If your credit union is like many organizations, you’ve jumped onto the
social media bandwagon enthusiastically, but without having a social
media policy in place. Good news – it’s not too late to develop and
implement one! All it takes is a little thought, preparation and
research to create a thorough policy.
When we say social media, we’re talking about Facebook,
Twitter, LinkedIn and even blogs. If your credit union is participating
in any of these platforms, have you determined where they fit into your
overall strategic plan and philosophy? Have you analyzed the potential
risks involved? These risks might include:
- Security risk – With all of the back and forth communications, you may be at risk of system intruders
- Regulatory risk – Anything you post could be considered advertising, which may be subject to compliance issues
- Legal risk – Social media has the
potential of opening your credit union up to lawsuits, compliance
problems, copyright issues and even employee discrimination
- Reputational risk – An erroneous post or slapdash comment could open the door to negative feedback and a public relations nightmare
By adopting a social media policy, you can protect your
credit union from these risks and even fines or expensive legal fees.
Each social media platform comes with its own risks and considerations.
And since all are essentially electronic forms of communication, they
can be construed as advertisements.
Here are points to consider while diving into the world of social media:
Facebook
There are several informational areas on a Facebook page to
add static organizational details about your credit union. These need to
be reviewed and approved by management before posting. Daily status
updates are considered interactive, and if you wait to get each one
approved you’ll bog down the whole process. Make sure management
periodically reviews the posts for content and that the person posting
has a set of stringent guidelines to follow. If the information is an
actual advertisement, you’ll need to meet the advertising regulatory and
Facebook’s advertising guidelines.
Twitter
Just like Facebook, there are static areas to pre-approve
content and the interactive element. Tweets should also be periodically
reviewed and have posting guidelines in place.
LinkedIn
This is the best place to have a condensed online brochure
for your credit union and to spotlight your staff. Just make sure
everything is reviewed and approved by management before posting. Also,
you might want to review what’s on your employee’s LinkedIn profiles to
ensure it aligns with your credit union’s page.
Blogs
Any blog should go through the proper review and approval
channels before being posted. You may want to consider including a
disclosure or disclaimer on the main page for your blog describing your
views and listing what states you’re licensed to conduct business in.
Plus, always give credit for any sources you use in your blog post
including quotes, articles, images or videos.
Whatever platforms your credit union utilizes, monitor
incoming posts, tweets or comments from outside sources. Make sure to
delete any inappropriate or misleading statements.
This overview is basically the tip of the iceberg on
considerations your credit union needs to make when participating in
social media. Each organization is unique with its own individual
environment and context. But a solid social media plan could go a long
way in illustrating to regulators or auditors that your credit union is
taking this very public role seriously.
