Online blunder busters- Online listening and other methods to oust the oops-ies
When a four-year-old has an oops-ie it’s typically not a big deal. At worst you find yourself irritated, inconvenienced, or embarrassed. Employee oops-ies are an entirely different animal. A twitchy finger that accidentally hits “Reply All.” A travel-weary salesperson tweeting frustration about an A-list client. Social media’s ease of use makes it all too easy for those “uh-oh’s” to become “Oh, no’s!” Check out these three strategies for minimizing those headache causers.
- In school, kids learn math, science and reading. Yet even in today’s wired world, few learn media literacy skills. The challenge is that parents aren’t necessarily in a good position to teach online common sense either because many of them aren’t technology natives. Make sure employees have a set of guidelines designed to minimize gaffs. Even a simple cheat sheet with do’s and don’ts for social engagement with customers can go a long way toward preventing nightmare situations. For example, don’t assume employees know it’s inappropriate to divulge trade secrets over Twitter—an especially important lesson if you answer to a board or stockholders.
- Realize that you only have so much control over what employees will do online. Even if you have a social media policy in place, that doesn’t prevent staff from interacting when they’re not on the clock. So, as unfair as it might seem, you’ll just need to adjust to a reality in which communication can happen outside corporate guidelines.
- Tap into what employees are saying with a comprehensive online listening program. Sure, that tweeting salesperson may intend to tell you about his not-so-smart message when he gets back to the corporate office on Friday, but you might be feeling the implications long before that. By using platforms that listen to a variety of online channels, you can implement an early response that can help mitigate a full-blown crisis.
Oust the oops-ies from your company’s social media interactions. To learn more about how online listening and social engagement will head off the situations that make you want to run to the hills, contact Social Strategy1.
