Social Media Policy Best Practices

Social Media Policy Best Practices – There’s no denying that social media is a part of our daily lives, but how can companies ensure that employees are using social media the right way?

Even if you aren’t logged into Instagram or Facebook, trending stories and posts are still likely to seep into the water cooler conversation at work or discussions at the dinner table.

Social Media Policy Best Practices

Many companies have implemented social media policies to establish clear rules and policies for employees’ use of social media.

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If your business is considering developing a social media policy or updating an existing one, keep a few things in mind:

Before we even get into the merits of your policy, it might be a good idea to make sure employees understand what is and isn’t considered “social media.” Social channels like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook are social media, but what about blogs and other online communication tools? A clear outline of what social media is and is not will help keep all employees on the same page.

It’s also a good idea to define what politics is about. Some social media policies only apply to official company accounts, while others are intended to govern personal accounts. While you can’t dictate what employees say after hours, you can set some rules about what employees say about your company and how they say it, even when they’re not working.

Once you’ve established what the term “social media” is all about, you’ll want to define what content is acceptable to post and what is prohibited. You might consider setting rules for things like using your company logo, responding to negative comments online, or posting personal photos on your company uniform.

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While it may seem obvious, outlining online etiquette, such as banning inflammatory language and offensive images, will help maintain employee expectations and manage a crisis if an employee does something offensive online.

Your policy might encourage employees to identify somewhere in their accounts that their views are theirs. This can help create a distinction between an employee’s personal views and brand views.

You may want to consider some of the following content guidelines to help you develop your social media policy:

A social media policy not only helps keep your brand identity consistent, it can also help you avoid legal troubles. If your employee posts on behalf of your company, you need to make sure everyone understands things like copyright rules, fair use, and what information is considered confidential. Ensure employees are aware of the implications of sharing trade secrets and other confidential information publicly.

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It’s a good idea to educate employees about the use of social media which can have legal and professional consequences. Many people feel encouraged behind the keyboard and say things they wouldn’t normally say in face-to-face conversation. Harassing colleagues online is just as punishable as verbal harassment and, depending on the context, may even be illegal.

When it comes to legality, companies and employees need to be aware of the rules. Social media policies that limit what employees say about working conditions and other workplace issues could land you in hot water with the National Labor Relations Council.

A social media policy is so important because what you post on the internet stays there forever and a brand mishap can go viral. A crisis intervention plan can help you avoid public relations nightmares. Include steps to take in a crisis, such as when to escalate and who to involve.

A good crisis plan in your policy can help you avoid mishaps like the Red Cross in 2011: an employee accidentally tweeted from their company account instead of their personal account. This quickly put a crisis plan into action. The tweet was deleted and the Red Cross addressed the incident explaining the situation and remedying it with humour.

Best Practices For Company Social Media Policies

There’s nothing wrong with encouraging employee engagement on your brand’s social channels to drive brand awareness. You can ask employees to get involved and share their honest thoughts on the workplace and put your company on their social profiles, which can also help attract new talent and build brand trust.

For example, Adobe uses “#AdobeLife” for employees to share their journey with the company and their work experience. If you want to encourage it, you could pick an employee who used your brand hashtag once a month or quarterly for a message or other incentive.

In addition to setting the rules, make sure your social media policy also states what happens if these guidelines aren’t followed. There are many cases of employees being fired for tweeting something that goes against company policy or mishandling official corporate social media. Clearly stating the repercussions of social media misuse can help set expectations for employees and provide a concrete baseline to fall back on if an employee misuses social media.

Alison Roller is passionate about engaging and instructive storytelling through writing and social media. She has written since 2018 on a variety of topics: politics, higher education, leadership, workplace culture and diversity, equity and inclusion. She has a journalism degree from West Chester University, she is currently pursuing her M.S. in Communications from Syracuse University. When she’s not working, you can find her hanging out with her cat, knitting, and scrolling through TikTok.

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During your free trial, you can cancel anytime with a single click from your “Account” page. Too easy. The growing importance of online social networks as a communication tool is widely recognized. A good social media policy should be developed and should address employee use of such networks including personal websites, web logs (blogs), wikis, social networks, online forums, virtual worlds and any other type of social average. The right of employees and other employees to use these means during their personal time must be permitted and respected. However, the use of these means for personal social networking during organization working hours or on organization equipment is prohibited.

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If you choose to identify yourself as a Company employee on any online social network, you must do the following:

Social engineering describes a technique that can be used as an attack vector that relies on human interaction or tricks an individual into doing something they wouldn’t normally do to violate a security practice. There is a lot of information available on the Internet that could be used by a malicious individual to target a business. This information may seem generic at first, but when combined with other information it can be detrimental to a business. All employees should NEVER click on a link or go to a website that an unknown (or unreliable) sender or caller asks you to visit.

Security awareness training related to the use of social media or social networking should be provided that is consistent and completed at least once a year. Updates to these policies/procedures should be provided to employees as needed.

In general, employees who participate in social media should be free to post uncensored personal information. Employees should avoid; however, post information that may harm the Company using common sense and the guidelines and best practices in this Social Media Policy.

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If you need help creating this policy or developing other policies and procedures, we can help. Get in touch with us today! Consider why and how you use your social media account. Have a goal. It’s better to use one social media site well than to span multiple platforms. Please contact [email protected] for assistance.

At least two people must share social media account login credentials. A supervisor must give approval to start a social media account.

Clearly identify your department’s relationship to Carolina. In the biography or information section of your accounts, link to the University website to further show the connection. Be vigilant. Your social media account must not harm or disparage Carolina or any department of the University.

Don’t say anything you wouldn’t say to someone in public in person. Be polite and constructive.

Pdf] Social Networking Ethics: Developing Best Practices For The New Small World.

Page admins must post and monitor content regularly. Encourage comments on social media and be prepared to respond.

Provide your audience with useful and relevant information: news they can use, answers to their questions, insights that inform, photos that touch, stories that inspire or things that will

Don’t post about politics, make political comments, or represent personal political views on an official university account.

Students, faculty, and staff must not post confidential or proprietary information about Carolina or members of the campus community. Follow applicable campus policies, as well as state and federal privacy and confidentiality laws.

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