businesses have also found that social media channels provide the ability to monitor competitors, customers and prospective clients. The result? Marketers are more informed about their customers and prospects, and they know which messaging campaigns work and which ones don’t.
Many organizations have begun to use tools to keep up with competitors and to avoid being left behind, but often organizations rush into utilizing social media outlets without knowing all of the risks. Typically, risks include tools being implemented without IT involvement, poor project planning or lack of social media outlet controls. The result? Marketers are left without a risk mitigation plan to tackle any problems that may arise from utilizing social media technologies.
The best way to address these risks is to first have a social media strategy in place. This involves knowing what tools your customers utilize, which technologies your organization can support, and what messages you want to send to your customer base through these tools. Additionally, when creating a social media strategy, businesses should consider the risks of communicating with customers, employees, and prospects through social media tools, as well as the data and reputation risks associated with public facing applications that may exist on employees’ personal social media pages. The risks that social media tools impose could expose the corporate network to malevolent outside sources. As a result, it’s important to have resources available that can manage any issues that may occur.
Developing a Strategy
Creating and documenting a solid strategy will help mitigate the risks of social media. Since the use of social media networks and tools do not require the implementation of new technology, many businesses are involved without making any risk assessments. Documenting a social media strategy should involve all stakeholders in the organization including IT professionals, human resources and business leadership to ensure that the strategy is in line with all business policies and broader company objectives. Use this information to get your company thinking about the risks of social media. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact the Verndale Team. We will discuss risk mitigation techniques in a later post.