How far should an organisation’s tweets be controlled?
by Feng ~ February 28th, 2011. Filed under: Social Media, Twitter.
Another social media snafu had occurred, but this time, it involved a government organization.
Last Friday, Singapore’s Health Promotion Board (HPB) mistakenly sent a tweet containing offensive language to all of its followers. (Article: HPB says sorry for offensive mis-tweet)
The report suggested that the mis-tweet was the result of an employee’s usage of the @HPBsg corporate account instead of his personal account.
No doubt, upon realisation, HPB immediately deleted the comment and responded to it positively, albeit the comment had already spread like wildfire among netizens.
Through this article though, it also got me wondering if it is critical for organizations to put controls on the tweets and updates that are being sent out by employees. With an increasing number of organizations jumping on the social media bandwagon, many companies use their staff or hire specific people to handle social media. However, because small mistakes like mis-tweeting resonate fast and could possibly jeopardise brand equity, I feel that more should be done to minimize the occurrence of such accidents. For example, organizations could incorporate processes that allow for reviews and approvals to be made before posts are sent. Drafted posts could be sent to a third party for an approval before its execution. One down-side to this though, is that the messages may lose their immediacy after going through reviews and approvals. Therefore, I guess companies should weigh these alternatives carefully to decide which approach is best for them. If they decide to do away with screening and controls, I guess the hired employee that handles the company’s social media account should be properly trained and aware of the significance of his/her role.