More than ever, many nonprofits are counting on social media to boost fundraising and build awareness. These tools have proven increasingly effective in recent years, but you need to remember the very real risks to reputation they pose. Nonprofit staffers, board members, volunteers and even unaffiliated third parties can cause significant and long-lasting damage if you don’t take appropriate steps to prevent it. Here are some measures to implement now if you haven’t already done so.
1. Establish a social media policy
The line between employees’ personal and work lives was already blurred, and the shift to remote work has only exacerbated this effect. Such confusion raises the risk of inappropriate (even if they’re inadvertent) posts on personal and organizational accounts. Ironically, the risk is exceptionally high for employees who are most passionate about your organization and regularly promote it on their social media accounts.
The best defense is a formal social media policy. The policy should set clear boundaries about the types of material that are and aren’t permissible on both kinds of accounts. For example, you should prohibit employees from posting non-public information they’ve learned on the job.
Although staffers are generally the primary target audience for a social media policy, you should also share it with board members and other volunteers. Emphasize that they could harm your organization with their accounts. For example, if a board member’s profile information highlights his or her connection to your nonprofit, “politically incorrect” posts could become associated with your organization by members of the public.
2. Diligently monitor
Social media is 24/7, and things can escalate quickly. Therefore, you must allocate the necessary resources to monitor your accounts and those of others for potentially damaging posts.
With organizational accounts, check the posts and comments (if comments are allowed) on those posts. Both can go viral and create a tsunami of trouble. Give your social media staff guidelines to help them determine when to engage and when to let it go. For example, you don’t want them to get drawn into an exchange with a troll posting in bad faith and simply trying to stir things up. Also, establish a zero-tolerance policy for offensive comments and delete any that violate your policy.
Additionally, consider subscribing to a “social listening” tool, such as Sprout Social or Brandwatch, to alert you when your organization's name is trending. These tools help you follow what people say about you and respond directly when appropriate.
3. Develop a formal response plan
Slip-ups, or worse, can occur despite comprehensive policies and training. Nonprofits with a formal response plan will weather such events far better than those scrambling at the last moment. Your plan should assign responsibilities and include contact information for multiple possible spokespersons. It should identify a specific trigger when it’s time to involve the executive director or other top-level individuals. Include a list of potential responses, such as issuing a press release, sitting for interviews, or bringing in a crisis management professional.
After a situation has been resolved, remember to sit down and review your plan’s effectiveness. What worked, what didn’t — and how should you tweak procedures to better respond to future occurrences?
Take it seriously
You can’t afford not to use social media, but you also can’t afford to suffer the reputational damage it might cause. Anticipating potential problems and including them in a policy and response plan will help you reap benefits while mitigating risks.
