Problem
SBDC Business advisors report SB clients need help getting on the web
Web presence is a critical success factor throughout small business lifecycle (pre-venture, funding, established)
Establish credibility
Enhance marketing reach
Attract customers
Enable e*commerce
SBs disadvantaged relative to big business
(Proportionally) higher costs than big business
Requires relatively greater share of SBs resources
DIY approach can be very costly: non-core activity for most SBs
Knowledge deficit / lack in-house expertise
Most SBs are not web programmers
Many confusing choices
Software program
Hosting provider
High speed connection
Backup/storage
Email (provider, records retention)
Wrong choices can be expensive
Long-term contracts
Lost sales from ineffective web presence
Solution: Texas Small Business Web Solutions Center
Names:
Texas Web Excellence Center for Entrepreneurs
Texas Small Business Center for Web Excellence
Texas Small Business Web Excellence Center
Texas Small Business Web Excellence Initiative
Texas Small Business Web Presence Center
Texas WEBSTAR Project – Web Solutions Targeting Small Businesses
Texas Small Business Web Solutions Center
Texas Small Business Web Accelerator Center
Program overview
Qualified small businesses
Must be currently working with an SBDC business advisor
Provide integrated web presence packagesto qualified small businesses
Website
Choose among static, dynamic, CMS
Hosting setup
Site management procedures
Policies
AUP
Social Media
Advertising, Marketing
Email setup
Social media platform
Account setup
Management platform
E*commerce package
Create, deliver web excellence training
SBDC clients
Intake mechanism to direct SBs to use SBDC business advisors to help with developing their business’ web presence
Give overview of SB web excellence strategies
Showcase Web Excellence program and encourage SBs to sign-up with SBDC business advisor
Train the Trainer
Train SBDC business advisors how to offer web excellence training program at their centers
Program details
Web PresenceBackgrounder
What / Why
Components
Dynamic Website
CMS vs. Team
Social Media
Tools
Networks
Integration w/ traditional marketing
Policies
AUP
Web-Related Activities (Advertising, Marketing, Affiliates, Sponsorships)
SBDC Web-Related Activities Should:
Directly aid in the formation and/or operation of U.S.-based small businesses
Provide specific goods and/or services to U.S.-based small businesses that are of a substantive nature, and not reasonably be characterized as schemes intended to persuade small business owners to purchase goods and/or contract for services which are of questionable value at, or are inappropriate for, the current stage of their business cycle.
Not restrict the workings of the free market
However, realize that publicizing such offerings could compromise the mission of SBDC business advisors
Educate small business owners, while also doing great damage to SBDCNet's reputation for delivering value-added information.
Offers of legitimate services (from lenders, vendors, credit business advisors, etc.) must come from established vendors who demonstrate their capabilities through existing customers, service installations, product demonstrations and/or any other means SBDCNet deems appropriate, from time to time.
SBDC Web-Related Activities Should Not:
Position SBDCs, their sponsoring organizations, SBA, or other stakeholders as explicitly endorsing any goods, services, views or opinions of a sponsor, advertiser or strategic partner.
Regarding Specific Web-Related Activities:
SBDCNet does not engage in cooperative linking or link exchanges unless such linking is part of a strategic arrangement approved by the SBDCNet Director or Web Specialist.
Social Media
Landscape
Public Sector
Federal
OMB
Affirms value & usage within open government initiative, but leaves implementation specifics to agencies, departments
Federal Web Managers Council
Grass roots organization that develops policies, shares best practices
GSA as sponsoring agency (usa.gov, webcontent.gov)
State
Widely varying levels of adoption
Leaders (i.e., well-publicized): Massachusetts
Private Sector
Large Companies
Aggressive usage
Fully vetted, successful SM policies (IBM)
Small Businesses
Pro: Less restrictions, potentially more nimble
Con: Confusion, lack of resources to dedicate to social media & web presence (not core activities)
Policy Environments
At Work, For Work
At Work, For Personal
Outside Work, For Personal
Measurement
Analytics
Social Media Opportunities/Challenges
A Website Is Not Enough
Need a Comprehensive Web Presence Strategy
Dynamic websites, content management systems
Social media tools and networks
Promotional activities
Online advertising, affiliate marketing, sponsorships
The New Balancing Act…
Social Media Posting Guidelines (Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc.)
SBDCNet’s Social Media Posting Guidelines for SBDCs
The following guidelines will help the Southwest Texas Border Region Small Business Development Center team use the latest social media tools to build on our reputation for excellent client communication and customer service in a manner consistent with the values of the Institute for Economic Development at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
These posting guidelines cover social media usage by SBDC employees and contractors across these categories:
Required Work-Related Use of Social Media
Personal Use of Social Media at Work
Personal Use of Social Media Outside of Work
Comment / Reply Guidelines
Required Work-Related Use of Social Media
The SBDC uses social media to broadcast information to our clients about upcoming events, provide information about local market conditions and developments, and hear directly from our clients about their challenges, interests and new service opportunities. SBDC employees and contractors should observe the following posting guidelines for required work-related use of social media:
Be useful. Use the SBDC’s social media platform to advance our mission in a substantive way. Make sure each communication contributes meaningfully to the goals of our clients, stakeholders and/or colleagues: while we want to open up new communication channels, we don’t want to do so at the expense of our reputation for professional service.
Examples of good uses of the SBDC social media platform include: event announcements/reminders (training sessions, seminars, business breakfasts, and networking events), SBDC achievements (success stories, critical program milestones), small business news items (local, regional, national), and SBA program announcements.
Poor uses of the SBDC social media platform include: blast messages of a non-professional nature (“It finally stopped raining today, yeah!” or “Go, Spurs, Go!”), personal information about a SBDC staff member (“John Smith is in the hospital for a procedure, please keep him in your prayers”), or standalone inspirational quotes, jokes or sayings that are not part of, or link to, an official SBDC announcement (“It’s a Great Day to Start a Small Business” vs. “It’s a Great Day to Start a Small Business – Sign Up Now for our Getting Started Seminar”).
Be focused. Do not post rumors or “developments,” and respond “no comment” if asked about them. Also, post content only to SBDC web properties, and refrain from commenting on the social media sites of other organizations.
Be responsible. You are personally responsible for the content of your postings (recognize the permanency of the internet: once you press “Submit” it can’t be retracted – forever!). Help maintain SBDC’s reputation by adding credibility to your postings (when appropriate) with citations and/or links to supporting information.
Be professional. Remember that when you make work-related postings, your comments can be interpreted as an official statement from the SBDC. Despite the informality of many social media tools, all communications on SBDC web properties become official government communications. To minimize risk to yourself and the SBDC, it is a good practice to state that you are only offering your opinion on the issue at hand, and that you are not speaking in the capacity of the SBDC.
Be sensitive. Understand the global reach of the internet, and learn to avoid references and colloquialisms that may be offensive to (or be misinterpreted by) the diverse audience on the web.
Be secure. Do not publish confidential data or information, legally protected information, personal information, draft policies or plans of the SBDC.
Personal Use of Social Media at Work
These additional guidelines cover the incidental personal use of social media with SBDC computers (and other technology resources) that is allowed under UTSA policy.
Be clear. An employee’s (or contractor’s) use of personal social media account(s) during personal breaks is subject to First Amendment protections, however any comments, postings, etc., must be clearly attributable to the individual and not the SBDC.
Be smart. Usage of personal social media sites and tools must be in compliance with all other SBDC policies, including but not limited to, federal, state and local ethics rules, codes of conduct, confidentiality policies, harassment and discrimination policies, copyright laws and any other applicable laws and regulations.
Be brief. Social media tools sometimes encourage lengthy “conversations” which can run past the timeframes allotted for personal breaks; excessive usage can result in disciplinary action.
Personal Use of Social Media Outside of Work
How you choose to use personal social media tools and networks in your personal life is your business. Make every effort to keep your personal online identity separate from your work identity.
Be separate. Any personal usage that refers to your work identity should leave no doubt that you are speaking for yourself and are not representing the SBDC. One good practice: usernames and/or email addresses on personal social media sites should not reference your work duties (e.g., “SBDC Advisor” would not be a good choice for a username on a personal social media site).
Be careful. There are many unsettled legal issues regarding the interplay of social media, free speech and workplace conduct policies (e.g., ethical conduct, harassment, discrimination policies), so please be careful as you build your professional and personal online identities.
Comment / Reply Guidelines
The SBDC uses its social media platform mostly for outbound communications to its small business stakeholder community, however we anticipate receiving comments and/or replies from external users. Recognizing both First Amendment Rights and the Open Government Initiative, SBDC moderators will accept comments and/or replies that are not necessarily supportive of SBDC actions and policies, provided that the comments and/or replies are not obscene, threatening, discriminatory, harassing, or off topic. SBDC moderators will communicate and apply the following guidelines to ensure the SBDC social platform is:
Professional. Thoughtful discussion and debate are welcomed and encouraged.
Courteous. Online tools and forums require the same standards of behavior as in-person communications. Attacks, foul language and general rude behavior will not be tolerated and users displaying such behavior will be suspended and/or removed from the group, at the sole discretion of the SBDC moderator.
Impartial. SBDC social media platforms are not to be used to endorse or promote a political candidate, specific business, organization, webinar, personal blog page, etc. All postings of this nature will be deleted, unless approved in advance by an SBDC moderator.
Genuine.Posts must be by real people with real names. Users employing fictional names, aliases and other identity masking will be removed from the site.
Transparent.Ads for products and/or services must not disguise that they are ads for service and must clearly identify the service and/or product being advertised.
Relevant.Discussions must be relevant to the thread. SBDC moderators may request posters to start a new thread for off-topic requests.
Spam-free. Besides the annoyance factor, spam can transport viruses so SBDC moderators will take a “delete first, ask questions later” approach to suspicious postings. Self-promotional postings also will be considered spam and offending members may be blocked from a group or site. Posts must be posted only once, and repeat posting will be considered spam and will be removed, with a warning to the poster. This also includes posting multiple posts under different titles and text, but with the same message from different usernames.
Source: These guidelines are a compilation of material sourced from the U.S. Government (webcontent.gov), state governments (e.g., texas.gov, mass.gov), social media and web 2.0 sites (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Mashable, etc.), and SBDCNet staff expertise.
Social Media Usage FAQ for SBDC Employees
Why do we need guidelines for personal usage of social media networks and tools?
Can SBDC employees have accounts on such social-networking sites as Facebook and Twitter?
Of course. We recognize they are very popular and effective communication tools used by many of our employees in their personal lives.
What are the general guidelines for such accounts?
Employees must identify themselves as being from the AP if they are using the networks for work in any way. Posting material about the AP’s internal operations is prohibited on employees' personal pages, and employees also should avoid including political affiliations in their profiles and steer clear of making any postings that express political views or take stands on contentious issues. Employees should be mindful that any personal information they disclose about themselves or colleagues may be linked to the AP's name. That's true even if staffers restrict their pages to viewing only by friends. It’s not just like uttering a comment over a beer with your friends: It's all too easy for someone to copy material out of restricted pages and redirect it elsewhere for wider viewing. As multitudes of people have learned all too well, virtually nothing is truly private on the Internet.
Anything specific to Facebook?
It’s a good idea to monitor your profile page to make sure material posted by others doesn’t violate AP standards; any such material should be deleted. Also, managers should not issue friend requests to subordinates, since that could beawkward for employees. It’s fine if employees want to initiate the friend process with their bosses.
How about Twitter?
We’re still the AP. Don’t report things or break news that we haven’t published, no matter the format, and that includes retweeting unconfirmed information not fit for AP's wires. Feel free to link to AP material that has been published. It's difficult for most people to link to AP Mobile stories right now, so link to member and customer sites instead and try to vary the links to spread the traffic around. It's a good idea to reference the AP in the promo language, i.e. Just how much geek can be chic? Test your fashion IQ with this interactive game (AP): < . Also, when tweeting, remember that’s there a big difference between providing an observation ("I nearly bumped into Chris Matthews outside PennStation") and an opinion ("I nearly bumped into the loudmouthed and obnoxious Chris Matthews").
Why does the AP care or think it should have a say in what I put on my social networking feed/page?
We all have a stake in upholding the AP’s reputation for fairness and impartiality, which has been one of our chief assets for more than 160 years. These guidelines do not break new ground – they are consistent with the rest of our Statement of News Values and Principles. They just take into account the new realities of the socialnetworkingworld and answer questions that many AP employees have asked.
Do these guidelines apply just to AP employees who are journalists?
They apply to all employees, just as the Statement of News Values and Principles does. We cannot expect people outside the AP to know whether a posting on Facebook was made by someone who takes pictures, processes payroll checks or fixes satellite dishes. We all represent the AP, and we all must protect its reputation.