Transforming Message into Behavior Giving Middle Managers the Tools to Implement Social Media Policies

Every day, senior executives confront a question that grows in urgency and complexity every day. The question is alternately framed as a business imperative, productivity issues, legal problem, marketing opportunity, compliance risk, or a reputational threat waiting to explode.

“What do we do about the web? How do we handle social networking?”
Rewards and Risks

There is no one-answer-meets-all response. Companies are driven to the question by different forces. One company sees a competitor bolster its reputation as a thought leader through a dynamic presence on YouTube. Another company’s multi-million dollar product launch triggers a letter from the Federal Trade Commission for misleading marketing. A CEO struggles to calm a client embarrassed by a careless tweet seen within hours by millions of viewers. HR complains that employees are wasting time on personal Twitter accounts.

Companies are responding to these intersecting issues in very different ways. Some recent surveys show an uptick in the number of companies planning to ban the use of social media by employees. Industry insiders caution against that hard-line policy, insisting that it is unenforceable given the proliferation of personal mobile devices in the workplace and the company’s reliance on the web for collaboration and communication. Other companies, including many of the world’s leading business organizations, acknowledge the benefits of social networking by their employees, outline clear guidelines – and then rely on the integrity of their each employee to behave responsibly. .’ As a company, IBM trusts – and expects – IBMers to exercise personal responsibility whenever they participate in social media.”

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