Social care sector plans to embrace Social Media

Many organisations within the social care sector are beginning to adopt social networking because it allows for an easy way to share knowledge and communicate.

It enables discussions to open up in a way that is just not possible via more traditional modes of communication. Time, geography and expense make client facing meetings inaccessible to all but a very few. As access to Wifi becomes more prevalent and the price of computers and broadband comes down, social media will increasingly become the discussion avenue of choice. A substantial bonus is that you can post information quickly and widely in crisis situations. During the poor weather in the winter, Blackburn with Darwen council's Facebook site was accessed by "people using it to get in touch with neighbours and offer help and support through a difficult time," says Ben Greenwood, senior media and publications officer.

But what about the organisations which do not accept this rationale? Top of the reluctance list comes privacy concerns. Personal information could very easily find its way into the public domain, breaching confidentiality and regulatory requirements. There are also potential financial costs: impaired employee productivity and increased use of the organisation's network bandwidth, for example.

A very natural impulse would be for employers to simply block access to social networking sites and avoid the risk of litigation, significant brand damage or other privacy and data protection transgressions. A report from local authority IT managers' body SOCITM said 90% of public sector bodies prevented social networking, while 67% block employees completely. But such self-protection comes at a price – the risk of ignoring the communities they serve which are increasingly using social media to be in contact.

However, take note that social media are not the place for safe, cohesive communications. People want the message from the heart, as shown in the form of a 'sentiment'. It is that level of authenticity which will engage people – and anything else will push people away, not invite them in.