How To Best Social Media Policy Document

While social media is an excellent platform for businesses in every industry to build brand awareness, communicate and build relationships with their customers and clients, it can also spell disaster for your business if it is done right with an effective media policy document. is not managed properly.

For example, when LG tried to mock Apple by tweeting that their smartphones don’t bend — the only trouble is that they sent the tweet from an iPhone. The man leaves early for work if he wants to stop being late? Or, when US Airways accidentally included a link to a pornographic image when tweeting to a customer? There was a time Vodafone gave itself a PR headache after an employee sent obscene, homophobic tweets from its official account. Or, a time when Bing caused outrage by using Japanese earthquakes to promote his account.

Creating a policy document

Do we need to move on?

Social media now wields a great deal of power and because of this, it is essential that every business formulate a media policy to govern the use of media related to work purposes and the use of employees.

Why do you need a social media policy?

By creating a policy document to hand out to all employees, you are creating a list of rules that everyone must follow. This helps to remove any uncertainty or misunderstanding to ensure that no employee misuses social media in the course of your employment. Your policy should include whether you are going to allow any social media use for your employees while at work. If so, you need to outline what types of activity are allowed, as well as what types of activity are discouraged.

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Your social media policy should also outline what is and isn’t acceptable when referring your business online. A negative post or comment by one of your employees can do far more harm than a post from a customer. This is because the public will assume that the employee works for you, and so any hurtful remarks made will have a huge negative impact. When submitting your policy document, you should ask that your employees refrain from posting negative comments online about the company and co-workers during the course of your employment.

it’s more important than you think

Whatever your experience or opinion on social media, the truth is that it is a powerful platform. It has the power to shape users’ opinions and feelings towards a topic or brand. Negative thoughts and opinions spread like wildfire, turning public opinion against an individual or company whether or not the original idea or statement was even true. One wrong post by an employee who has had a bad day can have a huge negative impact on how the public sees your brand. Consumers are often a fickle group and with the potential for just one tweet or post to go viral and be seen by millions of users, it is essential that your employees have a solid idea of ​​what is and is acceptable when social. No media access.

What should be included in your policy?

Your policy should be clear and concise so that there are no misunderstandings. Make sure to include the following important points in your policy document.

1. Emphasize that your policy refers to all platforms including those that may arise in the future.

2. Make it clear that your policy does not in any way refer to your employee’s personal use of social media unless they are referencing your company.

3. Outline your stance on accessing social media sites at work, whether you’re going to allow it or not.

4. The company shall outline acceptable use and unacceptable use of the Internet.

5. If you are going to block access to certain sites from your work computer, this should be mentioned in your policy.

6. State that all employees must clearly identify themselves as an employee and include a disclaimer when commenting on any aspect of the company’s business. The disclaimer could be something like “these views are my own, and that of mine alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of ‘Company Name’”.

7. Tell employees to be mindful of what they post and use good judgment. It should state that your employees should not disrespect or falsely represent the company in any way.

8. Make it clear in your policy that under no circumstances should any personal or confidential information be posted on social media.

9. State that you reserve the right to request the removal of inappropriate posts and comments.

10. Your policy should also clearly outline the consequences for employees who violate the policy. This includes any disciplinary action that may be brought against an employee who fails to adhere to your social media policy.

Of course, that’s a lot to put on paper, so if you’re short on time and want the job done right away, why not sign up with your email address and a great social media outlet straight to your inbox. Get the policy template.

Originally published at https://www.insurancepost.online.