Week 9 DiscussionCOLLAPSE

Online Presence

Your weekly materials emphasize the importance of a strong digital engagement policy. Your organization’s online presence plays a major role in shaping the company’s brand and reputation. As Laura Brown reminds us, your primary objective in using social media is to provide value for anyone looking to do business with you. For the policy to be effective, however, you and your colleagues must be aligned around it.

Considering the course materials for this week, reflect on your current or most recent organization’s digital engagement. Use the prompts below to organize your thoughts:

• Does your organization have a digital engagement policy? If so, how effective is it? If not, how should the organization create one?
• In what ways does your own professional online presence align with that of your organization?
• How do you use social media to promote your own personal brand? How often do you update your accounts with accomplishments or newsworthy developments?
• What topics do you post about or comment on most frequently? What topics do you avoid posting about or commenting on? Explain why.
• After completing this course, what do you plan to change about your presence on social media?

Post your initial response by Wednesday, midnight of your time zone, and reply to at least 2 of your classmates’ initial posts by Sunday, midnight of your time zone.​

1st  response

Digital Engagement Policies

The organization I am currently working for has a digital engagement policy that it utilizes to position itself among consumers strategically. It focuses on its brand awareness to sell its mission and vision to online users (Shaker and Hafiz, 2014). The policy has been effective in controlling what the organizations’ employees post online or comment on, protecting the organization’s reputation. Suppose an employee is involved in questionable activities such as excessive partying and drinking. In that case, they should not post pictures, comments, or videos on social platforms that might link them directly to the company.

The digital engagement policy sets boundaries and procedures that employees can apply while interacting with clients or colleagues. A specific code of behavior will ensure employees remained focused and are not distracted by online activities that might not add value to the institution (Fisher, 2020). The standard set will protect the company’s intellectual properties and secrets and limit instances of bad press as a result of inferior branding. The policy also ensures compliance with legal procedures that protect the organization’s customers and the enterprise.

My online presence dictates that I should not overshare on the internet, particularly contacts and information. It is similar to that of my organization that discourages sharing sensitive information regarding managers or activities in the company that authorization in the public domain is not allowed (Fisher, 2020). It is vital to be aware of cookies and unsecured websites that hackers might use to phish my information and data. It is the same for the organization where employees have to be taken through a thorough education procedure to protect the organization from hackers that might use social media to gain access to sensitive data. The digital engagement policy discourages using company computers when gaining social sites as they are gateways for hackers.

I use the internet to promote my brand by sharing quotes that share the same principles and beliefs. The ideas and views I share are consistent for my brand to stand out. For example, every morning, I share motivational quotes that promote hard work and innovation(Shaker and Hafiz, 2014). I have identified an area of expertise that my audience can use as a point of reference for my brand. I also do not share political or racist ideologies that might put my brand on an opposing side; thus, I cast a wider net in the number of audiences my content can reach. I share updates regularly and join groups that share the same interests and ideas (Shaker and Hafiz, 2014). My posting usually revolves around working out motivational speeches and motivational quotes. They are topics that most people can relate to without feeling jealousy or awkwardness that can limit personal brand growth.

After completing this course, I will increase the number of opportunities I venture into on the internet and social sites (Fisher, 2020). The tone and image that I portray of myself will remain consistent to prevent the loss of fans. I will also analyze top influencers on the internet and find out what separates them from the rest. I will also put a lot of thought into the content I share, as they will always be connected and associated with my brand in the long-term. 

References

Fisher, J. (2020). Defining a Digital Engagement Policy and Why You Need One. Retrieved on 16th February 2021 from, https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2020/03/18/defining-a-digital-engagement-policy-and-why-you-need-one/?sh=791db8c730e5

Shaker, F., & Hafiz, R. (2014). Personal branding in online platform. Global disclosure of economics and business, 3(2), 109-120.

2nd Response

 RE: Week 9 DiscussionCOLLAPSE

Prof. Leighton-Lucas and class,

My organization has a pretty strict social media policy which I believe is necessary. Social media applications are not permitted on any company-provided device. Also, there are guidelines for what is allowed to be discussed concerning the organization on personal social media accounts. Of course, any information that is deemed confidential or client sensitive is not permissible on personal accounts. According to Mr. Warren Buffet, organizations must be aware and have social media policies in place (1). I would say our policy is effective. To my knowledge, there have been no instances of non-adherence to the policy that has resulted in significant issues for the company. I think about the policy before posting.

This course has helped me refine my professional online presence. I have aligned my postings with current happenings within our organization. As a recruiting team member, I frequently post job opportunities on LinkedIn and sometimes Facebook and Instagram. We recently voted a “Certified Great Place to Work,” which our employees posted widely. My professional presence aligns with that of our organization in that I am an advocate for the company in my posts.

Personal branding is something that I have focused on more over the past six months or so. Social media has been one of the main ways that I have been able to market myself personally. I am a father first, a husband, and a believer; this comes through in my online presence. I live to serve, and I use social media to promote and do just that, often unknowingly or unintentionally. I typically update my accounts two or three times a week.

My posts are typically the accomplishments or happenings within my family—lots of posts of my kids and likes and shares of my wife’s photography business. I also share important topics to me and that I think may be helpful to others, financial literacy, mental health awareness, diversity, inclusion, etc. I avoid political posts, and I try not to be overbearing with my faith-based views. I avoid politics because I have found that traditional one-to-one verbal communication is much more constructive and productive when discussing political topics, especially when there are deferring views. People tend to be somewhat more abrasive on social media than maybe they would in an in-person setting.

I have already taken steps to change my LinkedIn presence and am thankful for the lessons in this class in doing so. I’m more aware and deliberate with my postings on other sites as a result of this course. 

References

1. JWI505. Week 9. Eop Video. Jack Welch and Warren Buffet