As social mediums such as Twitter, Facebook and MySpace continue to gain popularity, there’s one thing that’s very important to keep in mind – the line between personal and professional communication is disappearing. A recent incident involving a Ketchum employee exemplifies the importance of self-censorship when it comes to social media.
According to PRWeek, a Ketchum staff member posted a controversial Tweet on Twitter about his client’s hometown. He commented, “I’m in one of those towns where I scratch my head and say ëI would die if I had to live here!'” The Tweet caused offense and “prompted an angry memo that reached executives on both sides and the blogosphere.”
Although this issue has been resolved, it had an impact and undoubtedly scarred a few reputations. This example illustrates the importance of evaluating content before posting it online and reminds PR professionals and business leaders alike to ask ourselves, “Is this content appropriate to share publicly?”
Here are a few tips to on how you can avoid situations such as this.
Educate your employees. Everyone across the organization should receive education in social media etiquette. They should understand the implications and be advised on what is appropriate to post on company blogs or their own personal blogs. (Some companies are providing their employees with guidelines about posting corporate information in their corporate handbooks.) For example, Communiqué PR’s blogging guidelines state:
- Bloggers should state that the opinions expressed in any blog about work-related matters are their own and have not been reviewed or approved by the employers. Bloggers should also state that they assume full responsibility and liability for any work-related content contained in the blog.
- Bloggers are required to comply with the Company’s policies protecting its trade secrets and other confidential information, including information about customers.
- Bloggers should not disclose any customer “insider information” and should not address any customer-related activity during certain black out periods required by securities laws and regulations.
If you don’t want your manager or clients to see something, DON’T POST IT. Even with privacy settings on social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace, it’s important to remember content on the Internet can be forwarded to other friends, colleagues and even strangers. Someone that you don’t want to see inappropriate pictures or read personal comments may be exposed to them through network connections. According to Barri Rafferty with PRWeek, “Everything should be treated like it’s in the public domain, because it is.”
Remember “digital dialogue” travels at a rapid speed. As exemplified by the Ketchum situation, one post has the possibility to affect thousands of people within minutes or even seconds. It can drive social reaction and also create positive or negative conversations throughout the blogosphere and social networking space.
The more informed and experienced you and your colleagues are with social mediums, the less likely it will be that you will make mistakes that can have an affect on your career, your relationships and your personal and professional reputation.. Social media is a great tool and when used properly, can help you and your company or clients immensely.