Risks of using Social Media

Andrew GreenyerDirector, Raise the Roof Marketing

1

2 Main Areas• Company Brand issues

• Self inflicted• From external sources

• Employee Issues

• What they say on behalf of the company• What they say on their own time

What can go wrong?"..within four days of the song going online, the gathering thunderclouds of bad PR caused United Airlines' stock price to suffer a mid-flight stall, and it plunged by 10 per cent, costing shareholders $180 million. Which, incidentally, would have bought Carroll more than 51,000 replacement guitars."

Over 11.4m views on YouTube since July 2009

2 other videos in the series!!!

McDonalds used the hashtag #MeetTheFarmers, in a campaign meant to draw attention to the brand's guarantee of fresh produce.

Later the same day McDonalds used a dangerously vague hashtag in the tweet - "When u make something w/ pride, people can taste it," McD potato supplier #McDstories

American Red Cross

Waitrose Twitter Campaign

Use of Social Media as a campaigning tool

“You'll never guess what. Nestlé has only gone

and agreed to our campaign demands!”

Greenpeace

A big 'Thank You!' to the hundreds of thousands of you who supported our

two-month Kit Kat campaign by e-mailing Nestlé, calling them, or

spreading the campaign message via your Facebook, Twitter and other social

media profiles

How to react• Respond within 24 hours but not necessarily

immediately

• Analyse the issue

• Set the right tone – keep to company guidelines

• Be visible

• Don’t censor negative comments

Things not to say on Twitter

Things not to say on Twitter

Things not to say on Twitter

Employees who use social media for personal use:

• 14% posted a status/tweet about their work

• 22% posted a status/tweet about a work colleague

• 28% have posted photos of colleagues or business activities

• 1% have posted confidential business information

Source DLA Piper – 250 companies

Landing employees in hot water – employers taken disciplinary action

• 21% due information about another individual

• 25% due to information about their activities at work

• 31% due to information about the organisation

• 30% due to the amount of time being spent on social media at work

Source DLA Piper – 250 companies

Ramifications for employers• Damage to reputation

• Breaches of security and confidentiality

• Liability for cyber bullying or harassment

• Liability in respect of “recommendations” posted on colleagues sites.

• Loss of productivity due to time spent on social media at work

Facebook drinking posts teacher Elizabeth Scarlett reprimanded• She discussed being 100% naughty and liking to party

hard

• You should pop up to see me or even better we can go out for a drink or clubbing, I'm a very different person outside school I like to party hard - life is for the living

• I'm not a teacher on here. I'm just like anyone else, I drink, swear... but don't tell anyone

Social Media and Policy Documents

• 65% of employers encourage employees to use social media for work related activities.

• 48% of employers say that they are exposed to risk because they cannot control company information on social media sites.

A teenager has been sacked from her job after calling it boring on Facebook.Kimberley Swann made the comment about her employer in Clacton, Essex, where she had begun working as an administrator.

Actions• Create / updates Social Media Policy and any

associated policies

• Create a workflow/action plan to deal with adverse Social Media

• Monitor traffic to protect company brand

(and after consultation with staff on employee traffic)

• Educate employees

Social Media Policy from Australia

Risks of using Social Media

Andrew GreenyerDirector, Raise the Roof Marketing

1