The phenomenal growth in digital technology and the rise of social media platforms over the past few years in Africa have revolutionized the way in which people communicate and share information. Companies and organizations are now going social by engaging their clients and followers on Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms.

The turbocharged boom in social, over the past 1 year means employees are likely to be tempted to go the extra mile to woo a potential consumer on these social platforms but if not managed well, it has the potential to spell doom for their companies.

In 2009, two of Domino's employees misused the social technology and that had a negative reflection on the company position and its reputation that required some actions to solve and avoid in future. As an example, One employee was making sandwiches, stuffing cheese up his nose, spreading mucus on bread and violating other health-code standard so, as it was something strange related to one of the best Pizza delivery company, the video was viewed by more than one million viewers in one day only. In addition, this issue was one of the main topics on Twitter at that time. Also, it became as the main results in Google search engine when people were searching for Domino's as keyword.

To avoid this social media disaster, it is important for businesses and organizations to formalize social media programs and policies. A Policy or guidelines protects the company's reputation and minimizes confusion about murky legal issues, as workers will be guided in what they post and share on social media platforms.

Having clear guidelines can also help employees understand ways they can use social media to help achieve business goals. For instance, policies should advise employees how they can comment on blogs or social networks to boost brand awareness and drive traffic to the company's site.

GoViral Africa, an inbound marketing agency in Ghana, is currently leading the charge to develop social media policies and programs for companies and organizations, wanting to go social. The agency is currently training SME's on the need for businesses to have social media platforms to generate loyal customers and promote their goods and services.

Davis Opoku Ansah
CEO, GoViral Africa
@goviralafrica

--