risks of social media for businesses (and how to manage them)

The Risks of Social Media..…and how they can be managed

James Leavesley Co- Founder & CEO

What is social media?

Social media  consists of any forum or  platform or channel for user generated content on a digital network Danie Adendorff- Loughborough University

Open or Closed?

Managing your identity

Individuals on Social Media are geared up for sharing

… and they do share a lot

• 130 friends on Facebook • connected to 80 pages, groups and events • 127 followers• 22 tweets every day

Personal postingPeople make public almost everything about their life. Wedding day nerves, you hate your boss, what you had for breakfast etc..

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1Impact

Importance

Social media for companies

• Branding• Reputation Management

• Customer Service •  Lead Generation

• Educational Asset

• Competitive Analysis

Social media structures for companies

28.8% 10.8% 41% 1.4%18.0%INCREASING RISKS

Overview of the Big Risks• Discriminatory or Derogatory Postings• Threats of Violence• Disclosure of Confidential Information and/or Trade Secrets

• Defamation• Postings With Illegal Content

Board level approach• 58% of executives: reputational risk and social networking should be a board room issue

•  Only 15% say it actually is. 

‘While the decision to post videos, pictures, thoughts, experiences, and observations to social networking sites is personal, a single act can create far-reaching consequences for individuals as well as organisations. Therefore it is important for executives to be mindful of the implications and to elevate the discussion about the risks associated with it to the highest levels of leadership.’ 

Sharon L. Allen Chairman of the Board Deloitte LLP 

The current situation• Social media managers do not have risk management written into their job descriptions

• Security managers and decision-makers do not have enough knowledge of social media for this to be on their radar

Why is this bad?

How your own employees will put you at risk

Employees leaving with the company’s social media assets

• Employees often create social media accounts on behalf of their companies

• When they move on, they will take with them the access to the social media accounts with them

 … and much more

Rogue social media accounts can:

•  Post derogatory content or pornographic images in your company’s name

•  Change the brand to competitor and start marketing to your fans and/ or followers

• Remain dormant with the brand not seen to be interested  in its fans

17000 followers/ 1.60£ per follower

Posting inappropriate content in the company’s name

Engaging in the wrong way

• Set up clear policies for answering to  negative comments  and tweets

Not engaging in conversation

• Broadcasting out your sales and news, but  not responding to customer queries, positive or negative is TERRIBLE customer service

• 1/3 of employees never consider what the boss would think before posting online.  

• Clearly defined company social media guidelines will not change how nearly half  of employees  behave in cyberspace.

… but they will help in the lawsuit

How your own consumers will put you at risk

Inappropriate content on your company’s social media

• Posts on your Facebook wall will be seen by ALL your fans 

Clearly state your moderation policy

Disgruntled customers can easily start a crisis

• In social media, any spark can become a fire• If left unchecked, it can burn your company’s image

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo

What to do about the risks of Social Media?

Who is responsible for the risks of social media?

Is this enough?

Back to a previous point…

• Social media managers do not have risk management written into their job descriptions

• Risk managers  and decision makers do not have enough knowledge of social media for this to be on their radar

Marketing&PR VS. Risk management

‘I see most companies headed this route, in order to provide safe autonomy to business units. ‘

                                                         Jeremiah Owyang Industry analyst at Altimeter Group 

Co-ordinated approach

Coordinating social media strategy

• Decision makers: Have a clear overview of the company’s  social media strategy, risks and benefits of social media; Support coordinated social media development across  the company

• Marketing: Develops and implements engagement through social media campaigns and community management

• Customer services: prompt reaction to inquiries and complaints in accordance with internal social media regulations

• HR: Clear definition of roles and responsibilities of various employees regarding social media

• Legal: Set up of social media policies an regulations for employees; coordinate ownership of social media assets

• IT: Responsibility for protection against hacking and high jacking of social media assets• Research&Development: React to feed-back received from engagement on social 

media

Managing the risksCrowdControlHQ is a social media monitoring & management platform

Password protection

• Password control• Tiered access levels• Instant access removal

Audit trail

• Schedule posts and tweets  and obtain approval • Track each activity and each user 

Keep your pages free from abusive comments and spam • Automatically deletes or marks for your approval  any inappropriate word or phrase

Disseminate the social media policies across the organisation• Share best practice and social media guidelines I• Ensure your organisation has one voice by working 

within a team 

Listening 24/7• One hub for all activity • Listen and respond in real-time to  Blogs, Facebook public spaces, 

Google+, news sites and Twitter• Track topics  and set up alerts to understand if there has been an 

increase or decline in conversation

Thank you@CrowdControlHQ

@leavesjjames.leavesley@crowdcontrolhq.com

07879 060 251

References• http://

www.lunametrics.com/blog/2011/06/08/6-social-media-benefits-for-business/

• http://mashable.com/2010/12/08/social-media-strategist/

• http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2010/04/15/framework-and-matrix-the-five-ways-companies-organize-for-social-business/

• http://www.slideshare.net/opinionwatch/social-networking-and-reputational-risk-in-the-workplace-deloitte-survey-july-09

• http://www.forbes.com/sites/mobiledia/2011/12/05/apple-fires-employee-over-facebook-rants/

• http://www.duetsblog.com/2010/11/articles/guest-bloggers/when-employees-go-online-the-risks-of-social-media-to-employers/

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16338040• http://workathomemom.typepad.com/the_daily_grind_

of_a_work/2011/10/sometimes-no-social-media-customer-service-beats-bad-social-media-customer-service.html