Do you have a social media policy?

What happens when someone asks you a tricky question in your community, website, Facebook page, Twitter page or blog?  Do you answer them? How long does it take you to answer? If you don't know the answer, do you know the appropriate person to contact in your organisation? Does that person understand the importance of timeliness in a web environment?

Every organisation needs a team of internal “champions” to help support the audience-facing person of their team (you may call them a Marketing Assistant, Social Media manager, Chief Blogger, Community Manager, Web Manager, etc). When this person becomes aware of something happening online amongst your audience, they often will not readily know the answer themselves. They will need to draw on the expertise and knowledge from within the organisation – and they’ll need a timely response.

To build your internal team of champions, you’ll need one person from each main area of the organisation, plus an extra person to be their backup.  Each of these internal champions should be ready to receive enquiries at any moment and be prepared to find the answer or information, and deliver it promptly.

Time is of the essence on the internet. People won’t necessarily wait around for several days – or even hours. The internet has instilled into us the idea of quick responses and you must move quickly, or people move on to other places to find what they need. We suggest a 3-4 hour turnaround time, by the end of which there should be a public response stating the answer, or that you are searching for the answer and will provide more information soon.

Remember that it is completely acceptable to say “We don’t know, but we can direct you to this other website that we’ve found which looks like it will be helpful.”  It’s also acceptable to say, “We’re not 100% sure but we’ll look into this for you and come back to you within the next day."

It would be a really bad idea to...

• Withhold information because it’s on another website – you should be seen to be part of the larger online community surrounding your service or offering.
• Not answer at all.

If you don’t have a social media policy, I suggest that you get one in place as soon as possible. It can be as simple as a small flowchart illustrating the procedure for handling these enquiries – and this should be given to all of your internal champions as well as anyone involved with your website or with your online audience. 

You might also want to have a look at our blog, Is your business ready for online social networking? And this blog from Zappos will also give you a perspective on social media worth considering: How Twitter Can Make You A Better (and Happier) Person

Reminders:

• You should have a team of internal “champions” – one person from each main area of the organisation.
• You should have a backup in place for each of the champions.
• Everyone should have a copy of the social media policy and understand their role as well as the response time.
• Consider adding a section about your response time to your Terms & Conditions or your Community Guidelines so that your audience can find it.
• It’s ok not to answer within the 3-4 hour time period outside of your working hours. People are forgiving of these times, and of holidays. But come Monday morning – they will be waiting.