When talking to senior management in both the public and private sectors about social media I often hear comments such as ‘If we don’t use social media then there is no risk to us!’
The ostrich approach
While there may be some organisations where this holds true and the continued exclusion of the use of social media remains the best option, I believe there are many situations where it is not an option and that its non-use can actually be a risk.
The fact is that the non-use of social media can have a detrimental impact on an organisation. There are four main risk areas associated with failure to engage with social media:
a) Reputational:
If the organisation is regarded as innovative, but opts not to use social media, it may change the perception of key stakeholders, including staff, customers and suppliers. Without using social media, there is a strong argument that it will become increasingly more difficult for some organisations to fully engage with all their stakeholders and that they will also miss opportunities to raise brand awareness.
b) Financial:
A major attraction for many is that the use of social media is, essentially, free. Therefore, organisations must avoid investing in expensive technology that may simply replicate what social media does.
Furthermore, by not using social media, the organisation may spend a significant amount, in terms of time and actual cost, by opting for face-to-face interaction. Use of social media reduces such costs.
c) Strategic:
There are two main strategic threats: firstly, the failure to drive innovation and creativity within the organisation itself and also within its related communities. This can lead to an organisation becoming moribund and / or that others (i.e. competitors) step in to fill that void.
Secondly - and one that is potentially very damaging - is that non-use of social media will lead to an inability to improve efficiency of learning and teaching and of research work.
d) Operational:
Organisations not using social media will be unable to access current relevant information or they will have to pay for this from other sources. In parallel, they will find themselves continuing to use costly traditional methods to conduct learning and teaching and research work.
There is the missed opportunity of using a channel that permits you to effectively broadcast your message (or your brand) to a national or international audience.
And finally, the potentially very damaging issue may arise of staff feeling there is a failure to trust them to behave responsibly.
Using social media - what are the risks?
If business / organisation leaders decide to engage in the use of social media there are, essentially, two levels at which they can proceed. The first is to limit access to selected social media to certain members of staff only, while the alternative is to allow all members of staff access. In each instance there are risks that can be recognised.
The risks associated with either of these choices are as follows:
Allowing access to specific sites for specific staff:
a) Reputational:
Some stakeholders may resent the use of social media as the means by which you communicate with them as they see it as depersonalising; i.e. you have chosen to communicate with them as one of a group rather than on an individual basis. This ‘blanket’ approach can reduce the level of individual engagement that recipients feel.
b) Financial and legal:
Training staff to utilise social media correctly and in an appropriate manner can be costly, while a risk that is often uppermost in business leaders’ minds is that of information being posted without being properly checked. The ease of information posting and dissemination is a benefit, but it increases the likelihood that some content may be posted (accidentally or deliberately) without being subject to internal quality control process.
c) Strategic:
How do you determine who amongst the staff gets access/does not get access? This is one where the correct decisions are vital.
d) Operational:
Once the decision is made on who does / does not get access there is a risk that the organisation is regarded as operating a two-tier staffing structure. This can then lead to a loss of talent due to a perceived lack of trust.
From a technical point of view, because of interaction between social media site users, there can be an increased propensity to spread malware and aid phishing attacks and spam. In turn, this threatens the company’s data in terms of confidentiality, integrity and availability.
Allow access for all staff
a) Reputational:
The same risks as for limited access apply, plus the following:
- the inability to control staff and, therefore, content and quality of external communications, leading to serious brand / reputational damage;
- the inability to control personal use;
- being drawn into public debates (via staff postings etc);
- the release of sensitive or embargoed information;
- failure to engage your target audience in the most appropriate manner.
b) Financial and legal:
The same risks as for limited access apply, plus the following:
- possible litigation costs if defamatory comments are made;
- reduction in productivity through excessive personal use;
- cost of training;
- access to inappropriate content, e.g. blogs, YouTube videos.
c) Strategic:
The principal risk here is trivialising the core messages of the organisation.
d) Operational:
- unable to control staff access and ensure that it is for professional purposes;
- productivity losses;
- differentiating between discussion and chatter;
- accuracy and verification of information and posters;
- staff need to be aware of the fact that their Facebook friends may also be stakeholders;
- impact on bandwidth availability;
- increased risk of viruses and malware entering the organisation network;
- failure to manage expectations on speed of interaction.
In summary, organisations face a range of risks in using - or not using - social media. On balance, the greater long-term risk is not using it - competitors will and your organisation will be left behind.
Business leaders must come to terms with the fact that the key feature of most risks is that they are dependent on user behaviour; when considering the risks of social media use, the user really is the main threat. However, they are also the means by which the main opportunities will be delivered.
