With most companies going online and having an increasing presence on social media, it’s important to set policies surrounding usage of social media. I don’t mean telling your employees off for using their phones to go on Facebook. I’m talking about keeping your brand reputation safe online.
You may find yourself asking the question “why does my business need a social media policy?” – Here are some reasons, guidelines for best practice, training and enforcement of online social media policies.
1Protect your rep
Having a social media policy in place brings down the risk of legal issues due to misuse of social media. This will protect your brand and company reputation, by outlining and taking steps to prevent any scathing social media blunders.
Set standards for usage by employees
By putting a social media policy in place, you can establish guidelines for your employees to follow. Setting expectations for employees through a policy can actually make them feel empowered to exercise their creativity, without worrying that what they share on social media might impact their career.
Sometimes your employees might not understand when things have gone too far on social media, so it’s always a good plan to have a policy in place. This will benefit your employees by ensuring they’re aligned with your standards.
Creating consistency
As it’s your company, you’ve worked really hard to establish its voice. In today’s social media environment, one off-brand post can throw all of this up in the air.
You can use your social media policy to influence your brand’s voice and tone. As a company, you will want to have a strong brand voice, as it will increase awareness of your business; as well as showcasing personality. This will help customers connect with your business.
This reflects onto your employees who operate social media outlets for the business, as they’ll need to be aware of brand standards regarding your brand voice. It also impacts on their own social media accounts such as Twitter handles and Facebook profile pictures.
In your social media policy, you should include:
Rules and regulations
There are two main areas you should cover in the policy. The first is how employees are expected to use their personal social media accounts, and the second is how your company uses its own channels.
If you set clear expectations and standards surrounding operational behaviour, there can be no confusion amongst your employees.
These rules and regulations should include online etiquette, branding, confidentiality, conduct guidelines and accountability. It is also worth covering engagement procedures, in case employees need to interact with negative content regarding your brand.
Potential legal issues
One of the last things you’ll want to deal with is legal issues because of poor social media usage. To ensure you’re making a solid policy, it’s best if you have your legal team help out.
Issues like crediting sources correctly when you post on social media, otherwise you could end up with a copyright issues on your hands. This can also give rise to privacy issues and rules surrounding financial disclosures, depending on the industry.
You should set guidelines on which employees can talk about your brand from their personal accounts. Ensure that employees know how to protect confidential information about your company, the brand image and the customer-base.
Safety and security guidance
There are a plethora of threats out there such as malware, phishing scams, hacking and human errors. These can be avoided with clear social media guidelines. Risks such as these might not be obvious to employees so you can use your policy to highlight the importance of being aware of them.
You will want to include guidance for your employees on: creating a secure password, avoiding spam and phishing attacks, engaging properly on behalf of the brand and how to proceed in the event of an attack.