The final step of preparation for a successful Social Media campaign is to develop the internal policies and workflow you’ll need to manage the program. For some companies, this is a simple as using the popular motto, “do no harm”, and setting them free to connect as they thing best. Other organizations, especially large organizations, will need to create a social media policy document which defines what can and cannot be shared on social media. If you have multiple people involved in the program or if you are working with an outside vendor, you’ll also need to create an approval workflow to make sure that the right people approve content that is posted on social media site.

In a simple example, your Director of Marketing may be empowered to create and post content as he or she feels is appropriate, knowing that they are fully accountable for results.  In a more complex example, you may have a copywriter or outside agency create content, send it to the Director of Marketing for content approval then to your in-house council for legal approval before it’s sent back to the agency to be posted.  Obviously, the second approach won’t be as spontaneous and responsive as the first, but if legal approval is important in your industry, then you’ll need to live with it.

Whatever your policies or process, it’s important to document them so that employees are protected and everyone is on the same page.

If you’d like to read my white paper on Social Media Success in 14 Steps, please click here.