Questions to ask about your social media policy

In modern society, social media is unavoidable. But beyond how much you do or don’t use platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook to connect with clients, how much have you considered its role in your business?

According to social media awareness consultant Jesse Miller, businesses should ask themselves a series of questions about social media to properly address hiring, office conduct and more.

These are some questions to ask yourself if an applicant enters your business with an existing social media presence:

• What can you use in a social media search to identify character?
• What is a “red flag” online?
• What are your internal boundaries?
• How do you search without becoming a friend?
• What will you share with a prospective employee?

While a resume teaches you about a person’s background and education, Miller said, social media can demonstrate an applicant’s character and decision-making ability.

Of course, you do not have to be hiring to ask yourself questions about how social media impacts your business. Such as:

• Do you have an existing social media policy in your workplace?
• Does your code of conduct suffice?
• How does an employee utilize your brand online?
• Have you addressed social media use with staff?
• Can the workplace have dedicated personal versus professional social media accounts?
• Should you be “friends” with your staff?

“These dialogues will prompt you and your business to reflect on how social media may be costing your workplace employee hours, human resource conflicts, internal information leaks, and a workplace where the internet might know about your business plans before you want the world to — potentially costing you thousands or millions of dollars,” Miller said.

See more in Miller’s 2014 Annual Meeting presentation “Social media education and awareness.”

Written by Matt Pais, MDRT Content Specialist