As mentioned in a previous post, social networking is essential to a company’s success. It is no longer a fad, but rather an essential business tool. But as much as virtual communication, including email, blogging, and twitter, can benefit a corporation, it can also have detrimental effects if not dealt with properly. In order to protect brand image, it is vital that businesses understand that they must manage this side of business.
Employees are not just employees of the corporation they work for, but are also social people that interact online. It’s important that organizations are aware of their employees’ activites so as not to harm brand image. An unhappy employee has the power to go online and blog about their dissatisfaction. They have the ability to tweet their discontent and spread negative views regarding their place of work. I’ve read countless Facebook statuses offering negative views about an employer. Though organizations may not be able to dictate all views shared on the internet, they can dictate what employees can and cannot share online through company policy. Companies need to recognize that their image is at stake every time an employee goes online, and that employees need to be informed about what is and is not acceptable.
Company policies caution employees to THINK before they TWEET, BLOG, ETC.