One of the hardest things about growing a company with a blog as its central marketing vehicle is how to handle new and different voices. This is particularly critical if you actually offer social media services. There’s a need to let others see more than one voice and get a real view of the company, a need to enable people to express themselves and engage in the conversation, and a need to use the blog as a corporate branding and discussion vehicle.
As with all things, when you get more than one person in a room, it is inevitable that you will have disparate views. Sometimes the views are quite different. Now that the company is growing, we are experiencing these differing views. Here’s how we are trying to resolve the need and right of every person to express their views versus the company’s marketing needs…
Social Media Posting and Commenting Policy
Social media enables every person in the world to have a voice. They can say what they, how they want, wherever they want to. And they should. This is the great freedom social media provides the world.
At the same time, Livingston Communications is a corporate entity with a very visible blog and certain views about social media. In many ways the blog markets the company, and positions it as an expert on marketing communications.
This policy seeks to achieve the following:
- Provide every employee freedom to express their views regardless of the company’s position.
- Express dissatisfaction with certain corporate views on the Buzz Bin or in the social media realm, either internally or externally.
- Respect the company’s views on social media and maintain the company’s corporate integrity. The Buzz Bin is a corporate blog — not a personal one — and represents the views of Livingston Communications.
Employees who strongly disagree with a view taken on the Buzz Bin or a comment outside of the company’s own media forms are asked to bring it up internally first (However; if you do not want to bring your issue to the company, feel free to proceed ahead to the section “Respecting the Minority Voice”). This is a small company — not Microsoft — and we should have an “inside the locker room” chat first. And the company values unity in its approach.
If a majority of the company members feel that the post or comment was off-center then a correction or counterpoint post can be created. That means Geoff Livingston, that Schmendrick CEO, can be outvoted. This adheres to the spirit of the group conscience, which is that all voices are correct, but the majority should carry the spirit of the community.
Respecting the Minority Voice
The minority voice should also be respected. In the future, opinions can change and move towards the minority view. Original posts and comments will not be torn down, even if the original party changes their mind. It is important to communicate course corrections, and why. It’s OK to admit your wrong, make amends, and move forward.
If the dissenting voice is in the minority, they still have a right to comment or post about it. However, Livingston Communications ask that this be done in the following ways:
Blog (podcast or vlog) posts: If you are outvoted on a Buzz Bin post, and you still feel compelled to say something, the company strongly encourages you to blog first before commenting. Your post will be linked to as a ping back within the comments section of said Buzz Bin post. Regardless, any related posts can link to the story, but should be published on the individual’s blog, microblog or other publishing format (employees are encouraged to blog!). We ask that if this step is taken, a small disclaimer is added to the blog’s about page, “My views do not represent my employer’s.”
Comment: Outside of the Buzz Bin comment away; just tag it with your own unique URL — not the Buzz Bin — and personal email address.
You can comment as a minority opinion the Buzz Bin. But more importantly, if you have to comment on the Buzz Bin, a couple of things should be acknowledged: 1) Your feel that your view must be stated on the post regardless of the company’s general position and 2) you are doing this in spite of having other communications vehicles at your disposal.
If you do elect to engage in commenting against corporate opinion on the Buzz Bin, you must be respectful of your peers in tone and voice. Respectful dissent will not be penalized.
Personality Attacks: Please refrain from attacking personalities. This is a violation of corporate policy. Since sensitivity can make personality attacks a very subjective determination, let’s examine some possibilities.
Be free, speak your mind, and enjoy the wide world of social media.
What color light do I get for calling you a “Schmendrick”?
At worst yellow. Extra points for Yiddish usage!
well that sounds like a corporate policy that allows for and fosters conversation and dialogue, even engagement, recognizing we might not always agree so share your view, be civil and mature. Good stuff….now the implementation :-)
Okay, now we are off to criticize ;-) Good work Geoff, it is important to be upfront about these things as your company grows. Also, loved the Yiddish, learned something new.
Thanks, Richard and Kami! I appreciate the positive feedback… It’s good to know we are not going in the wrong direction.
Geoff, I wasn’t following your blog a year ago so I missed this. Thanks for directing me to it today. Very well done. I especially like how you embrace the differing views of your staff. I think our companies have a lot of similarities in areas like that.