Importance of Social Media Policy in Organizations

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Social Media

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Introduction
Context
According to O’Connor, Schmidt and Drouin (2016), a social media policy sets out the code and
conduct of appropriate behavior of an organization and its employees on social media platforms.
The goal of a social media policy is to ensure that the reputation of a company is not at stake due
to the actions of any employee's online and their responsibly share any content.
Purpose
The purpose of the report is address the issues Sunshine 100 is facing due to certain posts on
Facebook by an employee.
Thesis Statement
What is the importance of social media policy in an organization?
Challenges posed by social media tools with the challenges posed by the traditional
channels of communication
As per Martí, Serrano-Estrada and Nolasco-Cirugeda (2019), social media offers business with
tremendous opportunities but at the same time if it is not managed properly, can become an
enormous risk for the business. Negative publicity on social media can be risk to company's
reputation. As identified in the case study, Sunshine 100 faced the issue of post on social media
by one of their employees. Any inappropriate comment on social media platform on a rival
company can attract legal actions. Similarly, as identified by Todor (2016), traditional channels
of communication like television and radio ads can also be challenging due to the type of content
they show. There can be advertisements which can be inappropriate for a certain audience.
As stated by Grégoire, Salle and Tripp (2015), while social media allows organizations to
interact directly with customers, it also provides the same platform for customers to show their
dissatisfaction and give feedback. Whereas traditional channels of communication like in face to
face communication, the customers will definitely be provided with solutions but if not effective,
they will provide with instant feedback and reactions. The risk of hacking pose a threat of loss of
confidential data of the company. As suggested by Barreda, Bilgihan and Kageyama (2015), trust
is an important thing when posting on social media which will mostly impact on the image of the

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company. Whereas in traditional communication channels like telephone can sometimes be
deceiving. It has also been identified that social media can be addictive and a risk for employee
productivity.
Impact of negative comments on social media
Social media has given the opportunity for everyone to share their views and opinions on any
matter. But in case of an employee posting any comment on social media might impact the
reputation of their organization. The scalability of negative comments is not the first thing that
comes into the minds of employees while posting any comment (Detert and Burris, 2016).
Therefore, organizations must have countermeasures to control the publishing of content on
social media by the employees. Even when the employees are not in office premises or directly
involved in work matters, they are not allowed to post anything that can damage the reputation of
their company. The case study of Sunshine 100 suggests that any negative comment against the
company can be a challenging issue. According to Devlioti (2014), approximately 16% of
employees admit of posting negative things about their company on social media platforms. In
the current scenario, majority of candidates seek jobs over the internet. But organizations should
keep track of the social media posts of the candidates seeking for jobs. Social media has its own
perks but it requires to be controlled by the users and therefore patients however can minimize
the use of social media during business hours. But it is always better to encourage, appreciate
and respect the employees to gain their trust so that they do not leak valuable inside information
about the company.
Inclusions in Social Media Policy
The ultimate goal of a social media policy is to show ethical conduct of the employees of the
organization on social media. No company would want themselves getting involved in lawsuits
and license breaches. Therefore, social media policies must be inculcated in organizations
especially for the employees so that they do not adhere to these policies. Posting anything on
social media such as a budget prepared for marketing activities, or information regarding stock
prices of the company, can be a public disclosure. This requires to be addressed by framing
public disclosure policies. Employees using social media in office premises must be confidential
about the inside policies and decisions taken for the company. Therefore employee should how
to differentiate between public or private information and having confidential information policy