There are more and more examples of employees misusing social media in ways that harm the organizations they work for. At a minimum, such actions create bad publicity, and at worst, they lead to damaging lawsuits that affect an organization’s success and profitability.
An understanding of the dos and don'ts of using social media at work is essential to every employee in every organization. An organization’s public image and reputation depend on how well it guides its employees to exercise good judgment when using social media, and on its ability to navigate the difficult situations that arise from social media interactions.
While using social media effectively requires caution and good judgment, it can also have significant benefits, such as creating loyal, long-term customers and improving relationships with employees, vendors, and suppliers. This program looks at the actions you should take—and those you should avoid—to use social media successfully in your workplace.
There are many reasons to consider using social media at work. Using social media effectively can enable your organization to:
- Increase visibility by sharing its culture and communicating its core mission, vision, and values.
- Create a dialog with employees, customers, and the community.
- Acquire and offer information and resources.
- Build a loyal following of customers.
- Find new customers.
- Find new employees.
After completing this course you should be able to:
- Recognize the benefits of using social media in the workplace.
- Identify the various legal and ethical risks of using social media in the workplace.
- Protect your organization against legal action resulting from intentional or unintentional violations of law or policy.
- Encourage an “ambassador attitude” in employees.
- Provide guidelines that help employees make good decisions when using social media at work.
- Identify the elements of an effective social media policy.
