The University of California in Santa Barbara policy includes a list of security protocols for social media use. These protocols help secure the organization’s accounts and protect against possible data breaches. A social media policy is a living document that evolves and changes to account for changes in technology, trends, and in response to experiences across social platforms.
Empower your organization to navigate the complexities of social media with confidence and professionalism. The primary purpose of a social media policy is to protect the company’s online reputation. It provides clear guidelines for employees to follow, ensuring consistent brand interaction and building trust with the audience. A well-crafted policy can prevent public relations disasters and minimize the impact of crises by providing a framework for appropriate online behavior. By setting clear expectations and offering guidance, a social media policy creates a safe space for employees to express themselves without worrying about crossing boundaries. It also helps employers maintain a consistent, professional online presence that aligns with their brand.
In today’s digital age, a social media policy is indispensable for any organization aiming to maintain a robust online presence and safeguard its brand reputation. With employees increasingly using personal social media accounts to share workplace experiences, the lines between personal and professional lives are often blurred. While this can enhance employee engagement and advocacy, it also introduces risks to the company’s online reputation and security. The City of Waterloo has a relatively robust social media style guide.
In social media guidelines, you should expect to find guidance on how to write copy (the tone of voice), the types of creative assets to use and how to interact with your audience via comments and messages. It can be quite a simple document if you’re a small business – maybe just a shared Google Doc listing out the do’s and don’ts. Or it could be a more detailed, visual document intended for global teams. If you’re looking for a tool to simplify the way you manage your company’s social media accounts, consider Gain. The following 12 social media guidelines examples are suggestions to incorporate into your social media policy to help employees feel confident engaging online and protect your brand.
Knowledge Management
LinkedIn’s community guidelines promote users to foster a professional, respectful, and inclusive environment that encourages networking, learning, and opportunity. Similar to Facebook, Pinterest follows a basic community guideline structure and they also include more information on how they enforce these guidelines in their biannual transparency report. Pinterest’s community guidelines focus on a safe, positive and inclusive environment where people can discover and save creative ideas. Twitter’s community guidelines, or as they call them “Twitter Rules”, are centered around promoting conversations and interactions while keeping the platform respectful.
What To Include In A Social Media Policy
The policy asks that employees draw a clear line between their personal work and what they do for the University. For example, if a professor runs a Substack on their own time, they should note that the thoughts and opinions expressed within it are their own. It also doesn’t talk down to anyone; it shows trust in employees’ judgment by providing reminders of internet best practices without getting too mired in the details. This is the perfect tone for an environment where most employees are professionals with the intelligence and common sense to make it through nursing or medical school.
Explain what sets your brand apart from competitors and how these core elements should be reflected in your social media presence. Understanding the essence of your brand is crucial for ensuring that all content and interactions on social media align with its overarching goals and principles. Social media policies empower employees to promote a company’s products or work culture while being mindful of pitfalls that could harm the company’s reputation. This could include the use of inflammatory language, sharing sensitive company information and running afoul of legal or regulatory issues. A social media policy is designed to help you educate employees about acceptable social media use, turning it into an asset rather than a liability.
Employers should consider offering designated break times for personal social media use to avoid distractions and maintain productivity. Social media can be a useful tool for networking, learning, and staying informed, but it’s important to keep personal social media use to a minimum during work hours. While it’s acceptable to check personal accounts during breaks, excessive social media usage during work hours can lead to distractions, decreased productivity, and even security risks. When engaging in online activities related to work—whether you’re representing the company or simply discussing work-related topics—it’s essential to maintain professional conduct at all times.
Different roles, different industries, and even different workplace cultures all impact what this rule should be. Safety considerations for laborers and warehouse workers will dictate a different social media policy than one that a PR firm might use, for example. Your social media policy should clearly identify the relevant legal considerations for your company. Common legal issues that arise from the use of social accounts include intellectual property and copyright law violations as well as privacy breaches. Building a robust social media policy isn’t a solitary endeavor—each department brings a unique perspective to the table. Your marketing team understands the brand’s voice and how it’s perceived.
Allowing clients, former clients, or others in your professional circle to cross into your personal life may complicate and blur your professional boundaries. Your professional image, that is, the professional self you develop that is guided by social work values and ethical standards, extends beyond the field agency and physical setting of an office. As a best practice, policies should state that unprotected speech of this type is not permissible to insulate the library from any potential liability as a facilitator of the public discussion.
In other words, it’s a set of rules that dictate how you present your brand on social media. Ensure the policy is easy to understand, with examples illustrating best practices and common mistakes. Using real-world scenarios will make it more relatable and help staff and volunteers better comprehend their roles and responsibilities in social media engagement. A social media policy defines protocols for responding to negative comments, misinformation, and emergencies, ensuring a structured approach to crisis management.