To prevent information leaks and other liabilities, companies are drafting guidelines for social media interaction. A rule of thumb: Don't be stupid.
With access to social tools, we are more influential than we realize, and that works both for and against us.
Before we create and implement outbound social media programs, we must first educate employees on the benefits and hazards associated with social media and the workplace. However, this should not include banning access to these networks. We'll discuss that topic more thoroughly a bit later.
We previously reviewed the circumstances and consequences surrounding the personal use of social media when it links or refers to employers, employees, coworkers, competitors, and affected brands in general. Without realizing the impact of a single update, employees are jeopardizing brand stature, reputation, and competitive edge. Without thinking, employees are sharing candid and damaging thoughts and updates–intentionally and unintentionally–that possess an uncanny ability to surface when least expected and be discovered by people who were never supposed to see them in the first place.
And, perhaps accidentally, employees are sharing company secrets and information that should never see the light of day, and are doing so simply because they have access to the tools that personally connect them to their friends, family, and peers.
Yet, heeding BusinessWeek's advice is easier said than done. One might believe that common sense is pervasive and prevailing; however, I believe that "common sense" is mostly uncommon. In a new media world where many of us are literally learning as we go, commonsensical behavior usually acquiesces to a more likely set of circumstances that resembles common nonsense, rather than sense and sensibility. Therefore, we need to proactively avert crises before they arise.
Businesses are scrambling to understand the technologies and platforms associated with social computing and how to integrate them into the existing network of vetted and proven applications and systems running behind the firewall. More so, information technology (IT), human resources, and executive management are also struggling with the impact of social networks on the culture and productivity within the company, as well as the resulting shifts in internal behavior.
Traditionally, new technology and policies were introduced to organizations in a top–down process, once they were formally evaluated and ratified by IT and management. If new technologies, services, and applications were introduced by employees or outside influences, IT was responsible for assessing the benefits and risks, from the perspective of improving and streamlining workflow and processes, and possibly cutting expenses.
Social computing has created a backdoor for many of these services that also introduces potential dangers to the existing infrastructure and to the systematic routines and channels for ensuring productivity. For the first time, new technologies are permeating the enterprise and business infrastructures from the bottom upward. And these technologies precipitate change, carrying the ability to significantly transform business processes and revolutionize marketing, sales, service, production incentives, and many other disciplines and divisions in the process.
Some companies view social networks and blogging platforms such as Facebook and Twitter as a threat to productivity, network security, and company intelligence. They are therefore prohibiting access to these networks from within the firewall. Many studies have already concluded that there are indeed productivity decreases when employees have unregulated access to personal communications tools and distractions. While formerly traced to smoke breaks, coffee breaks, and water cooler chats, distractions began to include telephones and cell phones, instant messaging, and now social networks. Concurrently, many cases have already been documented where personal systems and corporate networks were compromised due to scams, worms, viruses, and Trojan horses shared through social media. However, this is hardly new; malicious software has long permeated the firewall through e-mail and Web browsing.
Other businesses and organizations are going so far as to ban usage of these networks as a representative of the company inside and outside of the work perimeter, regardless of whether it's done on or off the clock.
In August 2009, the United States Marines banned the use of Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, and other social networks for a period of one year, citing the risks to both personnel and network security.
The Marine Corps order attempted to explain the rationale:
These Internet sites in general are a proven haven for malicious actors and content and are particularly high risk due to information exposure, user generated content and targeting by adversaries.... The very nature of SNS [social network sites] creates a larger attack and exploitation window, exposes unnecessary information to adversaries and provides an easy conduit for information leakage that puts OPSEC [operational security], COMSEC [communications security], and personnel... at an elevated risk of compromise[47].
When news of this order initially surfaced, journalists and social media experts reacted in disbelief and displeasure. However, understanding their concerns allows us to assess possibilities whereas to deploy and guide usage as it relates to the business and mission of the armed forces, and any civilian organization for that matter.
On the other hand, prior to the ordinance issued by the Marines, the Army ordered bases to allow access to social networks after a year–long banishment.
The Army public affairs managers shared the operations order publicly to clarify intentions and justify the command:
... the intent of senior Army leaders to leverage social media as a medium to allow soldiers to "tell the Army story" and to facilitate the dissemination of strategic, unclassified information. Therefore, the social media sites available from the Army homepage will be made accessible from all campus area networks. Additionally, all Web–based email will be made accessible[48].
In an interview with Wired's Danger Room, Price Floyd, the Pentagon's newly appointed social media czar, shared his views of and vision for social media:[49]
OPSEC is paramount. We will have procedures in place....What we can't do is let security concerns trump doing business. We have to do business....We need to be everywhere men and women in uniform are and the public is. If that's MySpace and YouTube, that's where we need to be, too.
As such, the Pentagon ordered a review of social networks in the second half of 2009 to craft policies that dictate usage scenarios and goals for services such as Twitter, MySpace, and Facebook.
Officials acknowledged the potential influence within the military and also in the greater population for these networks. As a result, they developed rules that would allow the military to take advantage of the expedient communications inherent within social networking without exposing sensitive information, jeopardizing personnel, or placing computer networks at risk.
A number of top commanders and officers already maintain public profiles on social networks.
Admiral Michael G. Mullen,[50] chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Army General Ray Odierno,[51] the top commander in Iraq, maintain Facebook profiles. Mullen also actively tweets.
Responding to questions on Twitter as to whether or not Mullen would continue to participate during times when the security, threats, and benefits of social networks are questioned, Mullen wrote, "Obviously we need to find the right balance between security and transparency. We are working on that. But am I still going to tweet? You bet."
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Navy Captain John Kirby, a spokesman for Mullen, acknowledged that the chairman had already seen the importance of using social media to communicate with the public. He stated,
The genie is out of the bottle. There is just such a power in it, we have to find a way to achieve this balance. No one wants to provide information to potential enemies, but this is a dialogue that we cannot afford not to be a part of.[52]
Top generals are also are taking the initiative to reach troops and other constituents through personal blogs. For example, Major General Michael Oates,[53] a two–star general overseeing 19,000 U.S. soldiers in southern and central Iraq, maintains a blog and hosts chats to communicate within and to those defining the chain of command, as well as maintaining dialogues with troops that are scattered across Iraq.
So why am I sharing examples of social media bans and active communications in the military?
The answer is as simple as it is profound. If the U.S. military is actively seeking guidelines for defining, regulating, and promoting the use of social media to improve communications and influence constituents, then it's safe to assume that your organization should follow suit.
Everything starts with assessment and the implementation of structure, followed by management and responsibility.
Best Buy initially broke ground with its Blue Shirt Network, which fueled and fostered conversation, interaction, and content to improve employee communication and team spirit. The company also catalyzed customer support and participation when it introduced IdeaX–change, a dedicated feedback community designed to solicit feedback in order to make Best Buy a better place to shop.
Among many other accomplishments, Best Buy again pioneered a new and controversial social program with the introduction of its @Twelpforce account on Twitter. The account is simple in design but radical in concept, deployment, and implications. Arguably one of the most outlandish social media mavens of its time, Best Buy leveraged the reach of mainstream traditional media in the form of television commercials to generate awareness and attention for a specific new media initiative.
Twelpforce tapped the wisdom of its own crowds to assemble and deploy an armada of service professionals to help answer questions posed by existing and prospective customers on Twitter, and also to proactively share insights from their personal/professional accounts on the @twelpforce account directly (see Figure 17.1).
Without direction, training, and a supporting infrastructure, this program would most likely have imploded. However, Best Buy provided a set of guidelines and instructions to guide participants in the program to help them assist customers and ultimately engender goodwill and inspire action in the process.
Risky?
Yes.
Creative?
Yes.
Another example of overusing "tw" in a name?
Yes.
Effective?
Yes!
An excerpt from Best Buy Connect,[54] an internal network that serves as the voice of the Best Buy employee, offers guidance to participants of the @Twelpforce program:
Note
The promise we're making starting in July is that you'll know all that we know as fast as we know it. That's an enormous promise. That means that customers will be able to ask us about the decisions they're trying to make, the products they're using, and look for the customer support that only we can give. And with Twitter, we can do that fast, with lots of opinions so they can make a decision after weighing all the input. It also lets others learn from it as they see our conversations unfold.
When you start, remember that the tone is important. Above all, the tone of the conversation has to be authentic and honest. Be conversational. Be yourself. Show respect. Expect respect. The goal is to help. If you don't know the answer tell them you'll find out. Then find out and let them know.
To help you establish programs and policies, I've included the complete set of instructions, as I feel that they are indicative of a solid foundation for implementing and sharing guidelines.
Assumptions have no business in business–especially when influential voices can sway the crowd for or against you.
Policies and guidelines must be clear and explicit in intentions and implementation and leave nothing to chance. Training is absolutely required as I can assure you that no matter what people say or believe, no one knows everything there is to know about emerging media and human behavior.
To help those who are unfamiliar with style guides, document or capture and convey the brand essence and how to accurately display it in various forms of media. Usage scenarios, approved artwork, type treatments, and approved language should all be included.
These style guides serve as the sheet music to ensure that we as employees and brand representatives are singing the same song, in key, in unison, and beautifully.
Every company should create and distribute a style guide or handbook of guidelines, not only for social media, but specifically for each social network in which the company currently engages or expects to engage, as well as policies and instructions for discrete programs and campaigns.
When I wrote the guidelines for Facebook use for a Fortune 500 company, it was 25 pages long. I'll update the guidelines and share them on the website dedicated to this book so that you can have it as a free example of the level of detail required to address most unspoken questions and concerns that arise as employees participate online.
While you may offer a "quick–start" guide to help you and your team kick–start programs, true success is defined by understanding, reinforced by practice. Therefore we cannot overlook the need for a detailed instruction manual complete with best practices, scenarios, objectives, metrics, rewards, and associated consequences.
Here are some additional examples to glean inspiration and direction. Please keep in mind, however, that these examples are representative of "what is" and not always "what should be." As you read these, remember the lessons, stories, and advice that I've shared with you thus far. Source these for inspiration only, and create a social style guide that is representative of your world and the questions, concerns, capabilities, and opportunities that are present for your business.[55]
Intel Social Media Guidelines[56]
You can read a more detailed discussion of IBM's Social Computing Guidelines on the website created for this book.
My good friend Todd Defren, president of SHIFT Communications, assembled a Top 10 Guidelines for Social Media Participation and offered it up for public dissemination and motivation.
I've shared with you some of the most comprehensive examples available, and as you can see, they share many common attributes:
Ensure a consistent, personable, and brand–enhancing tone or voice.
Add value to each engagement–contribute to a stature and legacy.
Respect those with whom you're engaging and also respect the forum in which you participate.
Ensure that you honor copyrights and practice and promote fair use of applicable content.
Protect confidential and proprietary information.
Be transparent and be human (well, be believable and helpful).
Represent what you should represent.
Know and operate within the defined boundaries.
Know when to fold 'em and don't engage trolls or fall into conversational traps.
Keep things conversational as it applies to portraying and reinforcing the personality and value of your brand and the brand you represent.
Stay on message, on point, and on track with the goals of your role and its impact on the real–world business to which you contribute.
Don't trash the competition–not directly, anyway.
Apologize when necessary.
Be accountable for your actions and offer no excuses.
Know who you're talking to and what they're seeking.
Disclose relationships, representations, affiliations, and intentions.
Practice self–restraint; some things are not worth sharing.
Stop reading this book and establish or champion the development of personal guidelines in reference to the business and brand right now.
Okay, so you put down the book or your electronic reader to set guidelines for employee usage, right? Great. Glad to have you back. Let's continue.
Much like the early days of the Web, which eventually contributed to the chaos and madness of the dot–com era and its eventual financial fall, the Social Web is providing a veritable land grab for social real estate at a fraction of the price that it will be worth to you tomorrow.
As in anything new and exciting, there's usually a rush to action. But for some reason, in social media the rush to relevance seemed subdued–at least initially. It was understandable, however. After all, depending on the organization, skepticism, procrastination, and/or lethargy were at play.
Part of the rules of engagement require that we establish a consistent presence across the social networks where we need to maintain a presence as well as plan for those where we might one day need to engage or simply protect our brand assets.
These usernames, pages, and profiles are instrumental in how we portray our brand and brand story as well as interconnect our greater social construct that links visitors to the predefined channels and pages that deliver our intended experience and help them obtain their desired results.
In every network, the brand and product name should be identical.
The profile pages must reflect the aesthetics, information, and personality as determined by the social style guide in the spirit of the network they appear.
Define the clickpaths to help visitors navigate your information network.
It should go without saying, but as you may or may not know, the landscape for social networks is vast and may be beyond our initial reach. However, excuses, ignorance, and ambivalence aside, we are responsible for attaining and managing our personal and professional brands, as well as those we represent, even if it simply implies that we secure the domain or username–including its derivatives, both positive and negative. For example, companyx, productx, companyxsucks, or companyxmustdie.
Create a standard naming convention that is simple, uncomplicated, concise (friendly to microblogs and other forms of micro–media), and easy to both remember and also to input on mobile devices. In addition, create a naming formula that is friendly and identifiable by the outside world. Too many organizations that I have worked with over the years forget that people outside of the organization may not understand the significance of a unique department or division. Others attempt to inject more information than is necessary, embellished by quotes, underlines, and other symbols. This only leads to brand dilution and confusion.
This is true online as well. In 2008, FairWinds Partners[59] released a study that documented the power of Internet gripe sites. The Wall Street Journal explored the topic with an in–depth article, "How to Handle' IHateYourCompany.com,'"[60] which reviewed what some companies are doing, or not doing, to protect their brands online.
In its study, FairWinds researched the Web to identify gripe sites specifically containing " sucks.com." The study uncovered over 20,000 domains with only 2,000 ending in the phrase " stinks.com." Of the major companies surveyed, only 35 percent owned the domain name for their brand followed by the word "sucks."
But domain names are only one of the many opportunities for customers to share their discontent, and in the emerging era of the two–way Web, communications, customer service, and brand and reputation management teams must not only collaborate to actively survey the landscape to detect and diagnose negative experiences, but also proactively plan for it. And part of that process is securing and establishing a uniform brand name in addition to its positive or negative variations and adaptations.
Service providers such as Knowem.com can not only scour the entire Web for available and taken usernames in social networks for you, but also acquire them and cost–effectively create profiles based on a template you create. One of the greatest value propositions of this service and others like it is that it also will automatically create profiles in emerging networks to prevent opportunists and angry customers from squatting on desired usernames. And if the username is unavailable (read "squatted"), Knowem provides helpful steps to retrieve domain ownership.
For example, when I worked with Anheuser–Busch, we initially discovered that the names associated with the premier corporate and product brands were already taken in key social networks, which required us to manually contact each network to transfer ownership back, even if we weren't planning on deploying a strategy within each network immediately or in the near future.
As the Social Web continues to emerge, establishing not only policies and guidelines but also defining the "rules of engagement" will help shape proactive and reactive dialogues to benefit the business, brand, customer, peers, and prospects. This is not the same as implementing and managing rules of conduct. Assessing the common traits found in the guidelines referred to previously, here is a suggested list of Rules of Engagement with which to compose your "sheet music."
Unveil the communities of influence and discover their choices, challenges, impressions, and wants.
Participate where your presence is advantageous and mandatory; don't just participate anywhere and everywhere.
Consistently create, contribute to, and reinforce service and value.
Concentrate participation where it will offer the greatest rewards for both sides.
Assess pain points, frustrations, and also expressions of contentment to establish emotional connections.
Determine the brand identity, character, and personality you wish to portray–and match it to the individual persona who's in front of it when online.
Adapt predefined personalities with the voice of the community in which you engage.
Observe the behavioral cultures within each network and adjust your outreach accordingly.
Become a true participant in each community you wish to galvanize.
Don't speak at audiences through messages.
Dig deeper to connect what transpires in the Social Web to your business objectives.
Learn from each engagement.
Ensure that any external activities are supported by a comprehensive infrastructure to address situations and adapt to market conditions and demands.
Establish a point of contact who is ultimately responsible for identifying, trafficking, or responding to all things that can affect brand perception.
Act, don't just listen and placate–do something.
Earn connections through collaboration.
Empower advocacy.
Embody the attributes you wish to portray and instill.
Don't get lost in conversation or translation; ensure your involvement strategically maps to objectives specifically created for the Social Web.
Establish and nurture beneficial relationships online and in the real world as long as public perception and action is important to your business.
"Un–" campaign programs and ensure they're part of a day–today cause.
"Unmarket" by offering solutions and becoming a resource to your communities.
Give back, reciprocate, acknowledge, add value, and contribute where it makes sense.
While guidelines are critical, they are only as effective as the training and implementation of that insight into day–to–day, real–world practice.
I serve as an advisor to Intel as part of the company's Intel Insider program, along with Frank Gruber, Tom Foremski, J. D. Lasica, Cathy Brooks, and other incredible people. I have enjoyed the opportunity to help instill these messages with the already visionary and forward–thinking people defining Intel's marketing, communications, and service teams. Ken Kaplan is responsible for the implementation of this educational program as driven from the PR team. But its reach is company–wide, and thus carries a global impact.
I have also had the benefit of working with Bryan Rhodes on educational and organizational transformation projects (this will be discussed in more depth later) and I believe that Rhodes's work and the corresponding new media educational programs that Intel has implemented and fostered should serve as the standard for all organizations.
Rhodes serves as the Curriculum Architect and Senior Digital Strategist for the Intel Social Media Center of Excellence and chairs the Digital IQ program for all employees who already or who will participate in new media on behalf of the company–for internal and external communications.
The goals of the Digital IQ program complement the company's shift of marketing investments from traditional to new media by increasing employee capabilities. The topics shared as part of this program provide insight into sales and marketing techniques, online retailing and reselling, and media, as well as search, analytics, and metrics. In all, Rhodes and his team have compiled a curriculum of over 55 courses complete with videos, supplementary materials, and a test at the end of each course (see Figure 17.2 for a list of some of the courses).
The aim of Digital IQ is to:
Create a vast Intel digital force.
Unlock digital genius.
Capture digital sales and marketing best known methods.
And, the application of this knowledge on the job.
As such, Intel has instituted four role–based training levels:
Level IV is created for the digital marketing specialist, where the results of the program are intended to enhance and guide the creation of improved, relevant, and compelling content and social objects.
Level III is programmed for integrated marketing, communications managers, and internal bloggers, providing them with the tools, guidelines, lessons, and directions for integrating and distributing insight and information.
Level II serves as the blueprint for helping Field Account Managers sell effectively, using social tools, networks, and services to reach their customers and prospects.
Level I is designed for "the rest of us," to help employees understand the landscape and promise of new media and how it impacts their job and career, today and tomorrow.
The Digital IQ program mirrors university models in that its employees register for required courses as well as electives to earn a diploma, which serves as a certification to participate at the corresponding level and new media role on behalf of Intel.
To complete each level, participants are required to attend and pass as many as five courses to earn the corresponding certification. Each year, employees must complete courses in the continuing education program for recertification.
Perhaps the most common response to Intel's groundbreaking program is one of appreciation, followed quickly by skepticism about the ability to fund, design, and institute such a program within your organization.
If the potential perils aren't enough to convey the need to do so, and induce a sense of urgency, think about Intel's results.
By the middle of 2009, Intel's then 10–month–old program had served over 18,500 courses and delivered a total of 16,000 training hours. Over 68 percent of participants found it immediately applicable to their job, with even more attesting to the potential of their careers as they evolve. Funding for the program was overwhelmingly approved due to the buzz, improved morale, and company–wide engagement.
There is no choice. Employees must learn the art and science of content creation and distribution, one–on–one interaction, and community development in order to lead conversations and the tribes that form around your brand, culture, and ideologies.
Please remember these words....
Perhaps the biggest mistakes committed by businesses, personalities, and brands in social media occur when people jump into social networks blindly without establishing guidelines, a plan of action, a sense of what people are seeking and how and why they communicate, an understanding of where people are congregating, a definition of what they represent and how they will personify the brand online, and the goals, objectives, and metrics associated with participation.
Everything starts with education and the institution of policies to protect individuals and brands.
In addition to setting the guidelines and regulations for how and when employees should and shouldn't engage online when it relates to the company, we must now teach our spokespersons, ambassadors, and advocates how to leverage the immediacy, extent, and potential of these powerful social tools. Our communities will follow by example.
Holding informal and infrequent workshops and/or publishing internal guidelines for self–consumption and interpretation is not nearly enough to satisfy the substantial requirements for an in–depth comprehension of the scenarios, circumstances, objectives, hazards, and nuances associated with engagement, influence, and community building.
This is more than publishing and it's far more important than empowering employees with the ability to chat online.
It's our responsibility to contribute to the increase of a significant, tuned, and strategic signal, with a high ratio to noise. I assure you that in doing so, you will earn a place among the elite in the ranks of social, new, and emerging media practices within your organization.
We are vested in the brands we represent–especially if we're on the front lines of emerging media. We must instill and balance our interests and passions for our personal and represented brands in everything we do online. It not only complements and invests in the cohesion and presence of the brands involved, but also champions advocacy and community, because enthusiasm, energy, spirit, and fervor are contagious, inspirational, and addictive.