There can be no doubt that websites, blogs, social media and social networking platforms are brilliant marketing and advertising tools for any kind of business. Social media platforms, when used effectively, can transform a business and allow it to reach new levels of opportunity.
Using social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, which now claim over 750 million users worldwide, as well as professional networking platforms such as LinkedIn, are a great way to promote every aspect of a nursery - from learning policies and daily activities to sharing mutual interests, reaching out to the local community and engaging with parents. It is in essence a community within a community and adds personality and character to the business profile.
However, there is a vast amount of information and data in cyberspace that is vulnerable and exploitable and the dramatic rise in online attacks against social media platforms is proof that robust and suitable protection is critical.
PROTECTING YOUR ONLINE ACTIVITY
In terms of protecting your nursery’s social media accounts against cyber threats, ranging from malicious software (malware) and viruses to identity fraud, there are some simple steps you can take.
Facebook, for example, provides relatively robust online protection options which should be utilised, including privacy and account settings. Similar security protocols should also be applied to other social media accounts.
In addition to investing in computer security and antivirus software, it is equally as important to agree which members of staff should have administrator rights to access, upload and monitor activity on your social media platforms. And if social media is to work for the business, your message needs to be consistent, interesting and engaging.
STRATEGY AND POLICY DOCUMENTS
In order to truly capitalise and gain maximum benefit from all of the opportunities, as well as protect your nursery practice and your stakeholders from the aforementioned risks, it is recommended that you produce two key documents:
- A social media strategy will enable you to keep track of all of your customers and develop marketing and advertising campaigns for your services and products. It also affords your customers the opportunity to get involved, making them feel part of the process and part of the community. An important aspect of any community and online social based platform is listening to questions, queries and feedback, no matter if it’s good or bad. Customer engagement is key to social media success.
- Once your nursery social media strategy ball is rolling, it is recommended that you then draw up a social media policy covering the practices and procedures - not only to reassure parents, but to provide staff with clear guidelines and to ensure that any online activity carried out in the name of your nursery is closely controlled and monitored. Your social media policy should also include a guideline of professional conduct when posting information, videos or photographs on social media platforms.
PROTECTING YOUR REPUTATION
As well as protecting and monitoring online activity it is also important to protect the business’s reputation - and it’s not just the website, blog or social media platform that needs to be carefully considered. There is also the personal online activity of employees whose behaviour can potentially reflect badly on a business. What they are saying (or indeed doing) on online social forums could adversely affect or damage a nursery’s reputation, possibly leading to loss of revenue and custom.
There are ways to avoid problems. For example, once your policy and strategy documents have been discussed with the stakeholders and formalised, it is important that staff read, understand and comply with them.
Common practice is for staff to sign a disclaimer to this effect. These then become ‘living’ documents that need to be constantly reviewed and updated. The social media phenomenon is constantly evolving; your social media policies should too.
INTERNET ACCESS FOR CHILDREN
Internet access for the under-fives will vary from nursery to nursery, but where it is used, strict supervisory guidelines must be agreed, and clearly outlined in the policy. Staff should also be made aware of the procedures. Parents too should be advised on the level, type and frequency of any internet learning and asked to sign and return a permission slip on behalf of their child. The same process should be applied where older primary school children may attend for after school activities and suchlike.
USE COMMON SENSE
When posting comments, the most pragmatic and simple approach is to apply common sense at all times. It will usually be obvious if a comment or post is likely to be inflammatory, but before pressing the ‘return’, ‘share’, ‘send’ or ‘post’ button, always think about what you’re about to put onto the worldwide web. The bottom line is, don’t put anything online that you wouldn’t want people to see on a busy high street billboard.
With regards to monitoring external questions and comments on any social media platforms, try to avoid being drawn into elaborate arguments. However, if a negative or off-topic comment or question is posted, always respond, no matter how impertinent you regard the posting. Ignoring someone who engages you online could send out the wrong message and adversely affect the business. Bad news nearly always spreads faster than good news. Any inappropriate comments or behaviours should be recorded, removed and reported as necessary (and in line with your policy) as soon as possible.
Remember that everything written on the internet can be traced back to its author. Nursery employees must ensure that any posts or comments are truthful and ethical at all times. Encouraging conversation and feedback is essential as it helps to build a strong community and following. These days, with the vast amounts of online communities and feedback forums, target audiences are more likely to take note of what people are saying on the web rather than through paper and TV marketing and advertising campaigns.
The bottom line is that the social media phenomenon is growing and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. If you’re not already embracing it as a business tool, you will lose out. However, if you fail to take the right steps in order to protect your own patch of cyberspace, safeguard the staff that operate in it and monitor what is put out there, it could harm the business. Social media is arguably still in its infancy but it is here to stay, so why not embrace all that it can offer and see your business grow from strength to strength - just like the children under your care.
- Explosive Learning Solutions (ELS), based in Oxfordshire, provides a popular course on social media and its threats and opportunities. With advice on strategy and policy, as well as pertinent case studies, its course is ideally suited to those nurseries who want their online footprint to grow and prosper. For more information contact 01235 861805 or visit www.elsbusinessstraining.co.uk
