technology: social media 21
Getting to grips with social media governance
The growth of social media has left businesses with a challenging decision to make – whether to adopt this interactive opportunity to engage with customers and prospects and incorporate it as part of the strategic plan to realise future growth aspiration, with an element of risk of exposure and lack of control – or maintain a stronger holding over the risk by having a minimal, if any, presence on social media, potentially missing this great opportunity to support growth plans
’Growing communities: How charity leaders govern social media globally to thrive online’ is a recent report by Grant Thornton surveying the views and experiences of charity chief executives and their peers covering five key areas: strategy, governance, education, risk and measurement. Senior executives from Australia, Botswana, Canada, Ireland, India, New Zealand, the UK and the US were involved.
Trudi Amy (pictured), not-for-profit lead and tax director at Grant Thornton’s Southampton office, works extensively with a wide range of charities and not-for- profit organisations.
Amy said: “Charities recognise the importance of using social media to engage with new communities and beneficiaries. This report shares valuable experience from charity chief executives and their teams who have created strong social media strategies, alongside insight from our global not-for-profit team.
“With 74 out of the top 100 UK charities represented on all three of the main social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn)* senior management need to recognise social media as an operational tool that requires appropriate governance due to its enormous reach and immediacy.“
The report addresses the issue that a social media knowledge gap at senior levels exists across charities worldwide.
Grant Thornton believes that understanding how to govern social media use, leverage its opportunities and manage its risks, is vital. Improving knowledge at senior levels is also important to understanding impact and effectiveness. Just as with any other communication channel, the board cannot become involved in every operational matter. In setting a framework for governance, the members have to understand what social media is and its capabilities.
* Source: Grant Thornton charity governance review 2014
Six questions every board should ask
Key findings
Strategy: The charity’s strategy should drive social media use. The board must help formulate this strategy from a position of knowledge.
Governance: Charities should document their social media governance approach and share guidelines with everyone involved in their work. Clear guidance and understanding improves self- moderation.
Education and training: Formal education programmes should be used at every level of the organisation, including volunteers when it is relevant.
Internal social networks, such as Yammer and Jive, can also provide opportunities for people to gain confidence and working knowledge of social media.
One What part does social media play in our strategic plan; who reports to the board about social media strategy and outcomes; and what is their level of experience?
Two Do we have guidelines to issue to staff and volunteers using social media and how do we encourage usage while mitigating risk?
Three
How can social networks help to aid internal communications and break down silos across a charity?
Four
What resources have we allocated to social media projects and how do we measure our return on investment?
Five
How can we monitor online discussions that our charity should be involved in?
Six Can any of our services be delivered through social media to reach new beneficiaries?
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – APRIL 2015
www.businessmag.co.uk
Risk: For many charities, non- engagement is a risk in itself, although each organisation has to weigh up the cost of social media against its benefits.
Impact: It is vital to measure impact, engagement and outcomes to justify investment in social media. Metrics should always be linked to a strategic goal and monitored to find the real value over time to beneficiaries.
The report can be found online at: http://
www.grant-thornton.co.uk/Documents/ Growing_Communities_Charity_Social_ Media_Report.pdf
Contact: Trudi Amy
023-8038-1151
trudi.l.amy@
uk.gt.com www.uk.gt.com
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