Social Media Dos and Don'ts for Employees

To make social media work for a business, there needs to be clearly defined rules and boundaries for employees to follow, to reduce the risk of unsolicited material finding its way onto the internet in the company name.

Do Set Privacy Guidelines

If using any form of social media as a business marketing tool, you must be very clear with all employees as regards confidentiality. A good idea is to assign a mediator or approver for each type of social media and train them thoroughly. Other employees can then run any ideas by them before posting to ensure they are not betraying any client confidentiality or giving away secret information about the company and its projects.

Don't Oversell

In the time we live in now, consumerism is all about opting in rather than being force-fed advertisements. Even though we are all aware of adverts every day, consumers like to feel empowered, and to choose to follow something on Twitter or like it on Facebook. You should aim to provide information, education and enlightenment.

Sustain Participation

If you are going to commit to any sort of social network site as a business tool, you must sustain your participation. It's no good posting a comment and then forgetting about it, you must respond. Don't overload one particular employee with responsibility, try to split the various types of media up amongst a group of people and allow them a set amount of time each day to spend reading and responding.

Keep Business and Pleasure Separate

This is as advisable for employees as it is for the company. The business doesn�t want to get a bad name because employees are using their social networking sites to post inappropriate comments, and employees probably don't want their boss reading on Facebook that they drank twelve beers last night and that's why they couldn't make it into work! Have separate accounts for your work and home life, and if you are the sort of person who posts lengthy descriptions of misdemeanours on social sites, maybe use an avatar rather than a picture of your face.

Don't Spread Yourself Too Thinly

Pick one or two sites to use and build up slowly. It is far better to stick to a couple of key topics and be the experts than to try to do too many things at once and do them badly. Stick to what you know and make every effort to be the most knowledgeable in the field.