Do you allow your employees to have personal websites, blogs and social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc.? If you have employees who wish to post information about the company, its members or its employees, then you should have them comply with certain basic terms and conditions to protect both themselves and the company.
Social Media
The goal of social media is to strengthen your bond with your current and potential members. As we know, the members and staff that make up your club’s social networks are a passionate group of raving fans. Social media is a platform that allows you to share information, inspirational messages, make announcements, provide a peek inside our company culture and have a stronger voice in our community.
Social Media & Employees
Even though you and your employees have joined the world of social media, you should fully respect the employee’s social networks as personal and not professional. Likewise, from the company perspective, you are constantly striving to uphold the image that your team has built over the years.
Know the Tools
If you’re on any social networking site, make sure you and your employees understand them — most mishaps occur because a user didn’t understand how these tools work.
- Facebook is one of the top social networking platforms for connecting and sharing content with friends online. However, it may not be smart for an employee to add all of the staff and members that they work with as a “friend.” If a staff or club member wants to add them as a friend, they should consider setting up lists for colleagues and work friends with different privacy settings.
- Twitter is a micro-blogging site where users post updates in 140 characters or less. People like engaging with new people, and quick questions are appropriate.
- YouTube is a video-sharing site where users can view, comment on, link and upload videos. This is the site where popular videos go viral.
- LinkedIn is a popular platform for professionals and colleagues to connect and make introductions. This is a great place for employees to keep in touch with professional contacts (for example, you may choose to refer some Facebook “friend” requests to instead connect with you on LinkedIn.)
- Yelp is a place where users can search for and post recommendations and reviews of businesses and other locations. This is a very important place for members to make recommendations and reviews. They might also review specific classes, so this is a good place for group fitness directors to monitor feedback.
- FourSquare is a location-based service where users post when they have “checked-in” to a particular business or location. Location-based marketing services are one of the fastest growing areas in the gym industry. This is a good place to gauge the popularity of gyms based on their number of check-ins.
- Facebook Places is a location-based service on the Facebook platform. It allows users to post when they have checked-in to a business or location. Check-ins are linked to the location’s Facebook page, and users can tag friends who are with them at a location.
Shawn Stewart is the Operations Manager at Gainesville Health and Fitness Center. Contact him at shawns@ghfc.com
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Rachel Zabonick-Chonko is the editor-in-chief of Club Solutions Magazine. She can be reached at rachel@peakemedia.com.
Important information Shawn, in an industry that is so inherently social, there’s a lot of catching up to be done regarding “social media.”
Eleanor Hisey, Director
fitsomo.com