Social media guidelines are instructions and recommendations for how people connected to a company should represent themselves – and the company – on social media. If violations are decreasing over time, it means the policy is being understood and followed. On the other hand, a spike in issues could signal the need for a refresher training or clearer guidelines. Leadership and managers should model the behavior outlined in the Social Media Policy. When employees see top executives using social media responsibly and positively, it reinforces the importance of the policy and encourages everyone to follow suit.
With over 2 million employees around the world who can help drive the conversation of Walmart online, that’s a questionable decision. The US Air Force understands the power of social media to inform opinions. It manages to pull off this amazing trick where it genuinely encourages employee advocacy, without ever calling it that. The writing is inspirational and treats its employees as trusted humans; there isn’t much babysitting, policing, or fear-mongering here to speak of.
It facilitates engagement with stakeholders, raises awareness of causes, and strengthens an organisation’s presence. The guidelines for personal use of social media are not intended to and do not limit your right to engage in protected concerted activities related to terms and conditions of employment. Storing your social media images and videos in a central location, like an asset library, can help ensure your visuals are cohesive and brand-aligned. Sprout’s Asset Library is a built-in feature catalogs your brand’s inventory of visuals. Some brands use a specific format for sharing links, status updates or other types of posts. For instance, X posts might follow a headline, link and hashtag format.
Now let’s shift gears and examine the architecture of an effective social media policy. Crafting one isn’t just slapping together some rules—it’s assembling elements that, together, guide and safeguard online interactions. First, a policy often delineates guidelines on sharing sensitive company information.
The policy should include details such as the responsibilities of employees when posting on social media, the values the brand seeks to promote, and the types of conflicts that should be avoided. This clarity helps employees identify potential conflicts and navigate their social media use in a way that aligns with the company’s goals and values. Building a strong brand can take years, but it only takes a few careless social media posts to mess it up.
How To Write A Crisis-proof Social Media Policy
We love the very specific guidelines on emoji use broken down by platform. A good social media style guide also ensures you talk consistently about what your brand offers and how your products work. This builds consumer trust and awareness, so you’re top of mind when it’s time for your audience to make a purchase. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has developed a policy on staff use of social media that emphasises the importance of trust and transparency. This policy provides guidelines on how staff can engage in online platforms in a manner that reflects the organisation’s values and maintains its professional reputation.
Following best practices, a library’s social media policy should consider the following issues. Not all issues below apply to every library, and omissions and additions can be made based on the library’s individual needs. Libraries are under no legal obligation to participate in social media, nor are they required to host public conversations. A library could choose, for instance, to solely participate in one-way communication, that is, to make announcements and not seek or respond to questions or comments. But once a public library or publicly funded academic library does invite conversation, it may be considered to have established a designated public forum. Lower court cases considering the issue have held that a designated public forum is created when social media is opened for public comment by a governmental entity.
Your social media policy should also defend against security risks and privacy issues. Robust social media policies outline the dangers of sharing online and help keep your employees out of trouble. Although people may forgive your brand, the internet never forgets, so it’s better to be safe than sorry! Implementing a social media policy will help protect your company and give employees the space to advocate for themselves while staying true to the brand and it’s values. HR should ensure the social media policy is consistent with broader conduct and workplace policies and may reference them directly. Prioritizing training and ongoing education ensures that the human resources social media policy is understood and followed by all employees.
In addition, there are sections for contractors or anyone else who is paid to contribute to Intel’s social media activity. The sixth point, social media account ownership, it really important. There have been legal disputes over who owns a social account and the followers of a company account in the past. Showcase the diversity and inclusion in your company culture through your workforce. Encourage the usage of their individual pronouns (she or her, he or him, they or their, etc.), tell them to avoid gender- or race-specific emojis and slang. These rules act as a handbook to train your employees to identify cybersecurity and privacy risks and protect your brand.
Developing Your Social Media Policy
Formalizing this in a style guide will keep everyone on the same page and create cohesion. Be as detailed as you’d like here, depending on your brand’s preferences. If you already have a grammar handbook for your website or blog, you could carry many of the same rules to your social media style guide.
This may seem obvious, but it’s easy to forget you are representing not only yourself but also the company you work for. This is also worth remembering when using AI, it needs to be taught the brand style and tone. Stand out from day one with these expertly crafted welcome email templates. Build engagement, reduce anxiety, and set your new hires up for success. Pairing strong social policies with a wellbeing program amplifies these benefits.
However, social media guidelines ensure that social media does not harm your employees, but that it, instead, helps you use its power to strengthen your brand positioning. There are many more benefits of social media guidelines for your employees. Your social media policy should be part of your employee handbook or live inside your policy database (e.g. in your HRIS). Make sure all employees have read it, especially those in your social media team.