Rules of Engagement for Social Media - Keep it Real
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Dealing with social media is different from dealing with run-of-the-mill media. Those of you who have been engaged with it for a while know this, though you might now be so immersed in it that you follow its rules without being conscious of doing so. The CIPR makes this point explicit when it says in its guidelines that “Organizations that apply the usual methods of dealing with the media can get into deep trouble, but that doesn’t mean that the ‘rule book’ can be completely disregarded.”
So what can you count on to work? Well, being honest and real is often valued in social media. Though it’s easy to hide on the Internet, people tend to get suspicious if they find out something about you later that could color what you have said before. Even though it’s not outright lying (as happened not too long ago with a now-former Wikipedia editor who pretended he was a theology professor), hiding what you are can leave a very bad taste. That’s why the CIPR suggests that “In general, members should err on the side of disclosure, even where there might not seem an overriding professional obligation to do so.” It suggests mentioning your occupation in your personal blog, for example, even if your blog is not about what you do for a living.
This feeds into another good point that CIPR makes in these guidelines, one that any business that already has a reputation should keep in mind with its online attempts at promotion. Remember that “reputation is holistic – it is not possible to sustain one image created through conventional media alongside a completely different one created through social media.” The two media interact with and inform each other.
The CIPR mentions that the three pillars in its code of conduct are integrity, competence, and confidentiality. That’s not a bad place to start in general when working with clients. It then takes up the discussion of how these three pillars apply to social media. To some extent, I think you can already see where they’re going, but let’s take a closer look.
Next: Keep it Ethical and Legal >>
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