Opinion: Weighing Risks, Opportunities in Social Media

This Opinion piece appears in the Nov. 3 print edition of Transport Topics. Click here to subscribe today.

By Andrea Tarrell

Marketing Director

HNI Risk

The advent of social and digital technology has changed a lot in the way we do business. Companies used to have a much higher degree of control and awareness as to what was being said about their organization, their products and their industry. This has fundamentally changed — and most organizations are scrambling to keep up.

When talking to the transportation companies that we work with, the first reaction is generally fear — and this is certainly not unfounded. But as with any risk, there are huge opportunities for organizations to effectively navigate this shift in technology and come out on top.

In the rest of this article, I’ll break down some risks and opportunities of social media. These aren’t intended to be complete lists, but they are meant to offer a few ideas on how social might impact your organization.

First up are two major risks.

Risk 1, Losing Control of Information During a Crisis: When you get that dreaded call that one of your trucks was involved in an accident, you better be ready to take immediate action, because social media is like word of mouth on steroids. Nearly everyone on the scene of an accident has a smart phone — and they can broadcast pictures, observations and commentary right from the scene.

A tweet doesn’t have to be true to go viral. News publications will latch onto these posts, often without rigorous fact-checking.

The accident involving comedian Tracy Morgan that we’re all familiar with is a cringeworthy example of this sort of risk. In the days following the accident, the driver posted dozens of tweets that made for a media heyday, once they were uncovered. And you better believe the plaintiff’s attorney will milk them for all they’re worth.

You can’t stop employees from engaging in social media, but you can create a policy to educate them on how their actions impact the company and what behavior is and isn’t appropriate. Identify the most likely reputational risks to your company, and prepare your leadership team in advance. Designate who can speak to the media and have boilerplate language to share following various types of incidents.

Risk 2, Discoverability of Social Media Information:

Most social networks have privacy settings that allow you to control what information is seen by the public. Employees may feel they can broadcast information if their profile is protected or they communicate through private messages. Reality check: Nothing on the Internet is ever really private.

Social communications can be subpoenaed like anything else. Due to a false sense of privacy and security, social networking is emerging as one of the most useful tools in litigation. We’ve seen “private” social media content be used in litigation to prove inaccuracies in a story, identify witnesses, or cast a shadow on the credibility of employees and drivers.

Now that we’ve looked at the “doom and gloom” side of social media, let’s turn to the positive side. Here are some opportunities awaiting your organization.

Opportunity 1, Engaging Millennial Drivers: As we look for new ways to attract drivers, social media represents a powerful opportunity to engage Millennials, or, as they’ve been called by some, the digital natives.

The 20-somethings we’re bringing into our organizations have literally grown up alongside digital technology. They speak the language of the Web and function most efficiently when plugged into it, ingesting and processing information in real time. Facebook, Twitter, and driver forums can help attract these individuals to your company. As drivers, they will feel more loyal to co-workers, the company and the brand when engaged through these channels.

Opportunity 2, Laser-Targeted Recruiting Messages: The upside of people pouring so much information into social networks is that we have the ability to leverage that data for highly effective advertising. For example, you can zero in on the exact type of people you want to reach with recruiting messages on Facebook.

Facebook has complete demographic information on its members, so companies just like yours can target by age, gender, occupation, past or current employer, geography, interests — you name it.

Beyond advertising, you can use driver forums and message boards, social searches and other kinds of communities to attract candidates.

This strategy requires a dedicated social presence to execute, but the competition in this area is slim right now.

Opportunity 3, Enlist Your Employees as Recruiters: One of the greatest things social media can do is empower your employees to be brand and recruiting ambassadors for you. When people say positive things about their company online, their peers know it is sincere. Seeing real testimonials from drivers and their families can move the needle significantly for people evaluating whether you’re the place they want to be.

The long and short of it is this: Things are changing, and it’s critical that your organization changes its game plan, too. When used effectively, social and digital technology can be a great advantage in recruiting and communication efforts — and with proactive management, you can mitigate the potential for reputational risk.

Tarrell leads marketing and business development strategy for HNI, an insurance and business-advisory firm specializing in transportation.