One of the toughest challenges faced by large organisations is the dramatic shift in thinking that is required to harness the power of social tools; everything from educating staff on the ground floor to gaining approval from management, investors and funders. Selling the benefits of using social media along with giving advice on correct usage is difficult and to some, the mere concept of their existence seems difficult to understand.

When engaging in social media as a means of promotion it is imperative that there is a policy in place that can be referred to for correct usage of these tools.

Writing a Social Media Policy - Guidelines

Write an introduction

Explain the premise of social media and what benefits this will bring to the company, their customers and indeed the people carrying out the tasks. Talk about the exposure and power that social tools will bring to the organisation and how this will affect the day to day running of the business.

Social tools are exciting, and this should translate in your introduction.

Targets

Ideally the usage of social tools will merge into your existing business model, so clear targets and benefits should be set out as with any other business activity.

Measurable targets include, but are not limited to:

• Traffic – how much has this improved since using social tools?
• Customer enquiries – how has social media aided in resolving customer enquiries and complaints?
• Sales – how has social media affected your sales?

When executing a social media campaign consider putting into practice minimum targets; i.e. each member of staff answers a minimum 15 customer queries per month.  Log this information externally to your traditional means of logging customer enquiries so it can be measured more accurately.

Incentives

Consider giving incentives for social media usage, i.e. the member of staff that resolves most customer enquires this month wins a £25 shopping voucher.

Engagement

As social tools are, by their very nature unlike work, the objectives of using such tools need to be very clear. Staff should be advised on their tone of voice, what they can and cannot say and when they should engage with customers (and indeed other users).

Staff should be encouraged to:

• Engage with their customers on a one-to-one basis, helping with their enquiries as much as possible
• Sharing information on various social websites
• Post relevant information (i.e. industry news, articles or even something funny that happened in the office!)

Staff should be advised against:

• Posting anything that may be deemed offensive, which obviously includes racism and hate posts, swearing and links to inappropriate content
• Posting confidential company information
• Contradicting or undermining other members of staff

Formalities

Staff should sign in agreement that should they contradict any rules in a serious manner, disciplinary action may be taken.

The essence of social media integration

Always keep in mind the reasons for your involvement with social media and ensure this transcends the consciousness of your business. When harnessed correctly social media can bring a wealth of added value, not just on a monetary level, but in terms of morale, customer engagement and in finding new business.