What You Can Do to Make a Difference?
Pause Before You Post!
This sounds simplistic, but it is the best piece of advice I can give: Pause before you post.
Every post demonstrates you as a brand, your professionalism, your values, and your ethics.
If someone shows pictures boozing at a party, that is their brand. If you work for a business or organization and you do undercover posts on behalf of the business without disclosing your relationship with the business, you have demonstrated your ethics. If you are unhappy about a product or service and post a rant that goes far beyond the facts, you are misusing the gift of social media platforms.
We are in an era when we can share, review, ask questions about products and services like never before. These are gifts that should be treated with care. If we misuse these gifts like posting fake reviews, people will stop having faith in consumer product reviews.
Setting the stage for appropriate business behavior is important in every business. We establish our mission, values, and frequently the ethics we stand for. Unfortunately, in most businesses, we forget one of the most important aspects of business: social media.
These are the platforms where our potential and current customers have conversations. These are the platforms we should be listening to. This is an area that should have an ethics policy so everyone connected to a business or organization knows the dos and don’ts, and why.
These concepts should be outlined in high schools, higher education, business and organizations, faith-based organizations, and nonprofits.
Create the policy, train people, have discussions about social media ethics on an on-going basis, learn, share, and teach.
It is important to remind everyone that everything we do on the Internet is public. There is no expectation of privacy; those days are gone. Who you follow, who you friend, what you post, is public and will be available forever. We need to conduct ourselves with transparency and complete professionalism. We must remember we are all legally responsible for what we post.
It is ironic to think that many years ago the great CBS journalist Edward R. Murrow shared a famous quote about television. In some ways, that same quote can be applied to computers:
“This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box.” (Murrow 1958)
This topic will only achieve the goals we want if you take this book and become a true advocate for creating a world of higher standards. It is up to you.
What Can You Do Ahead of Time?
Plenty. If you are interviewing for a job, ask what their social media policy is. Find out how knowledgeable they are about disclosure, if they have a policy and training plan in place. If they do not, share what you have learned and help them understand what is at stake and why they need a policy.
What Should You Do When Confronted with the Issues?
There have been many cases in which employees or friends have been “asked” or “strongly encouraged” to post fake reviews about products or services. It may come from a boss, coworker, business associate, or friend. If someone asks you to do this, you now know it is illegal; it is problematic for the business, the person asking you to do this, and problematic for you.
What can you do? Help the person asking you to post a fake review to understand what is at stake:
Their reputation
Your reputation
The reputation of the business
A possible FTC fine
Negative news coverage
Remember, you always have choice. The choice you make will determine what you believe is the difference between right and wrong.