Social media is instrumental in generating leads, connecting with customers, and maintaining relationships with different audiences. However, there are certain risks that businesses and organizations are exposed to when using social media. Here are some examples:
Risks of social media for businesses and organizations
Damage to reputation
The speed at which information travels through social media is a double-edged sword for companies and organizations. Negative feedback can travel just as fast–often more so–than positive feedback, and this can lead to reputation damage.
The risk of reputation damage is one of the main reasons why companies use archived websites. So many things can damage a company’s reputation, and archiving helps prevent a massive fallout if a legal matter needs to be settled.
Data breach
Organizations are also exposed to the risk of a data breach, which can lead to loss and leakage of sensitive data. It is the responsibility of the company to put adequate security measures in place to prevent cybercriminals from accessing private client data, both internally and externally.
Legal violations
In using social media, there is also a looming risk of a company violating specific laws and regulations. For example, a social media manager shares a particular piece of data, unknowingly committing copyright infringement. When this happens, it can cause a significant loss of time and money, not to mention reputation damage.
Human error
Even with the best social media expert on your team, you cannot eliminate the risk of human error. Mistakes, when small, can be easily remedied. Huge mistakes, such as making insensitive comments or publishing controversial content, can cause irreparable damage to the company or organization.
Financial loss
Social media mistakes, depending on the gravity, can harm a company’s finances. For example, a misstep can force the company to pay significant legal fees, especially if it involves compromised client data.
Why businesses and organizations need social media archiving
Social media archiving is essentially insurance for businesses to protect them against legal and compliance issues, and yet, it is astounding that many companies still don’t make use of it.
Here are the main reasons why every business or organization needs social media archiving:
1. Communication through social media is taking over e-mails
While e-mail correspondence is still not out of the scene, it’s evident that many users prefer to converse with a company through social media. The main reason for this is due to the faster response (or the illusion of such), and because brand social media accounts have a more tangible “personality” that people are more willing to approach.
Due to the increased collaboration through social media, companies must archive their social media communications as insurance. In possible future litigation, having a record of correspondence is exceptionally beneficial, having the ability to prevent a significant lawsuit.
2. Leakage over social media must be prevented
Sensitive and confidential information can be leaked through any social media platform, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more. Leakage of data can lead to loss of reputation, money, and client loyalty. To prevent significant losses, social media archiving provides time-stamped records to serve as evidence in the court.
Moreover, social media archiving protects companies from intellectual property loss. If employees exchange IP on social media, the archive can serve as hard evidence in case it gets stolen.
3. Social media monitoring can help protect company reputation
Social media archiving is almost always paired with active social media monitoring. In social media monitoring, business social media accounts are monitored in real-time to prevent inappropriate behavior and stop data loss in its tracks. At the same time, since it tracks every action made on each account, it can help pin accountability if accounts are misused.
4. Clients might need information from you
Clients can also ask for information made through social media correspondence. Of course, combing through hundreds or thousands of messages is inefficient and time-consuming. Moreover, some platforms store messages for a certain amount of time only.
With social media archiving, companies can store all of their correspondences in real-time. When a client needs information, the data can be pulled up immediately from the system.
From the reasons stated above, it is clear that social media archiving is essential insurance that all modern companies need. So instead of waiting for a data loss or a miscommunication issue to occur, look into a social media archiving service today–both for your peace of mind and your company’s future.
