Sign up for our free weekly e-newsletter

I mention this story because it reminded me about the importance of social media policies for employees. While this description applies to job candidatess, it still serves as an example of how detrimental unchecked social media behavior among current employees could be. What if this person was hired and potential clients had checked her Facebook page? It could have resulted in lost business.

As more companies integrate social media efforts into their marketing and service strategies, it's vital to also craft internal and external guidelines as to how employees should conduct themselves when out in the social realm.

Intel's Social Media Guidelines, for instance, on its website offers "Rules of Engagement," which is a list of employee code-of-conduct reminders like "Are you adding value?" and "Be a leader."

The guidelines even go so far as to suggest specific employee behavior, such as "post meaningful, respectful comments," "pause and think before posting," and "when disagreeing with others' opinions, keep it appropriate and polite."

Kodak's "Social Media Tips" include light-hearted advice like "listen to what others have to say," and "know what you are talking about."

Getting employees involved in social media is time well invested--the efforts will grow your brand, capture otherwise missed opportunities to listen to customers, and be out in front of the conversation when announcements are being made about your company. But you also have to protect your brand. An effective social media policy should not only reinforce a company's confidentiality and proprietary issues, but also require its employees to be honest and respectful in their usage of social media.

And please suggest that they lock their Facebook pages to the general public.