We like to see policies with a lot of common sense and human-speak, as opposed to full of “legalese.” This policy hits the mark. However, innovative companies increasingly prioritize employee advocacy, seeing both employee retention and bottom-line advantages. A recent case study showed tech leader Salesforce activated about a third of its 73,000-person employee base as brand advocates, resulting in a 2,000% ROI on its social ambassador program. I see that Nordstrom advises employees to consult HR with further questions. But I’d prefer to see them include a little more detail in the policy itself.

This guidance should apply to new posts, retweets, shares and hashtags. Your employees may already be vigilant about phishing scams and the like. We’ve got a full post on image copyright guidelines that you can link to or learn from. When employees discuss company-related matters on social, they are required by law to identify themselves as employees.

Planable offers a multi-layered approval system that prevents any post that shouldn’t be published, well, getting published. By using it, teams ensure that the right people (whether clients or managers) have the chance to take a peek at the post and screen it for any brand/inclusivity inconsistencies. This section should include guidelines and resources that educate on how to deal with trolls or bullies. Aspects such as who to report it to, how to react, how to identify trolls and bullies (sometimes they’re just angry customers who are being jerks), when to ban, when to block, and so on and so forth.

While employees must obey the general code of conduct, regardless of whether or not they’re posting content on behalf of the company, adding a disclaimer can help your brand avoid controversial situations. On the other hand, if employees are not posting on behalf of the company, you may want employees to explicitly state that all opinions are their own and do not reflect the company’s official viewpoint. You can ask employees to add this disclaimer to their bio or on the specific posts they create. They also help employees feel more comfortable engaging online as social media guidelines clearly define acceptable social media behavior and state the consequences of breaking those rules.

Use your social media style guide to detail how your company handles these situations. You might respond like Duolingo if you have a witty, cheeky or sarcastic voice, who parodied Spotify’s Wrapped campaign to promote their similar Year in Review. Since most social networks are highly visual, your social media style guide should set parameters and standards for any images or videos you share. So when you talk about a social media policy, you have to consider it as a guideline that you put in place for your employees. This wake-up call hits home — protecting intel in this hyper-digital era isn’t solely about cyber security but also entails curbing what employees share on social media.

Providing employees with hypothetical examples of what is and isn’t allowed can help them better understand the policy in action. For example, Dell Technologies’ Five Social Media Principles mentions the guidelines are reiterated in onboarding. This section also lists zero-tolerance behavior, rules of thumb and specific steps to protect security, privacy and legal compliance. An excellent way to ensure conflicts are always handled properly from the start is to set up pre-approved responses to common issues in a social media management platform like Sprout Social. These responses show your brand is aware of their concern and will direct them to the right person to resolve the problem.

This ensures that all employees understand the potential impact of their actions online and are motivated to maintain a professional and respectful online presence. Company resources, including devices, internet access, and social media accounts, are provided to employees for work-related tasks. Personal use of social media during working hours should be limited to break times and should not interfere with productivity. Misuse of company resources for non-work-related social media activity may result in disciplinary action. Social media is a powerful tool that can shape perceptions, build networks, and influence public opinion.

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.

What Does Inquire Mean On Instagram: A Complete Guide

Companies with a strong and consistent social media presence are typically more successful in promoting their products, interacting with customers and talking about their company values and culture. But the social media landscape has changed dramatically in the past six years. While these guidelines are still valuable today, I’d like to see a company like Ford have a more complete social media policy.

Monitor And Measure The Policy Effectiveness

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.

A social media policy template is a set of guidelines designed to help employees represent the company professionally on social media platforms. These policies are crucial for protecting the brand’s security, privacy, and legal interests. With 45% of companies lacking a social media policy, the risk of reputational damage and legal issues is significant. Your employees own their social media profiles, so what they post there can’t be restricted by your organization. As far as your own company’s social media accounts are concerned, you’re entitled to set the rules of posting. Start by ensuring that everyone involved in managing your social media accounts is familiar with the contents of the style guide.

It outlines how employees should behave when representing the company online, as well as the boundaries of acceptable online conduct. This policy is designed to protect the organization’s brand and reputation, while also ensuring that employees understand the expectations around their online presence. This policy ensures that all online interactions, whether they’re posting from a brand account or their own profile, align with the business’s values and legal standards.

Think of your social media guidelines as a living document, not something you carve into stone. The social world just moves way too fast for a “set it and forget it” approach. As you start pulling together your own social media guidelines, you’ll inevitably run into a few common questions. Getting the answers right from the start is the difference between a guide that sits on a virtual shelf and one that actually gets used every day. By defining these platform-specific approaches, you’re giving your team the tools to create content that doesn’t just look on-brand but feels right for the environment. That’s how you get people to stop scrolling and actually connect with what you have to say.

This section should also set a protocol for responding to a PR crisis. Employees who are posting on social media should be trained on these practices. Employees should be truthful when posting to social media, or their post could erode trust, trigger a lawsuit or harm the company’s reputation.

Your social media branding guidelines should first note all your profiles. So, if your brand is also on Snapchat, Reddit or TikTok, don’t neglect them in your style guide. Think of a social media style guide as an extension of your brand guidelines. Panacea Neighborhood Pharmacy uses marketing and promotion to interact with customers through a variety of social media channels.

Organize the content in a logical and user-friendly manner, with clear headings, subheadings, and visual elements to aid navigation and understanding. Training key stakeholders on crisis management procedures and conducting regular drills can help ensure preparedness and minimize the impact of potential crises. And as with any good social media policy, it keeps the reader engaged.