Social Networking
The adoption of Internet based social networking websites has been nothing short of phenomenal over the last 5 years. For organisations, the use of social networking websites can represent both a powerful marketing communication tool and an unknown and major threat to the organisation's reputation and brand. URM provides a range of consultancy services which help organisations to assess the current levels of threat and the development of controls for mitigating the risk attached to social networking.
What is Social Networking?
Social networking websites focus on building and reflecting of social relations or networks among people who share similar interests and/or activities. Most social network services are Web based and provide an environment for users to interact over the Internet such as email and instant messaging. Major social networking sites currently include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Bebo and MySpace.
Common Issues and Concerns for Organisations Surrounding Social Networking
In URM's experiences, the main concerns and issues for organisations are:
- Being unaware of risks i.e. what is being said about the organisation (directly and indirectly) by employees and the potentially negative impacts these can cause
- How to develop policies and procedures to control staff's use of social networking sites. This includes providing guidance to staff about acceptable usage, e.g. use during work time, as well as what they can and can't write e.g. references to their employer, clients, projects or proposals they are currently working on.
How URM can help
URM's consultancy services in this area focus on 2 main aspects:
- Undertaking an assessment of an organisation's current level of exposure. This is a high level assessment focusing on a review of the main social networking sites. The main deliverable from the assessment is a report providing detailed findings (including links and screen shots)
- Advising organisations on how to reduce their exposure and how to manage and monitor the situation on an ongoing basis. This includes assisting in the development of new policies and procedures (or modifying existing policies and procedures) and also the development and delivery of staff awareness programmes.