With Christmas and the Holiday Season fast approaching, now is a good time to revisit your social media policy. It likely has been a long time since your engagement guidelines have been reviewed. With the rapid changes in social media, business practices, and the economy, your policies may be outdated and you may not be getting the most out of your communication efforts.
Many people will wait for the New Year to review documents as the New Year is synonymous with “new beginnings” and “a fresh start.” However, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year celebrations offer big opportunities for big mistakes on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc. Celebration, alcoholic beverages, religion, and smart phones have the potential for merging into the perfect social media storm.
Bottom line: Don’t wait to revisit your social media policy.
A quick tip for the Holidays? Use “Santa’s Rules” when reviewing your social media guidelines…Make a list and check it twice! Be sure to look at everything and make sure it still fits with your business model, your marketing strategy, and your personal belief system.
Here is what you should do before the Holiday Season gets underway:
- Refresh your understanding of Social Media – Social Media is constantly changing and evolving. Take some time to understand the latest changes to social media resources like Facebook and Twitter and how they fit into your communications and marketing strategy.
- Revisit your Social Media policy – With a fresh perspective on Social Media and a jump on Thanksgiving and Christmas, update your Social Media policy to reflect how you want to do business today.
- Re-communicate Social Media goals/guidelines – A revised Social Media policy does no good if you are the only person that knows about it. Pull that Social Media policy off the shelf and share with your team. Explain the details of your Social Media policy and discuss the impact of inappropriate postings on business images and business success.
- Monitor Social Media resources – Keep an eye on what is being posted by your social media team. Inappropriate posts or unprofessional engagement practices need to be addressed and corrected immediately. In the end, you are responsible for monitoring your brand.
Stewart Savage is the owner of Abaton Consulting which provides technology development and management services to small businesses and non-profits in the form of technology management, web design services, social media, and professional development. Abaton Consulting is located in downtown Davis, Ca and provides management services to Yolo, Solano, and Sacramento counties.
More information about technology support services offered by Abaton Consulting can be found on his website at https://www.abatonconsulting.com.
Interact with Stewart Savage on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/StewartSavage or by Liking Abaton Consulting on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/AbatonConsulting.
