I've been noodling on the topic of social media governance for a while and it took a chat with Jim Storer and Aaron Strout on the Quick n' Dirty podcast to finally get it on my blog. (Thanks for the question, Jim!)
Much has been written about the importance of social media policy and why every company should have one. However, what's often overlooked by companies and experts alike is that creation of a policy by itself isn't cause enough to celebrate.
So, let me start by saying that social media governance is much more than just a policy (even if policy is the first thing that comes to mind, when you use the term "Governance"). Governance is much more broader in scope than policy and has greater significance, especially for larger companies.
While your social media policy defines how your employees should engage via social media channels, your governance model is a bundle of policies, guidelines, processes, and educational resources to guide your employees to successfully represent your company in social media activities.
Here are the 5 key elements of a solid social media governance model:
#1 Definition of Scope: This sounds so basic but it is critical that you define what is and isn't covered by your governance model. Be sure to call out the specific social channels along with the policies and guidelines that relate to each of them. Depending on business and organizational needs, some companies may decide to have a common governance model for their internal and external customer-facing communities, while others may decide to keep the two separate. So it's essential to call out which ones are included to provide clarity to your employees.
#2 Frequency & Process for Updates: Given that social media is evolving at the pace of light, your governance model will need regular review and update. Make sure you define the frequency of updates and the process for those updates. This will ensure that your governance model is not outdated and provides clarity on how the updates are made. If you want employee participation in the review (highly recommended), make sure you call it out along with details on when and how to provide input.
#3 Branding Guidelines: For a large company, the broad variety of social media channels makes it imperative to clearly call out the branding guidelines for your external channels. The same principles that govern the design of all your external-facing communications such as website, collateral, etc. should be applied to official social channels. This would include, but not limited to, branded templates for your social channels like Twitter, social sharing & follow icons, as well as the use of company logo and related elements on external-facing channels.
#4 Training & Education: A solid governance model should have plenty of educational resources for employees. This should include training on responding to customer feedback, both positive and negative. Typically, it's the customer support and PR organizations that are tasked with the responsibility of responding to customer feedback. However, social media is breaking down the traditional boundaries and depending on your company's social media engagement policy, it could be a marketing or salesperson who is having to respond to a customer query. So it's essential to have training as a cornerstone of your social media governance model.
#5: Approval Processes & Continuity Planning: Your governance model should clearly call out what approval processes are in place for employees to engage in social media. It should answer questions such as: Can everyone participate (highly recommended) or only members of certain external-facing groups can engage via your company's social channels? What is the process for getting approval for an official account?
Last but not the least, it's critical you have a continuity plan, which covers not only accounts are set up but how the account will be transitioned to a new owner, if needed. Having a centralized governace model in place will ensure that you're not locked out of your highly popular Twitter or Facebook account/s if the person engaging on your company's behalf decides to leave the company.
Bottom line, rather than policing your employees, start with a robust social media governance model as that will empower your employees with the right resources and training to become successful advocates for your company.
If you think there are other items that should be included here, feel free to chime in.