Is your “Social Media Policy” Killing your Social Media?

A local business that I know of has more than 300 employees.  They’ve had a Facebook page since around mid February.  How many followers do you think they have?

Answer: 41. 

I want you to think about that for a minute.  Percentage wise, that means around 13% of their employees are fans of their own business.  (It’s less than that, because I am one of the 41, so that I could write this article, and they have more than 300 employees, not exactly 300...)

I can guarantee that this company does not allow Facebook pages on their own network.  I’m willing to bet that the company policies regarding Facebook are ironclad, and at least a page long.  If handed a copy of their policy, I’m sure it has this phrase repeated several times throughout the communication: “Up to and including termination.” 

So, you want to have a thriving social media presence, but threaten your employees with draw and quartering if they mention any detail on the page other than “We had great weather today”.  The employees must do any commenting from home, since they cannot access the site at work, even during their scheduled break.  You want the benefits that having a Facebook page can give, but you hamstring your employee participation with strong warnings and signed manifestos. 

Does any of this look familiar to you? Could you be the company I am writing about? Is it time for a change?

Obviously, there are some safety concerns for Facebook.  The last thing you need is for an employee to do something harmful to your company, or misrepresent the company in a way that opens you up to possible litigation.  I wish it was all just fun and games.  It isn’t.  You need a policy that protects your company, and that protects your employees.  However, the “Doomsday” policy is not going to work.  The “Don’t even think about going online to Facebook at work (But please follow us in your personal time)” approach rarely works, either.

Once again, it all comes back to what you want to achieve, and how to get there.  Start fresh.  Figure out what you want Facebook to do for your company, and then figure out what you are going to need to get there.  Throw away the “COMMENTS MAY RESULT IN INSTANT TERMINATION” style company policy, and build a new one that lets employees know what is acceptable and isn’t for your particular company profile.