Communication is key to implementing an effective social media policy. From the outset, staff will be informed about the proposed policy, and an opportunity for them to provide ideas, suggestions and feedback will be provided. Regular meetings will be held for staff members to raise or discuss any issues that might arise. Moreover, an internal wiki will be established that will provide staff with a forum for voicing concerns and suggesting future content.

As most staff members will be technologically adept, the use of a wiki should not pose any problems. For staff members unfamiliar with wikis, training will be provided. The SJLM has decided that an internal wiki is the best mode of communication, as it allows staff to communicate in a timely manner and “in a language [staff] can comprehend.” (SocialMediaInBusiness.com, n.d.) Further, this will promote communication between all members of staff, and maintain SJLM’s image, as all staff members will understand what is expected of them and what types of content they should be posting. Wiki use will provide open lines of communication not only between staff, but between all components of the institution, where “management and employees work together to a common goal.” (SocialMediaInBusiness.com, n.d.)

Communication between staff members is not limited to that between management and employees. To keep board members informed and aware of social media initiatives and policy, emails will be sent out on a regular basis. Updates on the progress of the social media program will be provided at monthly board meetings, with staff members providing demonstrations of the social media account and informing board members of notable highlights from the social media sites. An aggregator such as HootSuite can be usedto monitor all sites and provide timely communication with the public. HootSuite isalso a way to collect and aggregate metrics, which can be provided at board meetings. The “social analytics” feature of Hootsuite allows users to “drill down into site traffic data including source, and region,” and will allow the museum to demonstrate increased numbers of users discussing the institution (HootSuite.com, 2013).