As the use of social media by journalists and non-journalists has continued to grow we’ve been making the shift at the exchange to integrate the risks of social media with our spokespeople. Here are the areas that we have now included in all of our spokesperson training:

• Understand that your interview with a reporter may also end up being referenced in blogs, Twitter or Facebook.
• Know that when you are giving a speech at an industry event the audience may now be using Twitter, Twitpic or will use the material in blog posts — in addition to the journalists in the audience who may use your comments in a story.
• Keep in mind that even in “customer only” meetings that information could be sent out via Twitter.

Adding these new communication risks has been a challenge since not everyone uses these new tools. We’ve been able to talk with our consultants who work with our executives to integrate this into their training. I’ve found there still is a challenge in balancing the “fear factor” of saying something damaging at a conference versus staying on message. There also is the need to provide an overview of the various social media tools, but over time our use of social media to promote the exchange has helped bridge that gap.

Is this a topic you’re addressing at your organization and with clients? Do you think that people are more aware of the risks/opportunities or is this an ongoing process? Let us know your thoughts and success stories.

Allan