ROI
Social media guidelines: make employees your ambassadors
How to help your employees use social media for maximum impact.
Thomas More University College Mechelen (Memori) has analysed social media policies and guidelines from several local authorities and businesses in the North Sea Region.
The research team found that the most successful policies are developed around three principles:
- Regulation: stay within the law
- Respect existing internal agreements, procedures (HR-policy, house style, etc.) and laws
Do not infringe any intellectual rights and copyrights
Do not share confidential information
Use common sense and behave as if you were speaking to someone face-to-face – as an official you are respectful, honest, efficient, transparent and reliable in all interactions with citizens, partners and colleagues
Do not submit content which may be offensive, abusive, menacing or deceptive
If in doubt, do not post – seek advice first
Protect your own and other people’s privacy – ask for permission before sharing photos
Promotion: employees are ambassadors
Any activity – personal or as part of your work – may be seen in the light of you as a public employee
Do not put anything online which may be embarrassing or harmful to you or your organisation
Social media blurs the boundary between your private and professional life – ensure that your personal opinions cannot be interpreted as those of your organisation
Clearly indicate if you speak on behalf of yourself (add a disclaimer that your personal views do not necessarily reflect those of the organisation) or on behalf of the organisation (state your position and if relevant your qualifications to act as spokesperson)
Conversation: engage in dialogue
Be productive – engage as much as you can, within the limits agreed with your line manager
Be transparent – contribute constructive, sound and positive posts and if you cannot supply information, explain why not
Be open – join in with discussions and encourage others to do so
Be pro-active – monitor what others say online about your project, service or organisation and respond with information and open dialogue
Be cautious – don’t get caught be in endless and heated discussions
Be ready – follow schemes, templates and guidelines to help you know how to respond to positive comments, complaints and criticism
“Employees are your ambassadors”
Next steps
Fancy Facebook? Analyse your municipality’s digital maturity and readiness for social media
Further reading
Article: Social Media Policy
Facebook guidelines - Karlstad
Facebook guidelines – Groningen
Contact
Marijke Lemal, Head of Research, Thomas More Media & Business School, Belgium.
Email: Marijke.lemal@thomasmore.be
Thomas More University College in Mechelen, Belgium, is an academic partner in the Opening Up project. Thomas More researchers are able to offer broad perspectives on social media and open data.
Facebook for business: the positive effect of a social media presence
A study of Dutch companies reveals that Facebook activity is good for business. A survey of 43 companies in the Netherlands show their good use of Facebook brings many business benefits… except direct sales.
A project by researchers from Hanze University of Applied Sciences, in Groningen, Netherlands, has analysed the Facebook activity of 43 companies in the local area. Dr Karel Jan Alsem and Drs Pieter Hogendoorn assessed more than 1500 posts to find out how companies used Facebook.
Interviews with more than 700 Facebook page ‘fans’ and customers also revealed that Facebook has created a new sales route, replacing the ‘hard sell’ with a new model of ‘conversation and cooperation’.
“The SMEs we studied are active on social media. Nearly all companies had a Facebook page and the type of posts they publish are in line with modern marketing insights,” Dr Alsem remarks. Only 14% of posts were explicitly promotional while around a half of posts were about new products or supplied complementary information, advice or entertainment related to the company’s market sector (e.g. a car dealer posting car maintenance tips).
“In this new paradigm of social media marketing, people expect informational posts and posts from users. Indeed, our study revealed an important correlation: user content leads to high responses.”
Fans are ambassadors, not always customers
Companies should be cautious about what their Facebook statistics mean, though. The study team did not find a strong correlation between the number of likes for a page or levels of engagement with fans and a “positive brand image”. “Just because people like what you post on Facebook does not necessarily mean you are improving your reputation or even driving sales,” Dr Alsem warns.
In fact, the survey reveals that most Facebook fans on these company pages were not regular customers. Almost one in five fans never bought products from their ‘liked’ company.
“The real benefit to developing a fan base is that you are building ambassadors for the company,” Dr Hogendoorn explains. “92% of the fans we interviewed said they would recommend the company to others, even if they were not customers themselves. These people are valuable ambassadors.”
The cooperative model
Excited by these insights, the researchers want to expand and refine their study. “Unfortunately our data did not show significant correlations between Facebook engagement and real world engagement. We still don’t know which type of Facebook campaign is most effective for sales,” Dr Alsem remarks.
Nevertheless, Dutch businesses appear to be using Facebook well, Dr Hogendoorn observes. “SMEs seem to put the right type of posts on Facebook, and they are making the transition from the old "hard sell" model to the new model of "conversation and cooperation". We see companies and customers on an equal footing, as they share information and cooperate. We are gearing future studies to find out more about this sharing process and how cooperation can deliver a competitive advantage.”
“Moving from the old "hard sell" to a new model of "conversation and cooperation"”
Story in numbers
Summary of benefits
Facebook fans are important company ambassadors who will recommend your company to others
Next steps
Understand your audience and provide what they want – fans may follow you for information, entertainment, a platform to share their own views or discounts
Develop your social media strategy
Seek the advice of social media experts and marketing professionals
Get involved in research: contact the Social Media Lab
Further reading
Find the report at www.MarkLinq.hanze.nl/index.php/publicaties
Contact
Dr. Karel Jan Alsem, Professor of Applied Sciences, School of Marketing Management, Hanze University of Applied Sciences. Email: k.j.alsem@pl.hanze.nl
Karel Jan Alsem is a lecturer in marketing. He specialises in branding and marketing strategy and is the writer of several highly acclaimed marketing textbooks.
Drs. Pieter Hogendoorn, Lecturer in Online Marketing, School of Marketing Management, Hanze University of Applied Sciences. Email: p.g.hogendoorn@pl.hanze.nl
Pieter Hogendoorn is lecturer in online marketing. He has a passion for all things digital and innovative.
