Organizational Behavior, 12th Edition

Social Media and Corporations: Don't Cross the Line When You Go Online

When you think of “shameless self-promotion on Twitter”, what industry do you think of first? Whatever your choice, there's a good chance it's not Wall Street.

But it's not for lack of wanting. Though investment banking has been slower than most industries to dive headfirst into self-promotion via Twitter and Facebook, many young professionals are eager to reach out to existing and potential customers using social media tools. But firms are cautious about how bankers represent themselves to a public wary of corporate hijinks and poor decision-making. Add to this a very complex regulatory environment surrounding how businesses in banking industry must monitor and store official communications, and you start to understand why Wall Street has been more tentative than most industries to get with the times.

“Who could blame any firm operating in a regulated industry for taking a cautious approach in the face of all that?” asks social media expert Kip Gregory, principal of The Gregory Group. “Especially in financial services, which is at its core an industry built around the management of risk. The question is: How do you, as a competitor in this business, choose to respond to a clearly shifting landscape?”^a

Some firms ban all social media use by employees. Others are taking a predictably cautious approach to exploring ...