Practicing Safe Social Media with Chris Syme

A topic that I haven’t talked enough about is social media as is relates to privacy and crisis. So I was excited when I connected a few years ago with Chris Syme who focuses on practicing safe social media. She even wrote a book about it called Practice Safe Social: How to Use Social Media Responsibly to Protect Your Reputation and Build Loyalty (which I highly recommend by the way.)

Chris has become my social media expert when it comes to using social media in a crisis. I’ve been a fan of hers for a while and I’m so excited for you to hear our conversation. We cover a lot of ground and Chris shares so many great tips and suggestions. There are even a few that I needed to implement ASAP. Enjoy!

In this episode, here’s what we’ll cover:

• Chris shares the crisis story that put her on the path toward becoming a social media crisis and privacy expert.
• Chris’s background at the University level
• Should school’s fear the ‘negative comment’ on Facebook?
• Chris shares a great metaphor for how you should think of your school brand on social media
• The difference between a core fan and a troll
• What you should be concerned about instead of worrying about the ‘negative comment’
• How schools should prepare before a social media crisis
• The importance of knowing the capabilities of each social media channel
• The cycle of a negative event
• The importance of being human on social media
• Why you need a social media triage plan
• The speed with which you need to respond to a social media crisis
• Why you should create a social media response plan before there is a social media crisis
• What engagement means
• Why you should leave comments open on your social media channels during a social media crisis
• Why you should have a social media posting policy
• The importance of monitoring and listening on social media
• How to get started monitoring and listening on social media
• An example of a school that handled a social media crisis correctly
• An example of a school that handled a social media crisis poorly
• When you should call a social media crisis consultant
• 5 best practices to prepare for a social media crisis
• The blurring of lines between personal and business use of social media
• A discussion about whether protected tweets and a private Instagram are truly private
• We talk about Chris’s upcoming online social media training

Items mentioned in this episode include:

• CKSyme.com
• Eastern Washington University Athletics Facebook Page Commenting Policy
• Youtility: Why Smart Marketing Is about Help Not Hype
• Hootsuite Pro – 30 Day Free Trial
• Sprout Social
• Google Alerts
• Talk Walker
• Mention
• Meltwater Buzz
• Radian6
• Practice Safe Social: How to Use Social Media Responsibly to Protect Your Reputation and Build Loyalty
• Earn a free course: Practice Safe Social Training Camp
• Chris on Twitter
• Chris on LinkedIN

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Do you have a social media privacy or crisis question? Ask Chris now.