It may be unlikely that your tweets and posts will cause an international incident, but just like the President of the Philippines, a slip in social media etiquette can be terribly embarrassing. Business use of social media can step into the same arena as governments who use social media… it happens when you have a designated employee (or in the case of President Aquino, a speech writer) who makes public posts.
So what happened to shake up the Philippines use of social media? On a recent diplomatic trip to Vietnam, the speech writer tweeted her distaste for most things Vietnamese… the men, the food, the city. It changed a sensitive ambassadorial trip into an international brouhaha.
It’s important to note that President Aquino hasn’t proclaimed that Philippines would stop using Social Media (it was reported they are considering now using Facebook too!). The President called for “more briefings on protocol” presumably to avoid future incidents.
Have you had your briefing on protocol? It doesn’t have to be as lengthy as an international treaty. A simple conversation to cover the “do’s and don’ts” or a one page guideline to add to your employee manual may be all you need. The important points to cover are:
- Which posts need prior approval and who will approve them.
- The topics that are off-limits and which words are not to be used.
- Timeliness of posts: how often to post, when to post, and when not to post.
- Whether Social Media will be use for direct-messaging/chatting. If so, how much time will be allotted, what types of queries will be answered, etc.
- Who is the go-to person? Even if you are solely responsible for your own Social Media posting, it helps to have a guru to fend questions when security issues, unusual situations, or technology glitches arise. Know who to ask to solve a problem before one arises.
Needs some help setting up your social media protocol or even just getting started? Call me to get started on the right foot and to stay on track!
