Social Media Risk Monitoring: Don’t Let Your Company Be Gazopted

*Gazopt: the act of having your reputation, your brand, your message, your identity, or a confidential communication co-opted by an unauthorized person or by one who is violating a confidence or trust.

Social media magnifies business impacts in disasters and crises. It is no longer enough to view social media as solely another marketing medium. The failure to monitor social media risk may mean the end of your business, reputation, or brand.

Social media risk is an identified vulnerability and needs to be included in every BIA and Business Continuity Plan. The National labor Relations Board (NRLB) has created significant new social media risk requirements. Federal regulators, including The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA),have issued guidance and regulatory notices for Social Media Risk Plans which include mandatory monitoring, 3-year record retention, personal liability, training, and predetermined red flag triggers. Look for additional regulators to follow suit. The effort to manage a solid Social Media Risk Program can be time-consuming and challenging. As a result, a broad range of measurement and analytic tools have evolved to meet the needs of Social Media Risk Management.

Why Monitor?

As the audience continues to increase, and new social media tools continue to emerge, there are new risks that arise from this communication and interaction. Communications and interactions are instantaneous and broad in reach. Social media risk mitigation is fast becoming a field of expertise unto itself. Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, vanity websites, blogs and other forms of social media are virtual (and permanent) warehouses of evidence. Understanding how to monitor these communications and interactions will enable you to both assess the risk and reap greater rewards through richer engagement.

Also notable is the ever increasing body of case law emanating from social media risk, including claims of defamation; copyright infringement; discrimination; breach of noncompete agreements; ethical violations in advertising, employee misrepresentation on social media sites,– all with significant consequences, including associated judgments, fines and penalties.

What Is Monitoring?

Monitoring is the process that keeps you on top of what others are saying about your company, your brand, your results; it alerts you to on-line customer requests and comments, and when on-line responses are expected in return.A broad range of measurement and analytic tools have evolved to meet the needs of Social Media Management.

• Different social tools are used by varied audiences. Robust social media monitoring tools provide:
• a logical workflow that makes it simple to alert the right person within an organization to take action as appropriate;
• real-time alerts to foster immediate engagement;
• the ability to assess the results of your marketing efforts;
• the ability to quickly respond to damaging statements or comments posted by third parties, competitors, employees, customers that will ‘gazopt’ your reputation.

Media Monitoring Tools are effective and integral to a social media strategy. But, in the end, their effectiveness is integrally tied to the human beings who are charged with the use of these tools. Understand what you are monitoring and why, and know what the ‘triggers’ are to take action. Designate the team that will respond; document and train on the action steps, and be ready to implement immediately. Without these plans and procedures in place – tools are just tools- like those gathering dust in your garage.

The above article has been excerpted from an extensive white paper entitled “Social Media Risk Monitoring: Has Your Organization Been Gazopted*?”