I just finished reading Seth Godin’s latest book, Linchpin. One thing that caught my attention with respect to social media and social business culture was Seth’s reference to the “front line”.

To paraphrase: The closer employees are to the consumer “front line”, the more impact they have on social media.

Using social tools, employees on the front line have the power to:

1. Fuel positive customer experiences that build brand equity OR
2. Create negative content that can cause irreparable brand damage

Fear of the latter sends some organizations scrambling to implement policies that ban all use of social media in the workplace. I don’t agree with this strategy because:

• It’s impossible to control social media use – anybody with a smart phone has the power to access the social grid, create content, etc.
• Employees are a brands secret weapon…not its weak link

The solution is governance – social media training, policies and resources that support employees by communicating expectations, teaching best practices and informing how social activity contributes to organizational goals.

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