Altimeter published a study that surveyed companies on how they see social media. Most believe it can cause significant damage to the brand unless handled correctly. The study, Guarding The Social Gates: The Imperative For Social Media Risk Management, demonstrates that despite this fear, most companies don't train employees on social media policy, and only 43% have a full time employee monitoring social media risk. Altimeter found companies must assess the problem early and suggested these steps:

1) Identifying social media risks;

2) Assessing and prioritizing those risks against limited resources;

3) Mitigate and manage those risks to reduce the impact on the organization; and

4) Evaluate emerging risk against mitigation efforts

Click here for The Imperative for Social Risk Management