Training and Policies Key to Good IR Social Media Plan
I have spoken to many IROs about their use of social media. Some are exploring their options (and even have their own personal Facebook or Twitter account) to help them decipher what will fit in best with their company’s communications and overall business strategy. If they decide to move forward with some kind of social network, they are taking it slowly to see what evolves and how much of their time it will actually take up (see my recent blog about two companies who have gradually integrated Twitter and Facebook into their corporate strategy).
Others are sitting on the sidelines waiting for a RegFD violation from those who are using it or direction from the SEC on specific guidelines for its use (I wouldn’t hold my breath).
Whatever the reason – people are using social networks to talk about your company and you need to get involved in the conversation now. However, there are many considerations such as specific social networks to use and for what purpose i.e. IR, PR, Marketing or Advertising.
No matter what department and the social network used, there are an increasing number of articles written by social media experts who recommend that organizations stepping into the social media arena should have a social media policy in place.
For example, in a recent post on her blog, hrbartender.com, Sharlyn Lauby, President of Internal Talent Management asks the question “Should Your Company Have a Social Media Policy?” in which she outlines the Five W’s to adopting a social media policy.
Another example for putting a social media policy in place and some great ideas of what to include is by Dave Fleet, a communications professional based in Toronto with a passion for social media. In a recent three-part series posted on his website he states that companies should consider having both an internal and external policy when getting started with social media.
A final example is from David Cesarini, a financial services marketing consultant who specializes in social media marketing and organizes social media marketing workshops. He provides an excerpt of a social media policy for a financial services company in his blog “Sample Social Media Guidelines for Financial Services.”
After reading these articles, I thought it would be useful to speak with a company who has a social media policy in place. As a result, I got in contact with Ruth Cotter, Director IR and Treasury at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). It was from her participation in a session entitled “The Evolution of Financial Communication” at the NIRI conference in June of this year that I learned that AMD had one.
What follows is the background on how AMD’s social media policy evolved and some interesting ideas to ensure the guidelines are clear and easily adopted by everyone.
BACKGROUND
AMD’s use of social media began with a blog for product initiatives. The marketing team wanted a forum to discuss their products in more detail and there were internal discussions with other departments such as legal, IR and PR to find a suitable venue to do this – as such it was decided that a blog would be an acceptable place to start and best managed from a corporate risk perspective.
AMD started using the blog before implementing their company-wide policy. Interestingly enough, it was their legal counsel who wanted to see where it was going to evolve first. They say it made it easier to put together a list of guidelines dubbed the “Streetlight System” (which I will outline shortly).
The policy was tailored specifically to AMD’s needs; keeping all departments in consideration. In addition, as they have been using the blog for a few years now, they field a lot of questions from other companies and have an understanding of what other organizations are using it for so they have incorporated those insights into the policy as well.
Once the policy was finalized, they formed a social media counsel consisting of legal, IR, PR, Marketing and the Product Business Unit. The policy is reviewed on a quarterly basis as part of a separate disclosure process to ensure the “envelope” is not being pushed too much. It also continually evolves as the company adapts and updates their internal “best practices” for its use.
BLOGGING LICENSES
As employees began reading the blog, all groups wanted to have a chance to address their “key” audiences (there seemed to be an internal realization that using social media helped to find out who their audiences were and how to address these audiences effectively).
As the blog had been going for a few years now, the social media counsel wanted to ensure that the new “interested” groups were going to maintain a consistent presence. As there were differing opinions on who should be able to participate, the social media counsel decided to issue “Blogging Licenses”. All employees who want to blog on behalf of the company have to get proper training on best practices. Ultimately the license is granted by AMD’s Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). In order to assess whether to grant a blogging license, the CMO needs to know:
- The area in which the blogger will blog (work, home, play, developer);
- The topics on which the person will blog;
- How the blog will further the strategic goals of AMD; and
- How the blog is unique.
The license actually came about from an existing employee development program entitled “License to Lead” – in which employees are invited to attend training sessions to move up in the company (unconscious responsibilities are derived from the word “lead” which they felt would resonate with everyone).
The blogging licenses help to keep the number of bloggers under control as well as monitoring the messages to ensure a united voice. AMD has approximately 14 licenses in total today, with the most active voices coming from the product and marketing departments and the server and server/software divisions.
As a result of the increased use of bloggers, the social media policy has branched out to include personal use of Facebook and Twitter (which I will discuss later). To ensure awareness and the importance of the social media policy, it is posted on the homepage of the company’s intranet and highlighted in employee newsletters.
AMD SOCIAL MEDIA STREETLIGHT SYSTEM
All blogs must comply with the General Guidelines and the AMD Streetlight System – which was put in place to help employees better understand the areas of risk and when to enlist the help of the legal and IR departments.
As mentioned the social media counsel meets regularly to discuss areas in which the company may engage in social media. These areas are assigned a “streetlight” colour (i.e., green, yellow or red) based on the perceived risk to AMD.
The meaning of the streetlight colours are as follows:
- Green light – PR and legal review is NOT required
o Example: Previously approved statements of fact related to publicly available AMD products - Yellow light – PR and legal review not required if the writer sticks to approved AMD talking point guidelines. Otherwise, legal and IR review is required with respect to strategy or actual content
o Example: Positioning of AMD products - Red light – No social media engagement allowed
o Example: Financial guidance
ADDITIONAL AREAS ADDRESSED
Social Networking Tools (Facebook/Flickr/YouTube)
The company recognizes that more than likely employees will have some kind of social media account which they use for private and personal networking. Some employees may use these accounts to promote AMD’s products and technologies. If that is the case, some additional rules apply:
- Be careful not to post pictures, videos or articles or “test messages” which might embarrass you, fellow colleagues or the company.
- Posts made to social networking sites must adhere to the General Guidelines and the AMD Social Media Streetlight System.
Twitter and Company Intranet
The policy also covers off micro-blogging sites such as Twitter. It also includes the company’s intranet which allows employees who work in different locations to talk amongst one another (e.g. design groups use it to talk globally) and in general helps manage efforts to keep conversations that should stay internal, internal.
Whether you are just starting out using social media or have been using it for quite some time, if you haven’t already, you should seriously think about putting together a social media policy. Now bear in mind, a social media policy is not meant to be cookie cutter so just like implementing social media tools into your current communications program, it should be specifically tailored to your organization. A good starting point may be to review employee, communications and disclosure policies that already exist within your organization and of course enlist the help of your legal counsel.
As a point of interest, here are a few links to other companies who have social media policies:
I also came across this presentation on SlideShare that conveys the merits of having a social media policy.
Related posts:
- Social Media, Investor Relations and Web Disclosure
- Leading IR Firm at Forefront of Developing Social Media Strategies for Investor Relations
- Trends and Best Practices in Online Communications and Social Media in Corporate IR
- CIRI Ontario Seminar – Using Advanced Technologies Effectively
- Online Training – the Better Way!
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