Some small business owners may question the correlation between the business world and the Summer Olympics in London, but it all boils down to social media. According to the Entrepreneur, a Greek triple jumper and a Swiss soccer player have both been banned from the games because of their offensive comments on Twitter. Employers may view social media as a small business challenge, but they can learn from these Olympians' mistakes.
First of all, a set policy should be put in place that not only outlines what an employee can or cannot write on various social media sites, but also notifies he or she that they will be monitored, according to the media outlet. Also, having an equally detailed plan set up in case something negative is said is also imperative for small business owners, as they have to work fast.
"[A misstep] needs to be viewed as an opportunity to come out on top, instead of a chance to hide behind a press release," Scott Stratten, author and founder of Ontario-based marketing consultancy Un-Marketing, told the news source. "You can’t change the fact that your brand is in the spotlight, but you can control how you react."
Small business owners who are seeing success within their venture and are ready to expand should consider hiring a social media specialist to ensure the right content it getting out there. According to The Washington Post, there are a number of things to look for in a social media specialist, and it isn't as cut and dry as a person who updates his or her Facebook profile every day.
"You really want this person to have a deep understanding of how different social media platforms speak to each other - how they integrate and also how they differ," Saul Garlick, CEO of ThinkImpact, told the news source. "Audiences, anonymity, limitations, all of these things differ from platform to platform, even though sometimes it feels like everyone is on every social media site. In actual fact, people use each platform for very different functions. It is critical to bring someone on the team that understands how people use the tool and why."
It is also important for the specialist to understand the various audiences, as people as young as 12 and as old as 90 are accessing social media sites, the media outlet reports.