4 Questions for CEOs Social Media 2018 Social Media Growth, Risk and Reputation Management PRYME GROUP TM Risk. Reputation. Reward. © Pryme Group, LLC. All rights reserved. allpryme.com
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4Questions for CEOs
Social Media 2018
Social Media Growth, Risk and Reputation Management
PRYMEGROUP
TM
Risk. Reputation. Reward.
© Pryme Group, LLC. All rights reserved.
allpryme.com
You’re the leader of a highly regulated firm. You’re committed to growing your business next year while managing the risk. But it’s getting harder.
Technological innovation is rapidly driving us to often unimaginable frontiers. People are increasingly online, mobile, and multi-tasking - and social media has become an integral part of everyday life.
The reality is that social media is here to stay.
Your employees and customers have embraced it. Competitors are taking advantage of it. Regulators are enacting rules to manage its impact. The days of assuming social media is just a “fad” are clearly over.
But in this fast-paced world, your business can also suffer in an instant.
Your customers have become digitally savvy, easily distracted and quick to voice their opinions. The “good ol’ days” - when a company could carefully manage their reputation – are gone. Good-will and shareholder value accumulated over decades can crumble with a single tweet. A handful of fake LinkedIn profiles can potentially lead to untold financial losses to a company.
A cautiously curated reputation nurtured over decades can disintegrate in just hours and minutes.
Social media presents huge opportunities to engage with customers. For regulated businesses, these opportunities also present enormous risks and challenges.
Social Media Growth, Risk and Reputation Management
PRYMEGROUP
TM
Risk. Reputation. Reward.
© Pryme Group, LLC. All rights reserved. | allpryme.com
Social media has become a powerful beast.
What is your business doing to tame it? How do you manage the perils while capitalizing on its power?
If you use social media well, the rewards can be limitless. If you don’t, the risks are enormous and could have lasting consequences to your company.
Companies that want to survive and win must develop a resilient and strategic approach to social media.
Shrewd leaders want to know the right questions to ask to help their company engage smartly in social media. They know technology moves fast, and customers move even faster.
These questions will help your organization to navigate the challenges of social media, reap the rewards and survive.
Companies that take advantage of the power of social media, delivering growth while managing the risks, will be the ones that survive and win.
Social Media Growth, Risk and Reputation Management
PRYMEGROUP
TM
Risk. Reputation. Reward.
© Pryme Group, LLC. All rights reserved. | allpryme.com
1. Listen to your customers. Social media is rich with a wealth of information from billions of people. People share a stunning amount of personal information in social media channels. Use that data to inform your business decisions, develop innovative products and services and nimbly adjust to changing customer expectations.
2. Shape perceptions. Use the power of trusted networks by allowing others to advocate on your behalf. Consider ratings and reviews as a useful source of customer feedback on your company. Engage in real-time conversations to manage your company’s reputation during a crisis.
3. Align strategies. Social media does not exist in a silo. Integrate social media activities with business objectives. Establish a customer care channel on Facebook, if that’s where your best customers are. Attract the best and brightest job candidates by showcasing your company’s diversity efforts on LinkedIn.
Are we taking advantage of social media to generate growth?
At the end of Q2, 2017, Facebook reported 1.37 billion people use its platform daily. By now, there should be no question about the power and scale of social media.
Social Media Growth, Risk and Reputation Management
PRYMEGROUP
TM
Risk. Reputation. Reward.
1.
ONLINE REVIEWS HAVE BECOME A POWERFUL WAY FOR CUSTOMERS TO EXPRESS THEIR VIEWS ABOUT A COMPANY.
Customers often post reviews on sites like Yelp, Facebook, and Glassdoor. For regulated companies, reviews can be a two-edged sword. Some reviews can be a source of extremely valuable customer feedback, while others could be complaints which need to be managed carefully. Amplify positive reviews if possible and control the impact of negative reviews. TIP: If you have physical locations, reviews may accumulate against individual employees as well as specific locations.
© Pryme Group, LLC. All rights reserved. | allpryme.com
1. Establish a company social media policy. Employees already use social media for personal use, and may also use it for business-related purposes including customer service, sales, hiring, or research. A documented social media policy should establish what your employees can and can’t do in social media, both personally and when they’re engaged in social media on behalf of your business.
2. Train employees. In regulated industries, periodic employee social media training is often mandated by a rule-making board such as FINRA. Employees should be trained regularly on social media policies, risks and any specific industry restrictions or requirements.
3. Define ownership. Imagine that one of your top salespeople has a LinkedIn account and establishes close client relationships through their personal LinkedIn profile. Now that salesperson leaves your company - and takes those relationships with her. Be clear and document who owns the assets of a social media profile, including domains, followers and content. Employees and employers have often battled in court over social media profile ownership.
How do we manage the risks from our employees’ social media activities?
Your employees are already engaged on social media and your company is already exposed to risks from their activities on various channels.
Social Media Growth, Risk and Reputation Management
PRYMEGROUP
TM
Risk. Reputation. Reward.
2.
HIRING AND RECRUITING VIA SOCIAL MEDIA CAN BE TRICKY BUSINESS.
Hiring managers often use sites like LinkedIn and Glassdoor to post jobs and recruit candidates. Some vet potential candidates by looking at their social media profiles and online history. However, this type of vetting could be problematic in the context of labor laws. For example, if a hiring manager sees the profile picture of a potential recruit on LinkedIn, that candidate may be able to argue that your company engaged in discriminatory hiring practices if they didn’t land the job. Where possible, use a third party investigative firm to protect your company when vetting job candidates.
© Pryme Group, LLC. All rights reserved. | allpryme.com
1. Conduct a social media compliance audit. Conduct an internal audit of your company’s social media activities to ensure you’re in compliance with industry rules. Assess the gaps, then update policies and guidelines, educate and train employees and make other organizational or process changes as needed.
2. Perform periodic risk and compliance reviews. Regulations are changing rapidly as rule-making agencies keep up with social media’s evolution. Conduct annual reviews (at a minimum) of policies and regulations. Mitigate risks and manage issues before they become full-blown crises.
3. Review record-keeping processes. Regulations that apply to digital advertising or communications (e.g. website, email or text messaging) also generally apply to social media. Integrate social media platforms, oversight and processes with other risk and compliance processes.
How well do we handle social media compliance requirements for our industry?
Many regulatory agencies have recently stepped up their examination of compliance with social media regulations. Yet, many companies are unaware of social media industry regulations, causing unexpected headaches, costs and delays from fines, sanctions and lawsuits.
Social Media Growth, Risk and Reputation Management
PRYMEGROUP
TM
Risk. Reputation. Reward.
3.
Social media should not operate in a silo – if it does, it could put the rest of your company in jeopardy.
© Pryme Group, LLC. All rights reserved. | allpryme.com
1. Protect your company from social engineering. Employees can be lured into clicking on links, sharing valuable company information, downloading malware and even transferring large amounts of money out of company accounts (yes, this happens). Like email risks, train your employees to be aware of phishing, spoofing, social engineering and other risks that may originate in social media.
2. Put a robust access management plan in place. Create and implement an access/password management plan for all social media accounts. Ensure processes are in place to offboard employee credentials and remove login authorizations to social media channels when an employee leaves the company.
3. Monitor social media profiles for fraudulent accounts, website pages and fake links. Hackers will often spoof a company’s social media profiles to lure customers into giving up their credentials or download malware. Identify fake profiles as quickly as possible and deal with them quickly to prevent risks from escalating and avoid frustrated or angry customers.
Are we vulnerable to cyberthreats or cyberattacks via social media?
Social media is fast becoming an important threat vector for cyber criminals. Employees that share too much information on their social media profiles can become valuable targets of cybercriminals and social engineering – the art of manipulating someone into giving up valuable information.
Social Media Growth, Risk and Reputation Management
PRYMEGROUP
TM
Risk. Reputation. Reward.
4.
SOCIAL MEDIA HAS BECOME A SOURCE OF VULNERABILITY AND TARGET FOR CYBER CRIMINALS.
Have you heard the story of the Associated Press’s Twitter account being hacked? An accompanying 3-minute drop in the stock market of 150 points erased $136 billion in equity market value. Hackers gained access to the AP’s Twitter profile and posted news of an alleged bombing at the White House to nearly 2 million AP followers, causing panic in the stock market. Social media has become an easy and attractive medium for cyber hackers to target since people tend to share personal and work-related information on social media and because it’s a “circle of trust” consisting of family, friends and colleagues.
© Pryme Group, LLC. All rights reserved. | allpryme.com
Summary
The future is a test of survival of the fittest. How do you intend to compete?
If you don’t “do” social media at all, your company risks falling behind.
If you don’t “do” social media well, your company’s reputation, financial well-being and ability to remain competitive may be on the line.
Start by asking your team the right questions.
If you would like more guidance on how to apply these questions to your business, email us at [email protected] to schedule your complimentary initial consult today.
Social Media Growth, Risk and Reputation Management
PRYMEGROUP
TM
Risk. Reputation. Reward.
About PrymePryme Group, LLC helps companies to navigate the risks and reap the rewards of engaging in social media. We focus on social media growth, risk and reputation management for companies in highly regulated industries, including financial services, healthcare and government agencies, and for licensed professionals such as physicians, legal and accounting firms. Our services include social media strategic planning and consulting, workplace/employee policies, guidelines and training, and risk and crisis management.
Contact us at [email protected] for more information.
© Pryme Group, LLC. All rights reserved. | allpryme.com
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