Before the world of social media the most worrisome part of a corporate training was that some people may not pay attention. For the presenter, the critical concern was that attendees would take notes on the training, including highly prized trade secrets, and tell then to their friends how boring it was. But now, with bloggers and Tweets, the social media risk is much higher: how can a corporate event planner prevent company training materials from ending up on the social media platforms? After all, with a simple click of the "tweet" button, a bored attendee can tarnish the presenter's reputation while simultaneously releasing potentially confidential information. The risk from social media use is high.
Social Media Risk Strategy - Planners Plan a Tweet
Corporate training planners must understand that despite repeated emails that attendees may not use cell phones during the presentatio or publish training materials on the Internet, more than a few people in that room will turn to social media to alleviate boredom, or to express excitement. The only way to avoid the social media risk in real time is to ban cell phones and laptops. But realistically, corporate employees are tethered to their blackberrys and iPhones. They would scoff at the idea that cell phones are banned - and they would inundate you with emails requesting an exception.
The only other way to manage social media risk through attendee usage during a corporate training is to plan for how it can best utilized, especially in the case of the instantaneous Twitter.
(1) Twitter Feed: manage social media risk by asking attendees to submit their Twitter names in advance of the training and use a screen to pull the Tweets of all attendees as a way to make them an active part of the meeting. Let them know that they are encouraged to Tweet thoughts about the event, but to please refrain from divulging corporate information on trade secrets.
(2) Tweet-ternative: as an alternative to allowing Twitter usage, opt for an in- house service such as Present.ly to engage attendees at the conference.
(3) Search it out: let your attendees know that you will be running searches on Twitter for conference/training related terms and all results will be projected on a communal screen. This will manage social media risk and help ensure that attendees are not divulging private information and if someone does divulge this information they will be easier to identify.
The planning of Twitter and other instant status-update platforms is the first step for corporate event planners to take in their social media strategy and risk mitigation. But it's a good base to jump from.
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by, Benish A. Shah, VP of Strategic Digital Strategy - Corporate Social Media Risk & Branding
