Full RSS Feed
Receive
the Free CMSWire NewsletterGovernance and social media are at the forefront of most discussions these days. Companies are either actively searching for viable solutions or choosing to ignore social media altogether. Choosing to be proactive about managing and archiving social media communications will help most companies in the long run, just as implementing eDiscovery strategies before regulatory disasters ensue has proven successful.
Whether you’re a small business or large corporation, social media has proven to be a successful tool for streamlining communications, marketing and information among constituents, customers and internal staff.
We can safely assume that social media is here to stay — the Pope is blogging and the Library of Congress is archiving Twitter, after all — and as a result, so are the governance and compliance challenges that it brings.
Yet what are the ways companies can proactively approach social media governance? We’re so glad you asked.
Audit Your Current Status
Before you can begin to manage information, it’s helpful to know what kinds of information you have. Gather your marketing, sales and information technology teams to understand exactly what tools you are using to communicate with customers, partners and staff.
In addition, be sure to have a clear strategy for each tool. Using social media for the sake of social media rarely makes sense and won’t help reach target audiences.
As a part of the 2008 report, Lessons from the Enterprise Social Network Strategy Executive Roundtable, created by the Future Exploration Network for IBM, the authors summarize the intent of enterprise social networks with a note of caution:
Anything the organisation does must support its objectives. Sometimes the link between profitability and the use of social networks is not evident, even though executives may intuitively feel that there is one. In the longer term there is the expectation that the rise of social networks and similar tools will have a significant impact on the way business is conducted, including on business models.
Ross Dawson, author and strategist says that enterprise IT governance must employ tools that allow for a
full understanding of potential risks, potential benefits and having set-off structured policies and procedures where any risks are minimized and benefits are maximized, with a high degree of transparency and accountability for executives and other people in the organization.
By auditing the current infrastructure, workflow environment and company culture, businesses can better understand what needs to be improved and gain insight into the types of tools and platforms that can meet specific demands as well as incite profitability.
As well, learning more about company firewalls and security portals currently in place can be helpful in understanding where the gaps are.
Build a Framework
Linda Tucci of SearchCIO.com says
As enterprises increasingly embrace social media tools for personal and work purposes, CIOs must act quickly to school themselves in the potential identity, security and privacy threats associated with them, in order to advise the business effectively about how to mitigate social media's risks.
Continue reading this article:
Email It
