Social media has many benefits for businesses, such as marketing products, engaging with customers, and performing product launches. However, when not properly used, it can bring down a brand. In recent years, we have been brands that have been roasted on social media due to their goofs. To help avoid this happening for your brand, you need a social media policy for your business.
What is a Social Media Policy?
A social media policy is an official workplace document that provides rules, guidelines, and regulations for employees to engage on a business’s official social media channels and their personal channels. The policy is to be observed by all employees of a business from the cleaner to the CEO.
The policy guides employees on engaging with social media users to safeguard the company’s image. It also guides employees on engaging responsibly when posting on social media.
Why a Social Media Policy is Important
Here are the benefits of having a social media policy:
- A consistent brand voice. A social media policy will guide your employees on the kind of voice they should use. If you have multiple people managing different accounts, this will ensure a consistent voice for your brand.
- Promotes equality. Having a social media policy for your employees will ensure that everyone is treated fairly, regardless of the content they share online.
- Improved communication. When you have a social media policy, you can improve employee communication. This can, in turn, help maintain the brand’s image or message.
- Avoid regulatory issues. Having a social media policy and good security measures can help protect your social media account from phishing attempts. This is because the policy can guide on when passwords should be changed.
- Fast response. In case of a breach, a social media policy can ensure a fast response to the problem.
What to Include in a Social Media Policy
A social media policy should have several sections, each providing guidelines on how employees should handle themselves. Here are some of the key sections:
Online Behavior Guidelines
As we noted earlier, this is the main part of a social media policy. It spells out what is appropriate to write online and what isn’t. You don’t want your employees to put you in trouble for posting a screenshot of your employee’s financial data. Some of the issues to include under the online behavior policy are:
- No hate speech
- No sharing of sensitive company information
- No profanity
- Use proper grammar and spelling in social media posts
- Do not share or repost unverified information
- Moderate use of emojis in posts
Security Guidelines
A social media policy should also have guidelines on how to keep your social media and company information secure. This can be:
- The rules on social media use on personal equipment.
- Activity that social media managers should avoid. For instance, quizzes requiring company information.
- The people or department responsible for each social media account.
- A guidelines for creating passwords and how often passwords should be changed.
- What is expected of the staff in keeping software updated?
- The person to be notified in case of a social media security breach.
Brand voice
The social media policy should also describe a brand voice to be used. Should the staff share serious and professional posts or whimsical posts? Will your brand’s content focus on posts, videos, or texts?
Should employees include the company logo and images on social media? You should remind the staff that they are the company ambassador on social media. If they can’t say something in front of their boss, they shouldn’t post it on social media.
Crisis Handling Plan
The social media policy should also have a plan on how to respond to customer’s queries. It should define who should handle what complaints. If a situation is tense, one should define the de-escalation strategies. All in all, it should define how certain situations should be handled.
Use of Personal Social Media Accounts
Under what terms should the staff use their personal social media accounts? While you can’t dictate what people do or write during their free time, you want to ensure that this doesn’t impact your brand’s integrity.
For instance, the document should clarify if employees can include company information on their bios. You should also make it clear if they should include an image of the worksite on their personal social media sites. It’s also important to clarify if they can post pictures in their workplace uniform.
Final Thoughts
A social media policy may be a relatively new document developed to respond to the changing technological landscape. However, it is one of the most essential documents your business should have. By including the above information, you can guide your employees on handling themselves on social media.
