This document discusses the organizational impact of social media on human resources, legal, and policy/enterprise services functions. It notes that social media involves the entire organization and impacts areas like recruiting, employee engagement, legal implications around copyright and defamation, and the need for social media policies. It emphasizes that social media education is important but many companies lack programs. Overall, the document provides an overview of how social media affects different parts of an organization and things companies should consider to manage these impacts.

1. nick westergaard | branddrivendigital.com
Organizational ImpactHow Social Media Impacts Human Resources, Legal, and the Role of Policy and Enterprise Services

2. #UImktg
@nickwestergaard

3. Where Are WE?
‣ Strategy — Planning the Work
‣ Execution — Working the Plan
‣ The Big Picture — The Digital Ecosystem

4. The organizational impact of social media
‣ BRACE FOR IMPACT!
‣ Legal Implications
‣ Human Resources & Employee Engagement
‣ Policy, Governance & Regulated Industries
‣ Continuing Education

5. BRACE FOR IMPACT
1

6. Remember, marketing involves everyone
Photo via Flickr user Wayne Large

7. the world is changing
Photo via Flickr user Kevin DooleyPhoto via Flickr user zeuxis.pixelsurgery

8. Remember the common obstacles
‣ Time
‣ Talent
‣ Terror

9. hr, legal, and it
Photo via Flickr user Tony Alter

10. TRUST
time, talent, & terror are opportunities to build

11. collaboration is key

12. Legal Implications
2

13. legal implications
‣ Copyright
‣ Contests
‣ Disclosures
‣ Defamation

14. ©
copyright

15. copyright highlights
‣ Protects creative work, intellectual property
‣ Individual — Life + 70 years public domain
‣ Corporations and “work for hire” — 95 years
‣ Fair Use — Excerpting creative work; no fair use if you use it for
commercial purposes — besides, what’s “fair”?

16. blogger beware

17. safe image sources
‣ Stock Photos — iStock, Big Stock, stock.xchng
‣ Creative Commons — Watch crediting
‣ Take your own!
‣ NOT Google image search

18. copyright tips & tricks
‣ Creative Commons is safest for blog post images
‣ Facebook myth — You still own what you post but by posting you give
Facebook the right to use it commercially
‣ Always cite work and link back to source material
‣ Who owns content? The company NOT the employee

19. copyright your work
‣ Example: Copyright Nick Westergaard 2016;
or Copr. Nick Westergaard 2016;
or © Nick Westergaard 2016.
‣ More information: http://www.copyright.gov/
‣ The biggest benefit? Protection! You can sue if needed.

20. contests
Photo via Flickr user Glenn Fleishman

21. quick contest tips
‣ Avoid lotteries (Illegal!) — Can’t require purchases for game of chance.
“No purchase necessary” (contact info only) protects you.
‣ Use contests based on skill rather than games of chance. Be clear on
eligibility and state rules clearly. Explain clearly how winner will be chosen.
‣ Get release/consent from entrants up front to use winners’ names and
likenesses for promotion
‣ If the retail value of the prize is $600 or more, the sponsor must send
the winner an IRS 1099 form at the end of the tax year.
Source: kerrygorgone.com

22. disclosures
Photo via Flickr user Steve Snodgrass

23. kerry gorgone
Disclose a relationship anytime there’s a
connection that’s not immediately
apparent to the reader.”
“

24. the 4 ps of disclosure
‣ Placement – Place disclosures near the claim they’re qualifying.
‣ Proximity – Users shouldn’t have to scroll or zoom to see disclosure.
‣ Prominence – Make it pop.
‣ Presentation Order – Make it “unavoidable” that consumers see
disclosure before they can “Add to Shopping Cart.”
Source: kerrygorgone.com

25. aDt’s lack of disclosure = paid ad to the ftc

26. ADT + FTC fallout
‣ Prohibits ADT from misrepresenting that any discussion or demonstration of a
security or monitoring product or service is an independent review provided by an
impartial expert;
‣ Requires ADT to clearly and prominently disclose, in connection with the
advertising of a home security or monitoring product or service, a material
connection, if one exists, between an endorser and the company; and
‣ Requires the company to promptly remove reviews and endorsements that have
been misrepresented as independently provided by an impartial expert or that fail to
disclose a material connection between ADT and an endorser.
‣ Each violation of this order could result in a $16,000 fine.
Source: kerrygorgone.com

27. when in doubt, disclose

28. defamation
Photo via Flickr user eflon

29. defamation definitions
‣ Libel – Written or broadcast words that do damage to another person.
‣ Slander – Insults that are spoken aloud.
‣ NOTE: There are caveats for private vs. public personalities; corporations
are treated as public.

30. 5 tests of libel
‣ Defamation — Exposing someone to hatred?
‣ Publication — Was it broadcast?
‣ Identification — Was the person singled out?
‣ Negligence — If a public figure, you have to prove malice by the defamer
‣ Damages — Will the person incur damages?

31. 3 defenses against a libel charge
‣ Truth — You can’t argue with it
‣ Privilege — Reporters can report things
‣ Fair comment/criticism — “I have my right to my opinion”

32. horizon group vs. bonnen
‣ The Offending Tweet from Horizon Tenant Amanda Bonnen:
“You should just come anyway. Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment
was bad for you. Horizon realty thinks it’s ok.”
‣ The Suit: Horizon Realty sues for $50,000 for alleged libel.
‣ The Decision: Judge dismissed the case for not meeting the test of libel.

33. Human Resources
& Employee Engagement
3

34. understanding hr & employee impact
‣ Recruiting talent
‣ Monitoring impact factors that affect hiring
‣ Monitoring talent & competition
‣ Employees and social media — the good and the bad

35. social recruiting
Photo via Flickr user Roman Boed

36. monitoring impact factors
Photo via Flickr user Crow Bared

37. monitoring the competition
Photo via Flickr user Santiago Medem

38. what about employee impact?
‣ Internal communication and collaboration
‣ Brand ambassadors — Encourage a culture of engagement
‣ Impact and implementation

39. regular employees matter the most
Source: Edelman Trust Barometer

40. employee communication & collaboration

41. happy employees = happy customers

42. empowering brand ambassadors

43. employee impact
Source: Altimeter Group
“If only 1% of our current 34,000 employees
participated and became ambassadors,
we’d have an extended social media team of 340.”
cosmin ghiurau, director of social/digital strategy - radio shack

44. sound policyand employee education
what’s needed? how do we do this?

45. Policy, Governance
& Regulated Industries
4

46. 85%of companies have a
corporate social media
policy in place
18%say that employees
knowledge is “good”
or “very good”
Source: Altimeter Group

47. dara quakenbush
Laws are lagging behind today’s
technology.”
“

48. national labor relations act
‣ 180 years old (!) but …
‣ Protects employees social updates about work (“My boss is a jerk” =
protected)
‣ Used by the NLRB to rule on social policies at companies
‣ Workers fired have been reinstated and compensated for lost wages

49. RECENT
KEY RULINGS

50. 2009
RAIN CITY CONTRACTORS
NLRB’s first move to protect
workers’ social media rights — a
construction contractor reinstated
workers fired for griping in a
YouTube clip about unsafe work
conditions. (NLRA lets workers
talk about conditions)

51. 2011
AMERICAN MEDICAL
RESPONSE —The first Facebook
firing. An employee was fired for
calling her supervisor a “d#%k”
and “scumbag” on Facebook.
AMR settled.
YOU’RE
FIRED!

52. MARYLAND
Passes the first law protecting
employees’ social media profiles
and passwords
— 25 other states follow suit;
federal law is in the works.
2012

53. NLRB UPHOLDS FIRING of
car salesman for mocking an
accident at a neighboring car
dealer on Facebook. Ruling?
Employers can discipline
workers for this type of speech.
2012

54. 2013
NEW YORK CITY DEPT OF
EDUCATION —Appeals court
ruled the DOE couldn’t fire a
teacher who wrote on
Facebook that she hated her
students, calling them “devil’s
spawn.” Ruling? Post was
intended for friends —
considered “private venting” —
lesser penalty.

55. common policy mistakes to avoid
‣ Going “Too Broad” with Restrictions — Helps to include examples of
what is permissible.
‣ Muting Whistleblowers — Your employees can talk to the media and
federal agencies; don’t need manager’s approval, etc.
‣ Friending Subordinates — Rise in cases from employees’ noting a boss
taking action after seeing/reacting to a social update.

56. policy should include
‣ Philosophy & goals
‣ Transparency
‣ Common sense
‣ Confidential/proprietary guidelines
‣ Consequences
‣ Escalation rules
‣ Expectations during/outside work hours
‣ Examples/best practices

57. policy tips and tricks
‣ Social policy shouldn’t replace your code of conduct or handbook
‣ Shouldn’t be a detailed dictionary for use of every social network on the
planet — Hit the high points
‣ Be prescriptive — Again, examples!
‣ Outline consequences and who’s responsible

58. “Online & Off”to your employee handbook
policy tip: add the phrase

59. policy varies with culture
Social Media Policy: “Be smart.”

60. policy varies with industry
Policy:
No tweeting before game
Policy:
No tweeting 30 mins before game
Policy:
No tweeting 90 mins before game

61. privileged information vs. professional advice
‣ Privileged — Hospital can’t respond to complaint about bill on Facebook as
doing so acknowledges they were a patient
‣ Professional — Accountant can’t dispense financial advice in response to
someone’s problems on Twitter

62. the challenge of regulated industries
‣ Examples – Financial Services, Pharmaceuticals, and Law
‣ What’s in a Like? Many financial firms view ‘likes’ as endorsements of
specific financial products.
‣ Adverse Effects — Pharma can’t tweet about their product and the disease
it helps without carrying the lengthy disclaimer on possible side effects.
‣ Digital or Die. Many are evolving. Slowly.

63. clear enforcement
Photo via Flickr user Emmanuel Huybrechts

64. violations are few and far between
Source: Altimeter Group

65. Continuing Education
5

66. mark w. schaefer, author of the content code
Culture is the number one predictor of
success. Not budget, not resources.”
“

67. 62%of companies have no social media
education program, yet it’s a top priority
Source: Altimeter Group

68. how to structure a social education program
Source: Altimeter Group

69. social media education checklist
‣ Define learning objectives and roles — guided by your business objectives
‣ Formulate success metrics to benchmark and demonstrate program impact
‣ Engage executives and internal stakeholders during strategy and planning
‣ Dedicate education and training resources
‣ Audit existing resources to reduce duplication and integrate with corporate training
program and systems
‣ Determine if the curriculum will be built in-house and by whom, or by external partners
‣ Align curriculum with existing polices and governance
‣ Create an internal marketing strategy that creates incentives for participation
‣ Run pilots to manage resource constraints, get continued buy-in, and refine additional
tiers
‣ Create ongoing learning and opportunities to engage
Source: Altimeter Group

70. key take-aways
‣ Social media involves the entire organization — lead this discussion
otherwise you’ll end up responding to it
‣ Work to understanding legal implications and HR impact
‣ Employees can be effective brand ambassadors if empowered
‣ No BS: Trust everyone, but have a policy that deals with those who cannot
or do not comply

71. next up: advertising
Photo via Flickr user Craig Nagy

72. next up
‣ Strategy — Planning the Work
‣ Execution — Working the Plan
‣ The Big Picture — The Digital Ecosystem

74. #UImktg
@nickwestergaard

75. nick@WESTERGAARD.COM
Slides at Slideshare.net/nickwestergaard
@NickWestergaard on Twitter, Instagram, and more