SOCIAL MEDIA TRAINING

Had he been born 200+ years later, Benjamin Franklin may well have been referencing social media in the quote set forth above.  The ill-advised and quickly-deleted-but-captured-via-screenshot posting, Tweet, or Instagram has become proverbial.  Hardly a day goes by without the report of an offensive, vulgar, or otherwise improper social media message by some sports-related figure.  Reputations are ruined, and  organizations lose focus under the avalanche of negative publicity.  When the offense results in player discipline, seasons are disrupted, and games are lost.  Some social media offenses arise from moments of unguarded emotion.  Others arise from a user’s impaired mental state, from poor judgment or a lack of experience, or from mere carelessness.  All of these gaffes, however, have one thing in common – they are all preventable.  Social media training helps to ensure that your organization’s representatives use all forms of social media as positive tools of responsible communication and brand promotion.