Need a Social Media Policy? Use My Sample Template.

It's a good practice to have a social media policy for your company, to help your employees understand how to use social media to help build their brand and your company brand. Here's a Generic Social Media Policy I've created for clients which helps to provide general guidelines. 

Essentially, my recommendation is that we assume your employees are adults and they know what they should and shouldn't say, but they may appreciate having some guidelines to reference. 

If you're in a highly regulated industry, you will probably have your legal team and other compliance team members review and approve your own policy. 

This also provides a great starting point for you, and you may wish to modify some of the language to fit the guidelines and expectations you have for your team.  

***************************************

Generic Social Media Policy

(date)

At COMPANY, we believe that all employees act as an extension of our company brand, and we seek to empower and educate you to help you utilize social media to help share our story.

This policy provides guidance for employee use of social media, which should be broadly understood for purposes of this policy to include blogs, wikis, microblogs, message boards, chat rooms, electronic newsletters, online forums, social networking sites, and other sites and services that permit users to share information with others online through public websites. 

DO’s and DON’Ts

The following principles apply to professional use of social media on behalf of COMPANY as well as personal use of social media when referencing COMPANY. 

 DO:

• Do know and adhere to the COMPANY Employee Handbook, and other applicable company policies when using social media in reference to COMPANY.

• Be aware of the effect that your actions may have on your professional image, as well as the COMPANY company image. The information that you post or publish may be public information for a long time and can be spread rapidly and quickly.

• Be aware that COMPANY may observe content and information made available by employees through social media. Use your best judgment in posting material that is appropriate and “professionally social” so there aren’t any negative implications for yourself, COMPANY, other employees, or our clients.

• Be aware that social media networks, blogs, and other types of online content sometimes generate press and media attention or legal questions. Refer these inquiries to NAMED PERSONS.

• Do get permission before you refer to or post images of current or former employees, clients, vendors, or suppliers. Additionally, get appropriate permission to use a third party's copyrights, copyrighted material, trademarks, service marks or other intellectual property. If you are not sure if this applies to a particular post, please ask prior to posting.

• Do consider adding a disclaimer to your social media accounts, “Views are my own.” We live in an age where our social and professional social circles intermingle.

• Do be yourself. It’s OK to have fun and help us showcase our employee culture. However, avoid sharing personal/religious beliefs, political agendas, controversial topics, etc. These can often be misinterpreted as offensive, inappropriate, or unprofessional.

DON’T

• Don’t post prohibited content. Although not an exclusive list, some specific examples of prohibited social media conduct include posting commentary, content, or images that are defamatory, pornographic, proprietary, harassing, libelous, or that can create a hostile work environment.

• Don’t publish, post, or release any information that is considered confidential or not public. If there are questions about what is considered confidential, check with the Human Resources Department and/or your supervisor. A good rule of thumb is that anything on the COMPANY website is public and OK to share.

• Don’t keep the online conversation going if you encounter a situation on the COMPANY social media pages or related posts that threatens to become antagonistic. Disengage from the dialogue in a polite manner and seek the advice of a supervisor.

• Don’t let your social media use interfere with your responsibilities at COMPANY. Our computer systems are to be used for business purposes only. When using COMPANY computer systems, use of social media for business purposes is allowed (ex: Facebook, Twitter, COMPANY blogs, and LinkedIn), but personal use of social media networks or personal blogging of online content is generally discouraged during company time.

• Don’t be afraid to ask for help and guidance. Our goal is to empower you to use social media to help promote the COMPANY brand.

THANK YOU!

***************************************

Find this Blog Helpful? Share it with your team. 

Need help with LinkedIn strategy? Visit https://www.mellermarketing.com/ 

Brenda Meller [email protected]