Developing a Social Media Policy
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Everyone knows that social media is here to stay. How can you protect your brand and your company on social media and still allow your employees to have the freedom they expect to use social media?
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Developing a Social Media Policy
- 1. Creating a Social Media Policy Learn the points to include when creating a social media policy to implement for your company. 1Creating a Social Media Policy by Illinois workNet is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 International License.
- 2. Illinois workNet – Starting your Business Series http://www.illinoisworknet.com/startup 2
- 3. Illinois workNet – Starting your Business Series http://www.illinoisworknet.com/startup 3 http://forums.bestbuy.com/t5/Welcome-News/Best-Buy-Social-Media-Policy/td-p/20492
- 4. Why have a policy? • Guide to employees • Sets boundaries • Provides baseline Illinois workNet – Starting your Business Series http://www.illinoisworknet.com/startup 4 http://mashable.com/2009/04/27/social-media-policy/#2qgmD25QIPq4
- 5. Social media represents: • Company Culture • Company Brand • Industry • Company Objectives Illinois workNet – Starting your Business Series http://www.illinoisworknet.com/startup 5
- 6. How to develop your policy Who will create it? • HR • Operations • Committee • Attorney Illinois workNet – Starting your Business Series http://www.illinoisworknet.com/startup 6
- 7. Communications • Social media AND other online channels • Do online channels help you reach company goals? • Who can/should have access? • Perform a SWOT for using social media: • Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats Illinois workNet – Starting your Business Series http://www.illinoisworknet.com/startup 7
- 8. Illinois workNet – Starting your Business Series http://www.illinoisworknet.com/startup 8
- 9. Points to consider: 1. Who can use social media in your company? a) Everyone b) Only specific individuals 2. When? a) On Company time b) On Personal time Illinois workNet – Starting your Business Series http://www.illinoisworknet.com/startup 9
- 10. Points to consider (Cont’d): Illinois workNet – Starting your Business Series http://www.illinoisworknet.com/startup 10 3. Who gives approval? a) Departments b) IT, HR, CIO 4. How will the employee represent themselves? a) On Company time b) On Personal time 5. What ethical standards should be followed? 6. How will you manage consistency? 7. Will you use disclaimers?
- 11. What are the Suggestions? • Resist the urge to lash out in public. Take it off-line. • Respect proprietary information. • Know internal policies before posting. • Be timely, but pause and re-read before replying. • Use common sense. • Play nice Illinois workNet – Starting your Business Series http://www.illinoisworknet.com/startup 11
- 12. Illinois workNet – Starting your Business Series http://www.illinoisworknet.com/startup 12
- 13. Illinois workNet – Starting your Business Series http://www.illinoisworknet.com/startup 13 It is legal to vent about your employer (on a personal account, however) if you’re speaking on behalf of a group of employees and if your intention is to improve the conditions of your job. http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeannemeister/2013/02/07/to-do-update-companys-social-media-policy-asap/
- 14. Want to review before you write? • http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies/ • Approximately 240 policies from a variety of industries • http://socialmedia.policytool.net/welcome/wizard • 12 steps to help you write a basic social media policy Illinois workNet – Starting your Business Series http://www.illinoisworknet.com/startup 14
- 15. Illinois workNet – Starting your Business Series http://www.illinoisworknet.com/startup 15 http://www.hawthornemediagroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/FordSocialMedia.pdf http://www.fastcompany.com/1668368/corporate-social-media-policies-good-mediocre-and-ugly http://blog.hirerabbit.com/5-terrific-examples-of-company-social-media-policies/ http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/05/writing-a-social-media-policy.html http://mashable.com/2009/06/02/social-media-policy-musts/#fuOZpfa.kaqT
- 16. 16Illinois workNet – Starting your Business Series www.illinoisworknet.com/startup Sponsored by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) Thank You for Attending! • Watch for the news item about this webinar on www.illinoisworknet.com • Watch for information on our upcoming webinars on our social media links: • Email us at: info@illinoisworknet.com
Editor's Notes
- A social media policy outlines for employees the corporate guidelines or principles of communicating in the online world.
- It doesn't matter if you're on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram or Google+; your online personality is not only part of your overall brand, it becomes an interactive experience for you and your business. So, who is the face or voice of your brand and what do they share?
- The developer(s) of the policy should have a vested interest in the company and know the culture, brand, industry and objectives. While it may not be up to one individual, a group may not be the best option either. It is truly a company decision.
- Is Social Media a company wide initiative or only something for specific job descriptions? If only particular employees can use social media then describe who they are.
- It all boils down to what an employee can do, what they can’t do, and what they should do.
- Company time vs. personal time Conducting business on personal networks
- 3. Large company or governmental bodies may have multiple social sites that represent the various arms of an organization. Who will give the approval of the social representations? Who will monitor that what is being shared lives up to the brand? 4. Represent – If the goal of your employees use of social media is to promote broader brand awareness then you might want to let them use your company name. For example the London Free Press journalists all use firstnameatlfpress as their Twitter handle. "If you are blogging about your work for IBM, we encourage you to use your real name, be clear who you are, and identify that you work for IBM.“ "If an employee is engaging on external social media platforms personally, they should not use the company's name in their identity (e.g. username, "handle" or screen name), nor should they speak as a representative of the company." Some employees continue to promote and represent the company outside of a typical 9 to 5. Requiring them to follow this policy at all times may prevent potential embarrassments. People like News reporters, professional athletes, community leaders, marketing heads or Public relations representatives may be well known and may be associated with their organization and a misstep may be construed as being a representative of the company. It is always best to maintain a professional representation of youself on any social or on-line communication outlets. 5. Is there already an ethics policy in place for your company? The social media policy should be consistent with that. 6. Ensure brand consistency by offering assistance to new staff who are allowed to use social media to have it all set up according to brand standards. As a business, the more consistency and relevance in your search engine marketing and social media marketing strategies, the stronger your chance of connecting with your target audience and gaining brand loyalty. This would include icons, backgrounds, and any other images associated with representing themselves on social platforms. It may also included providing training during orientation if your employees are going to be engaging with clients on social media – for example customer service reps who watch for tweets or posts and can provide feedback. 7. If disclaimers are required, it helps make sure you may not be held responsible for someones comments. It can also make things less casual that can hinder the overall attitude of social media.
- Policy just sounds so policee. But it is put in place to protect your company, your brand, your image, and quite possibly your employees from doing something that could result in a termination.
- guidelines: Reason. Simply put: use reasonable etiquette, the same as you would offline. Represent yourself. Anonymous profiles lend themselves to more negative content. Responsibility. Make sure that what you’re saying is factually correct, and also that it doesn’t violate any legal guidelines that prohibit revealing information that is material to a company’s stock price. Respect. What you say online is a permanent record, so don’t say anything online you wouldn’t feel comfortable saying to the whole office – with a camera rolling. Restraint. Before you hit that send button, pause and reread. If you wouldn’t want that particular thought or contribution forever associated with your name, don’t post it.