Smaller firms that may not be able to make time for extensive employee training or formal policies are nevertheless venturing forward. For these companies, the unwritten policy may boil down to limiting employee access to the firm’s social media channels, and using some common sense.

 

STEWART

Such is the case at Alabama-based Stewart Perry Construction, (www.stewartperry.com), where Merrill Stewart, president and founder, is the point person for his firm’s social media efforts. Stewart has earned more than 3,000 followers to his Twitter handle of @Mstewartjr, where—using a photo of himself instead of a logo—he converses about management, leadership and general business conditions, among many other topics.

Stewart sees the Internet as a way to get to know other people—and to let someone else, such as a prospective client, get to know him and his company.

“The Internet is the ultimate in transparency and information transfer,” Stewart says, adding that it’s led to new business. “One just needs to manage appropriate to the concerns and organization size. As an organization grows, certainly there is more need for safeguards.”