Auditing Social Media E-Book

Peter R. Scott

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 189

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Beschreibung

Practical, big-picture guidance toward a mastery of social mediabenefits and the risks to avoid Packed with useful web links, popular social media tools,platforms, and monitoring tools, Auditing Social Media showsyou how to leverage the power of social media for instant businessbenefits while assessing the risks involved. Your organization seesthe value in social media and wants to reach new markets, yet thereare risks and compliance issues that must be considered.Auditing Social Media equips you to successfully partnerwith your business in achieving its social media goals and track itthrough strong metrics. * Shows how to ensure your business has adequate metrics in placeto capitalize on social media while protecting itself fromexcessive risk * Reveals how to ensure your social media strategy is alignedwith your business's goals * Explores the risk and compliance issues every business mustconsider when using social media * Includes a sample audit program Auditing Social Media is the one-stop resource you'llkeep by your side to clear away the confusing clutter surroundingsocial media.

Leseprobe

Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Introduction : Why Should Anyone Care about Social Media?

Chapter 1 : Social Media

Definition of Social Media

History of Social Media

A Minefield of Opportunities and Risks

Chapter 2 : Social Media

Delivering Value: If Nothing Else—Listen and Learn

Delivering Value: The Social Media Strategy

The Evolution of Social Media Strategy

Developing the Strategy

The Social Media Plan

Applying Social Media to Achieve Business Objectives

Chapter 3 : Monitoring and Measuring

How It Can Go Wrong and What to Do

Listening

Learning

Responding

Measuring

Sharing

Chapter 4 : Social Media Policies

The Social Media Policy Team

Internal and External Stakeholders

Elements of an Effective Social Media Policy for Internal Stakeholders

Elements of an Effective Social Media Policy for External Stakeholders

Social Media Policy Training

Chapter 5 : Social Media Risks

Strategy and Planning Risks

Execution and Process Risks

Other General Risks

Chapter 6 : Social Media Governance

Boards of Directors

Executive Oversight

Project/Process/Tactical Oversight

Legal, Compliance, and Risk Assessments

Assurance Providers

Chapter 7 : The Social Media Audit

Appendices

Appendix A : Chapter Links

Appendix B : Common and Popular Social Media Tools and Platforms

Appendix C : Common and Popular Social Media Monitoring Tools

Appendix D : Links to Publicly Available Social Media Policies

Appendix E : Links and Information Regarding Regulation, Guidelines, and Legal Issues Involving Social Media

About the Authors

Index

Copyright © 2011 by Institute of Internal Auditors Research Foundation. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Scott, Peter R.,

Auditing social media : a governance and risk guide/Peter R. Scott, J. Mike Jacka.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-118-06175-6 (cloth); ISBN 978-1-118-06369-9 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-06370-5 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-06371-2 (ebk)

1. Internet marketing. 2. Social media. 3. Business enterprises—Computer networks. 4. Customer relations—Technological innovations.

I. Jacka, J. Mike. II. Title.

HF5415.1265.S394 2011

658.8'72—dc22

2010053514

To my father for his perseverance and generosity, to my mother for her strength and courage, and to Taberi, my wife, for everything

—Peter

To Sally and Dan, who opened my eyes to what was going on

—Mike

Foreword

As I look back on my career at Microsoft, I feel fortunate to have had a front-row seat to witness an incredible shift in how people and organizations communicate and interact. I started at Microsoft in October 1994—about a year after America Online released AOL 1.0 for Windows. As early adopters of social media, Microsoft’s “technical evangelist,” Robert Scoble, emerged as a social media pioneer, blogging and producing videos of our employees and products as part of Microsoft’s Channel 9 MSDN Video team. Since then, we’ve led the way in embracing the power of online communities.

Today, people around the world are sharing their opinions and experiences about practically everything and anything. What started out as small groups of like-minded people talking about their profession and passions has transformed into an unbridled content democracy. Anyone with Internet access can readily voice his or her opinion, create multiple forms of content, create new products, and—in their own way—change the world.

Over the past few years, organizations around the world have been trying to figure out how to enter the social media pool. Some decided to jump in and quickly learn how to swim. Others were pushed into the deep end and figured it out after thrashing around a bit. And there are even those who chose to stay out of the water, hoping to avoid risk. Unfortunately, if you believe you can simply avoid social media—you can’t. You or your organization can choose not to participate, but that doesn’t mean people are not talking about you, your products, your programs, your customer service, or the people within your organization. So while there are risks in engaging your stakeholders using social media, there are also serious risks in avoiding it altogether.

What makes the book you’re reading unique from most books written for internal auditors is that this book is a collaboration between an internal auditor and a social media practitioner. It provides two different perspectives, but one common message. The end result is a guide to help internal auditors and other leaders throughout the organization collaborate to identify the opportunities and risks of social media as a communication medium. Mike and Pete also provide the details of how to create an effective strategy, governance structure, metrics, and audit program to help provide the assurance, insight, and objectivity necessary for success.

As the use of social media continues to transform within organizations, it’s not a matter of if but when internal auditors will need to play a role. This book is a “must read” for anyone who wants to have a seat at the table and help develop a program that is based on sound business principles.

Rod Winters,

General Manager Finance Operations, Microsoft USA

2009–2010 Global Chairman of The Institute of Internal Auditors

Acknowledgments

Peter would like to thank Ted Murphy, CEO and founder of IZEA, Inc. Ted’s vision, creativity, and perseverance serves as an inspiration to achieve great things. Ted’s constant innovation and “disruption with a smile” has forever changed the future of social media. He would also like to thank his friends, colleagues, and fellow board members of the Orlando Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. It is truly an honor to serve and learn from such exceptional professionals.

Mike would like to thank Paulette Keller and Stan Sherman, who constantly inundated him with concepts, articles, blogs, updates, and various other information on the rapidly evolving world of social media.

And both authors would like to thank the staff and leadership of The Institute of Internal Auditors and The Institute of Internal Auditors Research Foundation, not only for their support throughout this project, but also for the opportunity to work with them in various projects throughout the years. They would also like to thank the team at Wiley for all their expertise and guidance.

Introduction

Why Should Anyone Care about Social Media?

As you are reading this, it is very probable that someone somewhere is writing about your organization.

Why should you care? People have written about organizations, their products and services, and how they conduct business seemingly forever and, except in rare occasions, it hasn’t really been a significant risk. Hundreds of years ago a nameless “accountant” was writing about his “organization” by recording entries in Sumerian that would probably be read only by an appointee of the king. A couple of hundred years ago some Colonial American may have been writing a tract about the poor handling he received at the hands of the local cobbler. As recently as a few years ago, your worst-case scenario may have been a disgruntled employee trying to convince a publisher to print his tell-all book about your organization.

So, if someone is writing about your organization today, why should you be any more concerned than you were in those years long ago?

Because every word that is being typed about your organization by every person who has a nasty or kind thing to say has the potential to be read in the homes, haunts, huts, and hideouts of billions of people throughout the world.

In the movie The Music Man, the Ladies Guild (in the inspired tune “Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little,” where images of the busybodies are interspersed with a group of chickens) gossips about the goings on of Marian the librarian. Your organization is Marian, and social media is the Ladies Guild. However, rather than disinformation being spread at the speed of sound throughout a small town in Iowa, the information about your organization is being spread at the speed of light throughout the world.

And it is amazingly pervasive. A little old lady from Pasadena is telling all her Facebook friends (a group that is scattered globally) that your soap gave her shingles. A struggling rock band has prominently placed your organization’s name in its new song “Death to the Corporation,” and the associated YouTube video is about to go viral. A preadolescent, a “tween,” has tweeted on Twitter that she will shop at your store forever because Justin Heartthrob just tweeted that he liked a shirt he bought there. A blogger who thinks nostalgia is yesterday’s dinner has mentioned he never heard of your 75-year-old organization until last week and laments how the upstarts in the industry are degrading its quality. A group of eco-terrorists are flaming your discussion page because they mistakenly believe your organization is supporting the destruction of dolphins in Japanese fishing towns.

That is why you and your organization need to be aware of the previously solitary scribblings of your customers. Whether these comments are intentional or inadvertent, they can have a substantive impact on the bottom line—whether that is in profit and loss, brand equity, or share price. Because an organization cannot control the conversation the way it did in the past, there is a clear need to have a comprehensive understanding of the medium, evaluate the opportunities and risks of social media, and develop a strategic approach that best addresses these issues.

So how do you respond to this burgeoning array of communication? We see three different types of response by organizations.

The first are like ostriches. These organizations ignore social media, considering it not worthy of their time, sticking their heads in the sand and refusing to move forward. These are the organizations that see “Facer” and “Twitbook” as nothing more than the passing fad of egocentric, navel-gazing, less-than-20-somethings who want to make sure the world knows what they are doing every second of their lives. Yes, there is a lot of that out there. But the organizations that dismiss social media on this premise will find themselves on the dust heap of history.

The second are like lemmings. They see the rush to a new communication method, think there could be potential value, and run headlong over the ledge of technology to drown in an ocean they never expected. And it doesn’t always have to be a headlong rush. Some organizations see others diving in, so they stick in a toe. However, that lemming’s cliff is so steep and the waters so deep, the organizations’ small foray quickly becomes a commitment and disaster that they weren’t prepared for. And that is the tragedy of this second set of organizations. With just a little preparation, with just a few controls, that toe-dip of introduction could have led to great success.

Which leads us to the third and final type of organization. These are the ones who have seen the value of social media, who recognize the time is now, but have also taken a look at the real ramifications and taken the appropriate actions. Whether they dive in or stick in a toe, they are prepared (at least as prepared as anyone can be) for the rocks and shoals of the social media ocean.

So back to our original question: Why should anyone care about social media?

Because every participant in every organization has the opportunity to provide value by helping those organizations see the opportunities and risks related to social media. With a basic understanding of those opportunities and risks, any group can complete reviews that help ensure the organization’s successful plunge into those waters.

What we are attempting to do in this book is help you help your organization to be in that third group—organizations that see the value but understand the risks. We are not going to be able to give you the specific answers on how to use social media within your organization. That is a broader subject for a different time. However, we provide the overview and tools you need to successfully partner with the business in achieving its social media goals.

CHAPTER 1

Social Media

An Overview

Social media has evolved from basic tools and Web sites used by professors and computer geeks into a behemoth that is fundamentally changing how people connect and converse with corporations, governments, traditional media, and each other. Until the advent of social media, organizations and traditional broadcast media had a stranglehold on the message. Most had the ability, and the desire, to ensure that communications were a simple monologue or, at the most, a very controlled two-way conversation. Without a widespread methodology for individuals to communicate information or opinions about an organization, commentary was limited to a small sphere of influence, mainly done through one-to-one communications—whether in person, on the phone, through the mail, or, more recently, via e-mail. While people would still get together and talk about political issues, brand name products, and their favorite meal at their local restaurant, the conversation was not scalable; it just simply had no way of reaching the masses.

The broader conversation was the job of the marketing and public relations teams. With sufficient resources, marketing could develop communications that could reach millions through television, radio, and print publications. At the same time, public relations professionals were garnering the attention of traditional media outlets, getting their message out through established news outlets. In both cases, the job focused on pushing messages to the audience and hoping the messages were compelling enough to create the desired outcome.

As time progressed through the mid- to late-1990s, the consumer’s ability to go from one-to-one to one-to-few was empowering. People’s ability to have a voice that could be heard beyond their immediate sphere of influence was beginning to grow. Through more advanced bulletin board systems, Internet forums, online chat, and personal Web sites, the ability for an individual’s voice to reach the masses was about to become a reality. While organizations still resided in “monologue mode,” there was the growing realization that this was becoming a trend that would have to be reckoned with in the near future.

For some organizations, this was exciting news. It meant that the small business could have a voice and gain ground on larger organizations with massive advertising budgets. For organizations that wanted to gain a closer connection to their customers, this meant there was now a way to listen and hear what was being said about their organization and products, start a conversation, and potentially develop meaningful relationships with stakeholders. However, for those who were happy controlling the message, this was going to mean a significant change in their overall communications strategy—a change that many did not want to make.

Today, social media has rapidly become part of how people communicate. Over the past seven or eight years, it has transformed from a way people pass time to a significant part of personal and corporate culture. This is especially true as broadband Internet access has become ubiquitous throughout the world. With the ability to instantly upload text, images, audio, and video content—and with the added dimension of immediate global access—traditional media methods have been distorted. This has empowered everyone to become a publisher, creating content and joining conversations regardless of the media format. While all of this opens up tremendous opportunities for businesses to grow closer to stakeholders, it also presents a brand new set of significant risks.

Social media is like water. On its own, water does some cool things, but when combined with other compounds, it enabled the evolution of all forms of life. Social media on its own is nice, but when combined with other tools, it is enabling everything to evolve, from communications to business to politics to marketing.

—Mike Volpe, VP Marketing, HubSpot

Definition of Social Media

There is no single recognized definition of social media. However, within the various descriptions that exist, it can be said that social media is the set of Web-based broadcast technologies that enable the democratization of content, giving people the ability to emerge from consumers of content to publishers. With the ability to achieve massive scalability in real time, these technologies empower people to connect with each other to create (or co-create) value through online conversation and collaboration.

It is important to note that the most significant outcome of applying these technologies is to help foster relationships with people. Whether it is as simple as helping families and friends stay connected or enabling a deeper connection with consumers, employees, vendors, and investors, the global power of these relationships is not only impressive but also evolving rapidly. It is also important that social media not be solely bundled within an IT framework. While there have been new technologies developed that helped facilitate these interactions, for the most part, they do not represent a sweeping change in the risks or auditing of the IT function.

History of Social Media

To gain insight into why social media is so popular and continues to rapidly evolve, it is important to look back and see how it has progressed over time. The following is a timeline of how Internet technologies began to embrace conversations and collaboration, from the early days of bulletin board systems to some of the latest trends in 2010. (We can’t be held responsible for what happens from 2011 and beyond.)

1978–1989: The Conversation Begins—One-to-Few

Perhaps the first true social media tool was created back in 1978. The “Computerized Bulletin Board System” was the first form of communication that best meets the definition of social media. Developed by former IBM employee Ward Christensen, the value proposition was simple. Develop a program that would enable members of their community to post a message to others in the group. These were the typical messages about meeting times and locations, saving the community’s organizers significant time in placing telephone calls. This was the first real case where an offline group used broadcast technologies to enable people to move beyond one-on-one conversation to “one-to-few.” It also allowed for the democratization of their content, allowing members to post content as publishers and deliver value through conversation and collaboration with other group members. While limited in scope, it was also a productive solution, especially considering that potentially dozens of phone calls would have to be made to convey the same message as a single post.

As the practicality of these bulletin boards grew, so did the functionality. While limited in bandwidth and typically not available to the average person, members of these “virtual communities” were able to engage in conversations, converse in message boards, access documents contributed by other community members, and so on. The electronic conversation was beginning.

1990–1994: User Adoption 1.0—The Internet Comes Alive

At the beginning of the 1990s, Internet access was primarily available to government, military, and academic organizations. It wasn’t until 1993–1995 that access really opened up to everyone when Internet service providers (ISPs) began to offer services in most major U.S. cities. During this time, Prodigy and CompuServe emerged as the leaders, gaining critical mass in the commercial and in-home markets. In the mid-1990s, America Online (AOL) also gained significant popularity with consumers through aggressive advertising and the direct mailing of millions of CDs to consumers. These providers opened up the Internet to individuals through a more refined user interface that allowed them to participate in forums and develop and host basic Web sites.

While still rudimentary in nature, these exchanges were the first steps at a scalable social media solution. Though these services did not maintain their initial popularity, they can be attributed with enabling millions of commercial and home users the opportunity to enjoy their first interactive experiences—including the introduction of e-mail.

1995–1999: The Conversation Takes a Breath—The Dot-com Bubble

The period 1995 through 1999 saw an incredible boom in Web technologies (browsers, Web site design, etc.), e-commerce, and online ad serving (leading to the eventual bursting of the Internet bubble in early 2000). The vast majority of venture capital was applied to commerce and advertising-supported business models, resulting in less emphasis on the “next generations” of social media, and most business models remained with the traditional bulletin-board type application. Although this was a relatively slow period for the evolution of social media technologies, the changes occurring provided the springboard for events in the next century.

There were a few standouts that began to shape the future of social media. ICQ, an instant messaging system, was launched in 1996 and quickly acquired by AOL, eventually becoming the AIM platform in 1997 that is still popular today. Though most used it to only communicate with people they knew personally, it was the first mainstream application of using microformatted content—short packets of content—which is the backbone of the currently popular Twitter publishing platform. Created by users and spreading virally through the instant messaging community, abbreviations such as LOL and IMO have almost become a common part of our offline conversations. And, as much as we might like to, let’s not forget emoticons either.

Another precursor for some of today’s social media functionality was SixDegrees.com