Crafting a social media policy for your business tips from the experts by Floyd Arthur (PPT) http://carmoongroup.com

1. Crafting a Social Media
Policy for Your Business:
Tips from the Experts
By Floyd Arthur

2. As more and more
companies use social
media in their branding
strategies, it has

3. become increasingly
important for every
business to have a social
media policy in place.

4. Social media policies and
procedures give
employees important
information about what

5. they can and cannot post
on platforms such as
Instagram, Twitter and
Facebook, and

6. help your company
manage risk.

7. Social Media Policy

8. The laws around social
media policies are
constantly evolving;
Policies must balance

9. protection of sensitive
company information
with employee rights. For
example, the

10. National Labor Relations
Board has ruled that
employees cannot be
fired or disciplined

11. for posting complaints
about working conditions
on social media. In
general, a

12. company’s social media
policy cannot infringe
upon employees’ First
Amendment rights.

13. What Should Your Social
Media Policy Contain?

14. To avoid employee free-
speech issues, craft your
social media policy as a
guideline for

15. employees rather than
set-in-stone rules, the
Small Business
Administration warns.

16. Some areas to touch
upon include:

17. Intellectual Property
Rights

18. Clearly tell employees
that they cannot post
content or images on the
company website

19. that belong to another
person, company, website
or blog. All content that
comes from

20. another source should be
viewed as subject to
intellectual property
laws. That is, it

21. cannot be used without
the owner’s written
consent.

22. (Note: “Social sharing”
buttons on a firm’s
website that ask visitors
to share content

23. constitute consent.)

24. Endorsements

25. In general, employees
who post anything about
your company on social
media must

26. disclose their affiliation
with you. For instance, if
you ask your employees
to mention

27. your company on their
Facebook page or Twitter
feed, they should state
that they work

28. for the company and in
what capacity in the post
or tweet.

29. Similarly, any financial
incentives or promotional
considerations you offer
employees

30. for mentioning your
company on a social
media channel must be
“clearly and

31. conspicuously”
disclosed, according to
the Federal Trade
Commission’s
Endorsement

32. Guides. Prominently
disclose affiliate
relationships, wherein
you promote another
firm’s

33. products on your website
and are paid a
commission for sales, as
well.

34. Confidentiality

35. Spell out the types of
company information that
employees may not
share. This typically
includes:

36. * Proprietary data, such
as information about
operations, promotions,
advertising

37. strategies and release
dates

38. * Customer information of
any kind

39. * Nonpublic financial
information

40. * Legal issues

41. Additionally, encourage
employees to avoid
disclosing personal
information online.

42. Trademarks

43. Include a statement in
your social media policy
that prohibits employees
from using the

44. company’s trademark or
branding materials in a
personal online post. Also
advise them

45. against posting photos or
videos taken while they
are wearing a company
uniform or ID badge.

46. Online Behavior

47. Make sure your
employees know that
customer service is your
primary concern.

48. Employees should never
resort to rudeness, crude
language or defamatory
statements

49. when engaging with
customers online.

50. Your social media policy
should also explicitly
prohibit employees from
making

51. discriminatory
statements online. This
includes derogatory
statements based on age,

52. sex, race, color, creed,
religion, ethnicity, sexual
orientation, gender
identity, national

53. origin, citizenship,
disability, marital status
or any other legally
recognized protected
class.

54. Such statements tarnish
the company’s reputation
and may place you in
legal jeopardy as well.

55. Consequences

56. Outline the specific
consequences to
employees whose
behavior that falls
outside your

57. social media guidelines.
For example, will the
employee receive a
written warning for

58. revealing sensitive
company information or
be summarily dismissed?
Every employee

59. needs to understand that
the consequences of
violating the guidelines
may be severe.

60. Tackling the problems
associated with social
media and online
communications is a

61. challenge facing
businesses nationwide.
Finding a balance
between employee’s
rights

62. and protecting your
company is not an easy
task. Nevertheless, the
Internet is a wide

63. open playing field where
your business may be
exposed to many
different types of risk.

64. At Carmoon Group, we
specialized in risk
management strategies
of all kinds. Whether

65. you need help crafting a
social media policy or it’s
time for your annual
insurance

66. review, give us a call any
weekday between 9 a.m.
and 6 p.m. to speak to an
agent about

67. your needs. No time to
make a call? Request a
free consultation now
and we’ll get back

68. to you at a convenient
time.

69. Visit
www.Carmoongroup.com
for FREE 30-Minute
Consultation!