As Lisa says, education is essential. But, if I were a boss I may be more concerned about productivity losses through non-sanctioned communication forums, and thus I understand the 54% percent number. In theory, it is a nice thought that the adequate level of education and instruction for SM usage will enable a utopian and uniformly positive exchange of information and ideas. We need not look far to see the fallacy of this assumption.

But I have to say, you guys are light years ahead of some other companies looking to do what you are doing. Kudos.

Also, there are some regulatory issues involved, mainly with financial firms. Sarbanes – Oxley requires that ALL personal communication done via the company resources is archived. The social networks that offer messaging functionality aren’t built in such a way that this can happen, so the only real way to be in compliance is to ban it all together.

It’s tough to monitor social media, and if I was a CIO…I’d probably have a strict policy as well. Heck, text messages alone are productivity killers, so I can imagine how bad it could get with social media.

I never expected to find myself on that side of the fence, but I suppose there’s a time for everything :)

The challenge is getting people on board and involved. I’m starting small and asking for some <140 character "tips" for parents, building up a library of resource info to use both now and have something that is retweet-able for the future. There are goals on the horizon for blogging, webinars, etc – but I think it's important to 1) educate – as you have laid out here and 2) take things slow – get people involved who WANT to be involved, and don't force things.

Again, great info here. Thanks Lisa!

My last company, Ektron, has decided to allow employees to individually represent the company in the social media space, instead of a faceless corporate account. If you Tweet a problem with the software you’ll most likely have a call from your Account Manager, and an @-reply from the CTO. Plus, there is a swarming of voices going after negative Tweets from competitors.

The conversations are happening with, or without, your policies.

@sully

“I think companies are just afraid to turn on that faucet in fear of what’s going to come out.”

You are both wrong…only kidding :)

I quote myself
“From the time it takes to register a new user account on Facebook, to writing the first message, as little as 60 seconds can pass. It’s a testament to both the advances made in technology, and web architects ability to create easy to use globally accessible platforms. But this ease of use can also be its undoing.

All messages sent via social media platforms are transcribed and stored on a server. A server which, as a business or organization you can’t access or control. While you can delete messages, in some cases, you have no way of knowing if the information is going be kept ad-infinitum, or whether through company mergers, it might end up in a far away land with a nondescript policy on privacy protection. Friends, colleagues and competitors can all access your information and store it locally. For Professional Communicators the ‘eternity of information’ can be problematic because while policies, practice and conventions at a business or societal level evolve over time, the Twitter Tweet, Facebook ‘post to your wall’ or forum comment can remain fixed in time. Something posted on social media might actually provide a competitor with a great publicity piece in five years time.

While it’s true that a TV and video recorder could provide the same ‘eternity of information’, it’s social media’s ability to store, share and disseminate information that is worthy of a red flag for professional communicators.

Key Message: Communicators should not sideline the impact that social media could have on other areas of the dissemination process. It would be a mistake to classify social media as a passing fad and not assign to it the same rigour and control as the other established communications channels.”

The reality is there are many reasons why companies would not want to engage in Social Media Marketing.

Personally, I don’t think every company should be using social media, and neither must they have a website. If I sell you something, it’s because you need it.