Since social media has become so much a part of everyone’s daily activities and many use it as a way to promote their services, speak their mind and/or interact with others, companies who either have or utilize a social media presence need to also protect their brand and reputation from the online “acts” of their own staff/personnel. 

An all too commonplace example: John X works for security company Y and during his social media networking, he posts about his clients, where was he flying to, he speaks about how he is being paid, how much he makes, becomes rude with another colleague with whom he disagrees, he bullies him, etc…

Now, someone may think, and an alarming number of people do, since John X is not networking from the company’s Y social media account but from his own, there is nothing wrong and no harm done. WRONG. Anyone who works for you and has his work title/position linked to your company, represent your brand and is responsible for your reputation and can also be a liability for you and considered as the weak link of your company or someone who’s online activities are such that your competitors can use it against you. A bad security operative working for you shows the public how low your standards may or may not be and degrade the standards you appear to have when hiring people and how, apparently, you do not care about ethical considerations and personality traits.

It can also be used against your company in the market by your competitors claiming ‘’We have the best operatives available’’, or ‘’Our people are the utmost professionals’’, etc. How many of you have seen someone’s online behaviour and thought, ‘’Wow I can’t understand how that company hired someone like him/her…’’ So we can see that a social media policy not only will protect your company’s reputation but it can also reflect the maturity and professionalism of your employees.

Another reason for having a social media policy is the fact that, when you have a proper one in place, you most likely won’t be dealing with as many social media crisis situations. Keep in mind that in today’s digital age the quick spread on social media posts can make crises go viral quickly and ruin your reputation leaving a negative electronic footprint for you and your company.

Now that we’ve addressed why it is needed, let’s see what a social media policy is. Simply put, it is a set of rules/documents that outlines how a company and its employees should carry themselves in online activities. Your employees will be advised of what they should or should not do in social media platforms, protect your company’s trade secrets, improve revenue due to increased and positive productivity, and also be aware and stay away from violating federal law.

Is there a ‘’One size fits all’’ social media policy for every industry? No, depending on the industry you are operating within and what your activities are, as well as what you would like to achieve and what your values are, each company must develop its own social media policy and social media crisis management plan.

The most basic concepts we could say that any social media policy for security companies should include are:

1. A list with what not to speak about in public: topics/information that no one should mention in social media. Basically, do’s and don’ts.
2. Approval or disapproval for employees to post pictures or drop clients’ names (Although at Athena Worldwide it is our policy that no one use or mention clients’ names or post pictures, many other companies are ok with it. So again, it comes down to what are your company’s values and goals).
3. Who will be the company spokespeople and who will be the people in charge of your social media accounts?
4. Who will be the person in charge of writing or approving information and educational posts for your blog and social media accounts?
5. Who will be responsible to deal with and address complaints? Most of the time, it is up to the company’s management to deal with complaints which can be a poor choice as dealing with complaints comes down to managing a crisis and how to de-escalate the situation. You have to be trained to do so and not get emotionally involved.
6. How will your company address training, promotional video, or website copyright infringements by other companies?
7. What will be your direction on how to respond in online conflict situations? For example, how will you respond if someone attacks your company tactics, your employees, etc?
8. Who will be assigned as your social media crisis management person and what will be your crisis management plan?
9. Outline the basic steps that your employees can take to protect their own privacy online. Does your company provide basic cybersecurity awareness and insider threat awareness training?
10. Will your company be offering online etiquette training to your employees?
11. Will your company be enforcing consequences? Any social media policy, without consequences for people who break it, is invalid. Your company must decide how it will handle violations, list the potential consequences, and make sure enforcement is understood by your employees.

Always have in mind: as a security company or practitioner, you are working with a very specific clientele and you are in charge of their safety, their peace of mind, and their confidentiality. 

How you represent yourself in social media, how you react in ‘’challenging’’ posts and critiques, or what content you see valuable and professional enough to share in public, shapes your virtual persona identity/footprint and your image as a security professional. It takes years to build a good image and reputation… and only a few words online to destroy it.

Interested to find out more how to build your company’s Social Media Policy and Social Media Crisis Management Plan? Contact us. 

 

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Social Media Policies
By Denida Zinxhiria

Denida Zinxhiria Grow is the Founder and CEO of Athena Worldwide, Athena Academy and Nannyguards. She is an experienced and well trained Executive Protection Specialist, Security Consultant, and Instructor with 18 active years in the private sector. She has been operating in different countries and cultures and has managed security teams of all sizes. She uses her personal experience to help others learn what it takes to master the ins and outs of the Security Industry and empower women in the security industry. Denida also holds a BSc in Counseling and Psychology.

www.athenaworldwide.com
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