On December 11, social media agency fishbat responds to the rise in social media policies at the workplace.

According to a new survey, more and more companies are embracing the use of social media policies, as well as monitoring the use of social media by their employees. An article from Law.com stated that “in 2012, 68.9 percent of employers said they’ve created policies specifically for social media use, compared to 55.1 percent in 2011.”

The survey – which was conducted by Proskauer Rose – used information from nearly 250 multinational companies from the past two years. The survey found that “social media monitoring by employers increased from 27.4 percent to 35.8 percent in the last year.”

Companies have a lot of room to regulate what employees do through social media. According to the article employees need permission from the company before using or creating company-sponsored social media accounts. In addition, employers can also limit what employees post about the company on their personal social media accounts, even when they are not at work.

Clay Darrohn, CEO of the social media agency fishbat, responds to the findings. “As social media becomes more widely used throughout the world, it makes sense that companies are starting to respond by implementing policies for social media use in the workplace,” Darrohn said. “My advice is to try to embrace social media rather than restrict it, if possible. Find ways to make employees more productive through Facebook, Twitter and so on.”

Darrohn added that with the addition of social media apps for mobile devices, the outright restriction of social media at the workplace is nearly impossible.

fishbat, Inc. is a full service online marketing firm. Through social media management, search engine optimization (SEO), web design, and public relations, fishbat strives as a marketing firm to raise awareness about your brand and strengthen your corporate image.