Words to Live By: Social Media & Your Business

Companies are getting involved with social media a lot these days. They use it to recruit and as a marketing tool. Everyone from CEOs to managers and lower level employees is posting to Facebook or blogging.

With all that online publishing going on, it is a good idea for your company to have a social media policy, a kind of rules of the road for people to follow, so that they won’t get themselves into trouble later for doing something they shouldn’t have online.

The important thing to keep in mind about online publishing, just like the old-fashioned kind on paper, is that the words, once written, are pretty much there to stay. With that in mind, you need to be careful about certain things, such as using another person’s material without crediting them, writing something that is not true, writing something defamatory or insulting to another person.

If you borrow an idea or passage from another person you need to acknowledge that. If you are blogging, for example, you can make a link to your source. You also need to be careful to check your facts before publishing, to make sure you are not putting something out there that is not true. Because once you put something online, it cannot be deleted.

So, watch out if you try shading the truth, or otherwise cut corners. Sooner or later it will be revealed, and it won’t reflect well on you or your company.

Dr. Farris Timimi, medical director for social media at the Mayo Clinic, suggests that before you write, pause for a minute and think about, first, who your audience is, who you are writing for. This will help determine what to include. Is the post appropriate for any age group? And does this post help add something to the online conversation?

It is always a good idea to add a disclaimer when you are writing. And, if you are blogging, make sure your readers understand you are speaking only for yourself, not for other staff or your company.

There is also the issue of anonymity. Generally, it should be avoided. If you are writing something, you should be willing to put your name to your work. Writing anonymously only raises more questions in the reader’s mind than it answers.

When you’re looking for great employees for your temporary or direct-hire needs in the Inland Empire, contact Arrow Staffing. Some of the Riverside and San Bernardino counties’ finest employers have been using our services since our beginning in 1972 and we hope you’ll allow us to do the same for yours. Contact us today!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *