Social media has become a prominent staple of the internet and has forced companies to look at the way they and their employees communicate with others.
For example, many firms put a social media policy in place for staff to follow that means they cannot disclose sensitive information on platforms like Facebook, Twitter or Google+.
This means the company’s reputation can stay intact as staff know what they can and cannot say. The issue has become so major for enterprises that many are investing in social media monitoring to ensure their brand is safe online.
However, it is not just businesses that need to have a social media policy in place. Charities, public sector departments and political parties also need to ensure they are using the internet correctly.
In the UK the Liberal Democrats, who are currently in a coalition government with the Conservatives, have a policy and this means all their MPs, councillors and others know exactly what they can post online through their social networks.
This reduces any embarrassing mishaps and stops withheld information from leaking.
However, Ananthakrishnan Narayanan, vice-president of Europe at software services and integration firm Tech Mahindra, believes the Conservative Party is not doing enough and should follow the example set by the Liberal Democrats or risk falling out of touch with the digital world.
Speaking to computing.co.uk, Mr. Narayanan said David Cameron and the rest of his party must come together to draw up a scheme to avoid future issues.
The prime minister recently tweeted with a reference to secretary of state Iain Duncan Smith’s Twitter handle, however, it was quickly pointed out that he in fact linked to a fake account.
Mr, Narayanan said a social media framework will be essential for politicians to reach out to the public.
“[Politicians] have image consultants and PR contributing to that persona, as well as guidelines and policies laid out by their parties. If that can happen in the physical world outside, you need a corresponding mechanism online,” he remarked.