Social Media Security & Policy - Just as Important as the Food You Make or the Rooms You Sell

The privacy and security of your customers, your partners, and your hospitality or tourism company are crucial to maintaining a healthy social media presence. According to Vogel, Social media network security involves choosing strong passwords for your accounts, not revealing too much personal information, being wary of scams, and educating yourself on social media. A social media policy is essentially a list of guidelines for how an employee can interact with others on social media while referencing their company. Collins et al explain that employer policies should not be too strict in that they violate federal law. Below is a safety and security checklist to consider when thinking about privacy and security for your business:

·         Strong Passwords: As our friends at Burger King learned recently on Twitter, no account is safe without strong security. To choose a strong password, always use complex wording and choices, never share account information, and be unique (Vogel, 2011). 

·         Create a social media forum for employees to share their concerns: Instead of staying quiet and causing your employees to post negative opinions about your company through their accounts (this speech is protected), create a social media forum (through your social media policy) for them to have open discussion with your organization (Halpern, et al, 2012). We all know negative reviews hurt our industry and these reviews should not come from the inside. 

·         Integrate social media into employee training: The US Department of Defense has an informative module that explains social media in a brief overview. Next, split up your employees into groups based on the infographic below and train them based on their experience and knowledge.

Social media policy, security, and privacy are all crucial to hospitality and tourism business to protect ourselves from outside threats and to educate ourselves on how these sites affect day to day operations.  It is easy for account information to be stolen so account privacy must be protected. Also, your employees are your best spokespersons at the end of the day so make sure they have a clear policy to follow and that clear two-way communication is in place for them to share their grievances. Social media is everywhere and cannot be ignored. I hope this gives you a nice start into what needs to be done to help your business. 

Sources

• US Department of Defense 
• When is Your Company’s Social Media Policy an Unfair Labor Practice? Recent NLRB Decisions Offer Long-Awaited Guidance for Employers
• Media Bistro 
• NRLB Report: Employers' Social Media Policies Must be Narrow, Must not Restrict Right to Engage in Protected Activities 
• Tips for Safe & Secure Social Networking

Poor Communication: Applebee's on the Defense

Many of us have heard about the public relations nightmare that Applebee’s is currently facing after they fired a waitress for uploading a picture of a receipt to Reddit. It has been disappointing to see a large hospitality operation like this being disgraced over such a small incident, however it is important to never underestimate the power of social media on an organization’s image and PR efforts.

In Steyn’s Contribution of Public Relations to Organizational Strategy, she explains that communication is part of an organization’s strategic fabric and not merely a vehicle for spreading messages about a product or service. I could not agree more.  As the public continues to grow angrier over this incident, Applebee’s must reevaluate its communication strategy so that controversy will not define its corporate image. Right now the company is simply restating their policies of customer privacy over and over through their social media channels. It seems forced and scripted rather than sincere. Effective communication between the company and the customer is what will save this chain from further disgrace. After all, they have been hypocritical which is by no means ethical (A note from a customer was posted on the company's page a month before this incident).

 “PR strategy provides the focus and direction for an organization’s communication with its stakeholders and other interest groups...by adapting the organization to values, trends, events, issues and stakeholders in the environment, it can be regarded as ‘adaptive’ strategy” (Steyn, 2007). Applebee’s should adopt an adaptive strategy as part of their organizational fabric. Clearly, Applebee’s must adapt to these recent events and consider an alternative communication strategy or even reevaluate the original response that caused this disaster. The key stakeholders here are the customers as they will give Applebee’s their desired profit so adaptive action must be taken to win these people back. 

PR, social media, and all other aspects of integrated marketing communication must be fully linked to deliver an effective line of communication between a company and a consumer. As Steyn discusses, PR is seen as the thinking and logic (the “what”) of a company. The “how” of a company is related to marketing tactics (2007). It is important for Applebee’s to learn from what is being said across its social media channels and implement a communication strategy that convinces the angry public through their marketing channels of their true overall mission and vision - “We do the right thing. We are committed to the highest ethical standards.”

For the next time something like this happens, here are some tips from Today Made about what to remember about people in a social media crisis:

• Some people are only interested in being angry, insulting trolls. (You can’t placate them) 
• Some people are genuinely angry or upset over an issue, but are open to accepting an apology. (You can fix it)
• Some people are genuinely angry or upset over an issue, and want more than just an apology. (You might be able to fix it, but it will take more than just one “I’m sorry”)
• Some people are quick to forgive and become your cheerleader if you handle things well. (An unofficial PR team)
• Some people are point out the issue but are made happy just to get a response back of any sort (They just want to know someone is listening)
• No people are interested in being told their feelings or assessment of the situation are wrong. (Being defensive will make the crisis explode)

 References 

The Daily Telegraph
CBS News
Today Made
Applebee's
Applebee's Official Facebook Page 
B Steyn’s Contribution of Public Relations to Organizational Strategy (2007)

Welcome!

Hello everyone,

Welcome to my blog on hospitality and tourism marketing! I look forward to sharing my experiences and ideas and welcome any thoughts you might have on the topic. 

To get things started, what are some of your favorite IMC campaigns you've seen in the hospitality and tourism industries? I have always loved New York's I Love New York campaign because it showcases everything my home state has to offer. The best part about it is that it can be seen everywhere from television commercials to t-shirts!

-James McKenna