Getting Social: Top Tips for Establishing a Social Media Plan

As the influence of social media channels continues to grow, organizations must have a handle on the regulations and the risks social can introduce to a firm.

Beyond the highly regulated financial services industries, others such as insurance, healthcare, and energy are also tightly bound by regulations that govern social media. As the influence of social media channels continues to grow, organizations must have a firm handle on not only regulations themselves, but also on the risks that social media can introduce to an organization.

Under pressures to comply with new media standards, companies are seeking the most efficient plan of action to manage risk and use social media in ways that are beneficial to the organization. The US Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) served as the first government body to provide guidance on social media usage by financial institutions. These guidelines shed light on what comprises a risk management program for the regulated industries and what steps IT leaders can take to build and execute effective programs. Because these guidelines are applicable to all consumer-facing regulated enterprises, any organization that is regulated and maintains some sort of social media presence is wise to take note.

Top tips include:

1. Don't hit the kill switch. Put a process in place

Social media can be a powerful tool for any organization when used correctly. Putting a proper risk management program in place is a preventative measure to mitigate risk and avoid compliance issues. A proper program should include governance structure, policies and procedures, vendor risk management, employee training, monitoring, compliance, and proper oversight.

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Bill Shute is executive vice president, corporate strategy and marketing, at Viewpointe. He has more than 19 years of experience in customer-focused product and service delivery. View Full Bio