Our Blog

Inside Edge – December 2009

Social Networking Legal Best Practices

Avoiding Calamity

With the growing popularity of social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, companies are becoming concerned as to how they will be impacted by the mass distribution of content as it relates to their brand. However, there are measures that companies can take to avoid events that can adversely affect their brand reputation.

Facebook has almost as many users as the number of US citizens. Twitter is growing quickly as well, and Google Wave, an online tool for real-time communication and collaboration, is now in its beta form. Larger brands like Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks, McDonalds and others have millions of fans following them on the social networks. So companies that are considering participating in the social networks must first identify a strategy, set goals and define tactics that will help achieve these goals.

There are different kinds of sites that serve different purposes, and as companies start to formulate their strategies, they must prepare their content and offers in advance. Is it a coupon offer that will drive traffic to a website? Is it a free downloadable educational piece, or another enticing offer? You need to offer relevant information that your target audience is looking for in order to encourage engagement and conversation. To learn more about social networking best practices and how to avoid calamity, listen to the recording of our recent webinar:

http://downloads.mapssystem.net/ECWebinars/SocialBestPracticesAvoidCalamity.wmv

Is Your Company Ready for the Wave?

Join the Social Wave in the New Year

The New Year brings new opportunities for businesses. It's a time when business owners, marketers and executive management teams revisit their marketing goals and budgets. With today's new media tools, many of them are trying to weave in social media marketing as apart of their overall marketing mix. The social sphere is changing how people interact and behave. It's no surprise that most companies are looking to develop a social presence; however, the question is: are they doing the right things to leverage this monster?

Some are making small efforts and others are going full-stream, but those who are successful have formulated policies and appointed a "Social Communication" spokesperson on their staff. A good social media policy answers the questions of: who posts the content; what content gets posted; the frequency that it gets posted and through what channels; the process of getting the content reviewed and approved; who owns the copyright; and who the administrator is for each social networking site / channel. Answering those questions forms the basis of implementing a successful strategy.