An Example Social Media Ethics Guide- Tampa International Airport

Tampa International Airport in Tampa, Florida serves approximately 21 million passengers per year with 85 domestic and international destinations. Travel and Leisure Magazine ranked TPA second among all U.S. airports The airport is staffed by over 650 employees in more than 20 departments (About Us). @FlyTampa (the airport's social media handle) is no stranger to interacting with customers and other brands. They take an understanding response when it comes to complaints and takes a light and humourous response when responding to brands and funny comments. The Tampa International Airport Instagram has over 44,000 followers with 113,000 follows on Facebook and over 56,000 followers on Twitter.

With their large following, it is important to follow a set of social media ethics and guidelines. It is also important that all of these guidelines be available for every staff member. Guidelines and policies are important for a number of reasons including:

• Maintain brand identity across channels
• Treat legal and regulatory sensitivities with awareness
• Prevent a security breach
• Prevent a full-blown PR crisis
• Act fast if a crisis or breach does happen
• Be upfront with your employees about their own social media responsibilities
• Encourage employees to own and amplify your brand’s message. (Cooper, 2020).

Follow these guidelines when the following scenarios arise.

Crisis Communications

1. Pause all outbound messages — If you believe there is a crisis brewing, pause all scheduled content until the crisis is resolved.
2. Acknowledge the issue- The first response should always be “yes, we realize something has happened.”

1. Create a crisis FAQ page- Create a landing page on the website, or designate a single social media channel and put all the information about the crisis in one place.
2. Start responding on social media- Make sure that when responding on social media the posts include: a summary of what happened, an immediate call to action, a link to the FAQ page that was created, relevant hashtags, and safety tips.
3. Use visual signals that inform- Use visuals and graphics along with words to signal a change in standard operating procedure.
4. Build a pressure relief valve- This may be counterintuitive, but you WANT people to vent on a venue you control. Whether it’s your Facebook page, blog, forum, or comments section on your Crisis FAQ microsite, you want ire to accumulate on your turf. There are four benefits to this approach:
5. Remember the response of rule of to.- Social media crisis management isn’t about winning, it’s about damage control. Some people will be angry enough that you’re not going to convince them of anything.
6. Arm your army- Keep everyone working for you informed of the situation and employees should become spokespeople for the company
7. Learn from your mistakes- Keep the receipts such as making copies of all social media comments and emails. Analyze what happened and try not to make that same mistake. (Hou et. al, 2020).

General Ethics Guidelines

• Do research on your audience, preferences, and interests. Understand the demographic who flys through Tampa International Airport and refine that target. Once the target audience is determined, send relevant messages to help drive engagement.
• Stay away from controversial topics such as politics, religion, and culture to keep the peach.
• Do not compromise social media policy rules.
• Be transparent with the brands Tampa International Airport endorses and supports.
• Always cite sources if the information is sourced.

It is always best to not have these ethics breached or a communications crisis by preparing the social media accounts. Social listening and analytics tools can help de-escalate crisis communications in the first place.

References

About Us. About Us | Tampa International Airport. (n.d.). https://www.tampaairport.com/about-us.

Cooper, P. (2021, May 19). How to Write a Social Media Policy (Free Template + Examples). Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard. https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-policy-for-employees/.

Hou, Z., Hrach, A., Griffiths, A. H. and J., & Griffiths, J. (2020, September 28). Don’t Be Scared, Be Prepared: How to Manage a Social Media Crisis. Content Marketing Consulting and Social Media Strategy. https://www.convinceandconvert.com/social-media-strategy/dont-be-scared-be-prepared-how-to-manage-a-social-media-crisis/.