In the world of business, social media is taking a larger and larger role in the day to day function of the organizations that use them. Ten years ago, the concept of a “social media” specific employee was unheard of; today unpaid internships in this arena are common place. While the speed and reach of social media outlets are unmatched in the world of advertisements ability to reach targeted demographics, there are detractors to the social media market that can adversely affect a business.
There are several concerns that should be addressed by the company when using social media sites. These concerns include:
- What the organization's social media policy should be when employees are using the sites?
- How to manage the online reputation of the company?
- How to protect the privacy of the company, the employees, and the visitors to the sites?
- Other ethical considerations that may arise.
(The gold seal image is by Jossifresco (Own work) [released into the Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AGold_seal_policy_v4.svg )