Know your social media strategy

Social media disrupts the long-standing rules of business in many ways, but crafting a social media policy is premature unless the designers of the policy answer seven critical questions first, according to research firm Gartner.

"Social media offers tempting opportunities to interact with employees, business partners, customers, prospects and a whole host of anonymous participants on the social Web," says Carol Rozwell, vice-president and analyst at Gartner.

"However, those who participate in social media need guidance from their employer about the rules, responsibilities, 'norms' and behaviours expected of them, and these topics are commonly covered in the social media policy."

Organisations need to ask what their strategy is for social media. According to the research firm, there are many possible purposes for social media. It can be used for five levels of increasingly involved interaction (ranging from monitoring to co-creation) and across four different constituencies (employees, business partners, customers and prospects, and the social Web).

“It is critical that social media leaders determine the purpose of their initiatives before they deploy them and that those responsible for social media initiatives articulate how the organisation's mission, strategy, values and desired outcomes inform and impact on these initiatives.”

A social media strategy plan, Gartner notes, is one means of conveying this information.

Organisations also need to identify who will write and revise the policy. Some organisations assign policy writing to the chief information officer, and others have decided it's the general counsel's job.

In other cases, a self-appointed committee decides to craft a policy. “It's useful to gain agreement about who is responsible, accountable, consulted and involved before beginning work on the policy and, where possible, a cross-section of the company's population should be involved in the policy creation process,” Gartner asserts.

The firm notes that it's important to remember that there is a difference between policy - which states the do's and don'ts at a high level - and operational processes, such as recruitment or customer support, which may use social media.

These operational processes need to be flexible, changeable and adhere to the policy, but each department and/or activity will need to work out specific governance and process guidelines, Gartner states.

How organisations will vet the policy should also be explored, the firm says, adding that getting broad feedback on the policy serves two purposes.

First, it ensures that multiple disparate interests such as legal, security, privacy and corporate branding have been adequately addressed and that the policy is balanced. Second, it increases the amount of buy-in when a diverse group of people is asked to review and comment on the policy draft.

This, Gartner notes, means that the process by which the policy will be reviewed and discussed, along with the feedback, will be incorporated into the final copy. “A vetting process that includes social media makes it more likely that this will occur.”

Organisations must also look at how they would go about informing employees of their responsibilities in this regard.

Some organisations confuse policy creation with policy communication, Gartner says. “A policy should be well-written and comprehensive, but it is unlikely that the policy alone will be all that is needed to instruct employees about their responsibilities for social media.

“A well-designed communication plan, backed up by a training program, helps to make the policy come to life so that employees understand not just what the policy says, but how it impacts on them,” the firm states.

“It also explains what the organisation expects to gain from its participation in social media, which should influence employees in their social media interactions.”

Organisations should also decide on who is responsible for monitoring social media activities undertaken by employees.

“Once the strategy has been set, the rules have been established and the rationale for them explained; who will ensure that they are followed? Who will watch to make sure the organisation is getting the desired benefit from social media?” Gartner asks.

“A well-designed training and awareness programme will help with this, but managers and the organisation's leader for social media also need to pay attention. Managers need to understand policy and assumptions and how to spot inappropriate activity, but their role is to be more of a guide to support team self-moderation, rather than employ a top-down, monitor-and-control approach.”

Another questions that begs to be asked is how companies will train managers to coach employees in social media use.

Some managers will have no problem supporting their employees as they navigate a myriad of social media sites, Gartner says, but others may have more trouble helping employees figure out the best approach for blogs, microblogs and social networking.

“There needs to be a plan for how the organisation will give managers the skills needed to confront and counsel employees on this sensitive subject.”

The final issue the research firm suggests organisations address is how missteps will be used to refine policy and training.

As with any new communications medium, some initiatives go exceptionally well, while others run adrift or even sink, Gartner says.

“Organisations that approach social media using an organised and planned approach, consistent with the organisation's mission, strategy and values, will be able to review how well these initiatives meet their objectives and use that insight to improve existing efforts or plan future projects better.”